Scientist Returning from Japan Establishes New HUN-REN Research Group

László Oláh, who has returned from Japan, has founded a new research group at the HUN-REN Wigner Research Center for Physics working on the development of earth science and geotechnical applications related to cosmic muon detection, the Hungarian Research Network (HUN-REN) announced on Tuesday.

As highlighted in the press release, László Oláh returned to Hungary in the framework of the HUN-REN Welcome Home and Foreign Researcher Recruitment Program. The research of his High-Energy Geophysics Research Group can be used in the fields of volcanic and atmospheric hazard assessment, mine exploration, passive and non-destructive testing of infrastructure and buildings, and navigation and security applications of positioning based on muon tracking, among others.

The statement recalls that

László Oláh was a postdoctoral researcher at the Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo, where he worked on the applications of muography in volcanology and industry.

He applied the muographic observation system and measurement procedure established in the research and development cooperation between the University of Tokyo and HUN-REN Wigner Research Center for Physics to the Sakurajima volcano study. During his research, he observed the formation of a volcanic plug under an active crater after a period of eruption and then explored the relationship between volcanic surface movement and the frequency of volcanic eruptions.

Sakurajima is an active stratovolcano, formerly an island and now a peninsula, in Japan. Photo via Wikipedia

He also demonstrated the possibility of muographic measurements of mass changes caused by mud avalanches from the volcano surface and erosion of settled debris. He has also applied muography, in collaboration with industrial partners, to assess the structural condition of rubble dams and railway pylons.

According to the announcement,

the High-Energy Geophysics Research Group aims to investigate the geology of the oceanic lithosphere

by exploring the scaling density structure of ophiolites, characterizing the structural and geological properties below the Earth’s surface, and studying active volcanism and the structure and dynamics of tropical cyclones.

In the framework of the HUN-REN Welcome Home and Foreign Researcher Recruitment Program, announced by the HUN-REN Center for the first time, six Hungarian and one foreign researcher of international repute will come to Hungary to form a research team within the network to implement the outstanding scientific program of the winning project, the announcement concluded.

Interview with Roland Jakab, HUN-REN Research Network CEO