Hongfan Cao

I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota. I obtained my M.S. degree in 2019 from Hohai University. During M.S. study, I combined numerical modeling and laboratory sand tank experiments to study the impact of compressed air injection into saline aquifers for mitigating seawater intrusion. I am broadly interested in reactive transport and mixing in fractured media and currently studying variable density flows in fractured media. I am combining numerical simulations and visual experiments to investigate the coupled flow processes in fractured media.

I was born and grew up in Nanjing, China. In my free time, I enjoy making crafts and cooking. It can give me time away from the pressures of study or work to relax and enjoy alone time. I also like watching dramas and movies. My favorite movies are the Harry Potter series, and my favorite characters in it are Fred and George Weasley, Ron Weasley's mischievous older twin brothers.