Allen M Shapiro, Ph.D.

Dr. Allen Shapiro is a Senior Research Hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He is a member of the Water Cycle Branch of the Earth System Processes Division in the Water Mission Area. Dr. Shapiro conducts research on groundwater flow and chemical transport in complex geologic environments, including fractured rock and karst aquifers. Dr. Shapiro’s research has focused on the development of field techniques and equipment, and coupled interpretations of geologic, geophysical, hydraulic, and geochemical information to characterize groundwater flow and chemical transport. Dr. Shapiro has described fundamental processes that are unique to fractured rock aquifers, including the effects of chemical diffusion between mobile water in fractures and immobile water in the intrinsic rock porosity.  He has also investigated the effect of scale on the hydraulic and transport properties of fractured rock through carefully designed in situ testing and modeling investigations conducted over dimensions of meters to kilometers. Dr. Shapiro has been active in the characterization and remediation of contaminants in fractured rock, including contamination by Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids. Dr. Shapiro’s recent research focuses on the intermittent vulnerability of shallow fractured rock aquifers to contamination from pathogens or surface contaminants stemming from rapid infiltration following precipitation events. 

Dr. Shapiro is a graduate of Princeton University with a Ph.D. in Civil and Geological Engineering. Prior to joining the USGS, Dr. Shapiro conducted hydrologic research at the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden) and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel). Dr. Shapiro has patented equipment for conducting hydraulic tests and collecting groundwater samples for geochemical analyses in fractured rock aquifers, and he has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Shapiro has served as an Associate Editor of Journal of Hydrology and the journal Groundwater. Dr. Shapiro is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and was selected by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) as the Distinguished Darcy Lecturer, for which he lectured on his research, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Shapiro has also served on National Research Council and National Academy of Science panels that have produced extensive reports on key engineering and scientific issues facing the Nation.