Sathyanarayan Rao, PhD

Environmental Sensing & Inverse Problems

Doctoral Thesis: Non-Invasive Geo-Electrical Imaging of Plant Roots

Four-year investigation into non-invasive geo-electrical imaging of plant roots, producing the first coupled hydro-geophysical framework linking root architecture, water uptake, and electrical signatures. 4 papers, 135+ citations.

Period
2016–2020
Where
UCLouvain — PhD Research
Role
FNRS Research Fellow
Methods
FEM (500k elements), Root Biophysics, Geoelectrical Methods
Field electrical resistivity survey over a grass root zone
Field electrical resistivity survey over a grass root zone

Thesis Title: “Investigation of signatures of plant roots from non-invasive geo-electrical measurements”

Research Problem: How do plant roots influence soil electrical properties? Can we “see” roots without digging them up?

Created the first coupled hydro-geophysical framework linking root architecture, water uptake, and electrical signatures — enabling non-invasive root phenotyping at scales from centimeters to field plots.

Funding: Belgian FNRS (Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique) - Grant T.1088.15 Defense: 2020, UCLouvain (during COVID-19 pandemic) Supervisors: Prof. Mathieu Javaux (UCLouvain), Prof. Frédéric Nguyen (ULiège), Prof. Sarah Garré (Gembloux)

Impact:

  • 4 peer-reviewed papers (135+ citations)
  • 5 international conference presentations
  • Multiple international collaborations (Germany, Austria, Israel)
  • Established new research field: Computational Root Geophysics