BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Mengli Zhang is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Zhang holds a BS and MS from Xi’an Jiaotong University, an MS in Geoscience from University of Texas at Dallas, and a PhD in Geophysics from Colorado School of Mines. She is the Co-Director of the Center for Gravity, Electrical, and Magnetic Studies (CGEM). She is the principal investigator (PI) of Geo-Multiphysics Research Consortium. She also a co-PI of a joint industry program (JIP) on geologic hydrogen, which has been established by Colorado School of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey and is the first of such JIP in the world. Dr. Zhang is the PI of a stimulated hydrogen project funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), US Department of Energy, as well as the PI of several other projects funded by government agencies. Dr. Zhang’s research includes information-based economical geophysical data acquisition using ergodic sampling, multiphysics integration of seismic, electromagnetic, magnetic, and gravity data, optimizing data interpretation and accelerating discovery cycle through ML and AI. Dr. Zhang has 10 years of experience in the oil & gas industry, and she is now pursuing research in critical mineral and geologic hydrogen for clean energy resources. She is serving as an associate editor of the Journal of Applied Geophysics. Dr. Zhang was featured as an invited speaker for her research on geologic hydrogen exploration in a science breakthrough session at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2024 Annual Meeting. She has been cited by major news magazines including Financial Times, New Scientists, and other influential media outlets around the world for her expertise on geologic hydrogen. She is a member of AGU, GSA, and SEG.