Laura Elizabeth Dalton

Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Professor Dalton joined Duke University in August 2022 after obtaining her PhD from North Carolina State University, MS and BS from West Virginia University. Dr. Dalton is an experimentalist and her research interests include studying and understanding reactive, multiphase transport in porous media. She is particularly interested in understanding and manipulating chemical and physical processes that occur during reactive, multiphase transport in both engineered (cementitious) and natural (geological) porous materials. To this end, she uses quantitative imaging approaches such as X-ray computed tomography (CT), neutron tomography, and electrical imaging modalities including electrical capacitance tomography (ECT). She is interested in using hybrid and simultaneous imaging modalities because complementary and temporal information can be obtained using these approaches to better understand complex processes such as developing innovative methods to sequester CO2. 

Appointments and Affiliations

• Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Contact Information

• Office Location: 165 Hudson Hall, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 660-5421
• Email Address: laura.dalton@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Dalton Research Group

Education

• Ph.D. North Carolina State University, 2022

Research Interests

4D Imaging; Carbon sequestration in porous materials; sustainable material development; structural integrity of carbon capture and storage wells; reactive transport in porous materials

Courses Taught

• CEE 493: Research Independent Study in Civil and Environmental Engineering
• EGR 201L: Mechanics of Solids

In the News

• Laura Dalton: How Mass Moves Through Rocks and Other Hard Places (Oct 29, 2022 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Laura Dalton: Watching Mass Move Through Rocks and Other Hard Places (Aug 17, 2022 | Duke Engineering News)

Representative Publications

• Dalton, LE; Räsänen, M; Voss, A; Seppänen, A; Pourghaz, M, Investigating the use of electrical capacitance tomography to image rapid transient moisture flow through cracks in concrete, Cement and Concrete Composites, vol 140 (2023) [10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2023.105070] [abs].
• Wang, H; Dalton, L; Guo, R; McClure, J; Crandall, D; Chen, C, Application of unsupervised deep learning to image segmentation and in-situ contact angle measurements in a CO2-water-rock system, Advances in Water Resources, vol 173 (2023) [10.1016/j.advwatres.2023.104385] [abs].
• Dalton, LE; LaManna, JM; Jones, S; Pour-Ghaz, M, Does ITZ Influence Moisture Transport in Concrete?, Transport in Porous Media, vol 144 no. 3 (2022), pp. 623-639 [10.1007/s11242-022-01826-z] [abs].
• Wang, H; Dalton, L; Fan, M; Guo, R; McClure, J; Crandall, D; Chen, C, Deep-learning-based workflow for boundary and small target segmentation in digital rock images using UNet++ and IK-EBM, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, vol 215 (2022) [10.1016/j.petrol.2022.110596] [abs].
• Guo, R; Dalton, L; Crandall, D; McClure, J; Wang, H; Li, Z; Chen, C, Role of heterogeneous surface wettability on dynamic immiscible displacement, capillary pressure, and relative permeability in a CO2-water-rock system, Advances in Water Resources, vol 165 (2022) [10.1016/j.advwatres.2022.104226] [abs].