The Lipovsky group tests fracture, friction, and deformation in real Earth systems; the UW FiberLab supplies shared infrastructure for making those measurements.
Postdoctoral scholars & research translation
3 group membersPostdoctoral Scholar
Andreas Brotzer
Novel glacier sensors for dynamics, water content, and surface mass balance.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dominik Gräff
Glacier basal friction, hydrology, and Greenland ice–ocean coupling measured with dense fiber-optic observations.
Postdoctoral Entrepreneur
Stephanie Olinger
Ice-shelf fracture mechanics and physics-informed analysis for continuous subsurface monitoring; co-founder of Applied Environmental Intelligence and former co-advised doctoral student.
Doctoral students
3 group membersPhD Student
Will Dienstfrey
Mechanical imaging of shallow seafloor structure using dense fiber-optic observations.
PhD Student
Parker Sprinkle
Field mechanics and dense fiber-optic observations in enhanced-geothermal and monitoring experiments.
PhD Student
Verónica Gaete Elgueta
Deformation and failure in volcanic and tectonic systems measured with dense fiber arrays, including Mount Rainier and Alaska.
Mentorship
Developing independent scientists
Mentoring combines regular one-on-one guidance with increasing intellectual independence. Projects span mechanics, controlled and natural field experiments, dense sensing, data analysis, writing, and scientific communication, with explicit attention to research ethics, authorship, reproducibility, and career development.
Former trainees have continued into faculty, postdoctoral, graduate, research, industry, and public-service roles around the world. Alumni are listed with their next known destination where that information is appropriate for a public professional page.
Alumni
A growing network across research, industry, and public serviceJohn-Morgan Manos
PhD, 2026 · Glacier surface hydrology and the flow and thermal controls that preserve ancient Antarctic ice
Cornell University
Ethan Williams
Postdoctoral Scholar, 2023–25 · Distributed acoustic sensing of ocean surface-gravity waves
Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz
Chris Bezu (Miele)
Postdoctoral Scholar, 2023–25 · Ice-shelf flow, fracture, and flexure
Postdoctoral Fellow, Utrecht University
Qibin Shi
Postdoctoral Scholar, 2025 · Submarine distributed acoustic sensing
Research Assistant Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ash Morris
Postdoctoral Scholar, 2020–23 · ICESat-2 observations and Antarctic ice-shelf rifts
Remote Sensing Specialist, Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System
Deven Loska
Undergraduate Researcher, 2025–26 · DAS observations of internal gravity waves near glaciers
Cody Cruz
Undergraduate Researcher, 2024–25 · Ice hydraulic-fracture experiments
Graduate student, MIT–WHOI Joint Program
Aidan Dealy
Undergraduate Researcher, 2022–25 · ICESat-2 observations of ice-shelf roughness
Graduate student, Duke University
Simon-Hans Edasi
MS Student, 2021–24 · Machine-learning analysis of glacier thickness
Data science and information systems
Amanda Syamsul
Undergraduate Researcher, 2021–23 · Surface loading and earthquakes
PhD student, University of California, Santa Cruz
Jake Ward
Student Researcher, 2023 · DAS earthquake detection
Victoria Johnson
Undergraduate/Postbaccalaureate Researcher, 2021 · Glacier seismology
Braden Brock
Undergraduate Researcher, through 2022
University of Washington alumnus
William Flanagan
Master's Student, 2019
Subglacial hydrology and seismology
Vladislav Sevostianov
Undergraduate Researcher, 2017
PhD student, Princeton University
Janine Birnbaum
Summer Researcher, 2015
Finite-element modeling of ice-stream loading
Dilia Olivo
Summer Researcher, 2014
Glacier stick-slip dynamics
Join the group
Bring a hard question and make the project your own.
Prospective students and postdoctoral scholars can learn about research fit, group expectations, and advertised positions on the opportunities page.