The environmental geophysicist Sebastian Uhlemann focuses on the near-surface subsurface, which provides vital resources and is influenced by complex interactions between rock, soil, air, water, and living organisms. Characterizing the properties of the subsurface and the processes that affect this zone is crucial to understanding a wide range of earth and environmental phenomena.

His research focuses on non-invasive imaging of subsurface properties using electrical and electromagnetic methods. The results are important for the assessment and mitigation of geohazards and the sustainable management of water and energy resources. Geophysical measurements play an important role in improving the understanding of underground processes and investigating the interactions between the surface and the subsurface. This enables more precise modeling of the earth system and thus promotes the sustainable use of resources. The investigation techniques are mainly applied to terrestrial processes related to permafrost environments in the Arctic, landslides, and groundwater resources.

Sebastian Uhlemann received his PhD from ETH Zurich in 2018, where he focused on the development of geophysical monitoring for early warning of landslides. From 2012 to 2018, he worked as a geophysicist at the British Geological Survey, researching the use of geophysical imaging for landslide, groundwater, and mining problems in Europe, Asia, and Africa. From 2018 to 2022, he worked first as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, USA. During this time, he focused on mapping hydrological processes related to climate change in arctic and alpine environments while developing novel techniques to optimize groundwater management. Sebastian Uhlemann received the American Geophysical Union's Near Surface Geophysics Early Career Achievement Award in 2022 for his work on integrating near-surface geophysical methods with hydro-geomechanical data and models to solve a range of environmental problems.