Mr. Muffels provides expertise in the application and development of numerical and analytical models for water-resource analyses and engineering design. His experience includes interpreting data from hydrogeologic investigations, creation and modification of groundwater flow and transport models, and assisting in remedial design and optimization. Mr. Muffels is fluent in a variety of programming languages, especially FORTRAN, C/C++, and PYTHON.
EDUCATION
- MS, Geology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008
- BASc, Environmental (Civil) Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2003
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Synthesis and Interpretation of Hydrogeologic Data
- Software Development/Modification
- Application and Calibration of Groundwater Flow and Transport Models
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
- National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
- Geological Society of America (GSA)
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
Geochemical and Hydrogeological Evaluation of Former Yerington Mine Site
Fate and Transport Modeling of Fuel Additives
Aquifer Parameter Tool (Texture2Par) Development
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Muffels, C., S. Panday, C. Andrews, M. Tonkin, and A. Spiliotopoulos, 2022. Simulating Groundwater Interaction with a Surface Water Network using Connected Linear Networks. Groundwater. doi: 10.1111/gwat.13202
Doherty, J., J. Rumbaugh, and C. Muffels, 2021. Probabilistic Contributing Area Analysis, A GMDSI Worked Example Report. National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Flinders University, South Australia. Available at: https://gmdsi.org/blog/worked-example-probabilistic-capture-zone-analysis/
S.S. Papadopulos and Associates, Inc., (SSP&A). 2020. User’s Guide for mod-PATH3DU, a Groundwater Path and Travel-Time Simulator. Available at: http://mp3du.sspa.com/man/
Craig, J.R., M. Ramadhan, and C. Muffels, 2019. A Particle Tracking Algorithm for Arbitrary Unstructured Grids. Groundwater, v. 58 no. 1, pp. 19-26. doi: 10.1111/gwat.12894
Muffels, C. and L. Scantlebury, 2019. mod-PATH3DU Version 3: New Features, Verification and Intercomparisons. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2019: Groundwater Modeling and Beyond. Integrated Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 2-5, 2019.
Muffels, C., V. Bedekar and M. Kulbersh, 2019. An Evaluation of Linear Interpolation Schemes for the Ghost-node Correction Package of MODFLOW-USG. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2019: Groundwater Modeling and Beyond. Integrated Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 2-5, 2019.
Muffels, C, 2017. mod-PATH3DU Version 2: New Features, Verification and Intercomparisons. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2017: Modeling for sustainability and adaption. International GroundWater Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, May 21–24, 2017.
Carter, J. and C. Muffels, 2015. De-stranding MODPATH Particles in Mine-Pit Dewatering Simulations. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2015: Modeling a Complex World. International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, May 31 – June 3, 2015.
Muffels, C., X. Wang, M. Tonkin, and C.J. Neville, 2015. mod-PATH3DU: A Groundwater Path and Travel-time Simulator for both Unstructured-Grid (USG) and Structured Grid Versions of MODFLOW. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2015: Modeling a Complex World. International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, May 31 – June 3, 2015.
Muffels, C., J. Rumbaugh, and M. Tonkin, 2013. Not-so-Automatic User Intervention: Incorporating the GENIE Programming Library into PEST for Real-time Interaction on a Mobile Device. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2013: Translating Science into Practice. International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 3–5, 2013.
Hunt, R., J. Doherty, M. Tonkin, D. Welter, W. Schreuder, and C. Muffels, 2011. Overview of PEST++: A New Branch of PEST for the 21st Century. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2011, Integrated Hydrologic Modeling, International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 6–8, 2011.
Welter, D., J. Doherty, C. Muffels, M. Tonkin, R. Hunt, W. Schreuder, and M. Karanovic, 2011. Lowering the Barriers of Entry to Inverse Modeling: PEST++. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2011, Integrated Hydrologic Modeling, International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 6–8, 2011, v. 1, pp. 782-786.
Schreuder, W., C. Muffels, M. Tonkin, J. Doherty, R. Hunt, and D. Welter, 2011. Efficient Use of Parallel Resources using PEST. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2011, Integrated Hydrologic Modeling, International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 6–8, 2011, v. 1, pp. 787-791.
Muffels, C., W. Schreuder, J. Doherty, M. Karanovic, M. Tonkin, R. Hunt, and D. Welter, 2011. GENIE – A Model Independent TCP/IP Run Manager. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2011, Integrated Hydrologic Modeling, International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, June 6–8, 2011, v. 1, pp. 792-795.
Tonkin, M., M. Karanovic, C. Muffels, J. Porcello, K. Lindsey, and T. Tolan, 2011. Translating Complex Regional Hydrostratigraphy into MODFLOW: The Columbia Basin Groundwater Management Area (GWMA). Presentation at the 2011 National Groundwater Association Ground Water Summit and 2011 Ground Water Protection Council, Baltimore, MD, May 1–5, 2011.
Fienen, M., C. Muffels, and R. Hunt, 2009. On Constraining Pilot Point Calibration with Regularization in PEST. Groundwater, vol. 47, no. 6, pp: 835-844. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2009.00579.x
Muffels, C., 2008. Application of the LSQR Algorithm in the Calibration of a Regional Groundwater Flow Model: Trout Lake Basin, Vilas County, Wisconsin. Unpublished MS Thesis. University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Muffels, C., R. Hunt, J. Doherty, and M. Anderson, 2007. Regularized Inversion of a Groundwater Flow Model of the Trout Lake Basin. Presentation at the 2007 American Water Resources Association Wisconsin Section Meeting, Wisconsin Dells, WI, March 1–2, 2007.
Muffels, C., J. Doherty, M. Anderson, R. Hunt, T. Clemo, and M. Tonkin, 2006. LSQR and Tikhonov Regularization in the Calibration of a Complex MODFLOW Model. Presentation at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, October 22-25, 2006.
Muffels, C., M. Tonkin, H. Zhang, M. Anderson, and T. Clemo, 2006. Application of LSQR to Calibration of a MODFLOW Model: A Synthetic Study. Presentation at MODFLOW and More 2006, Managing Ground-Water Systems, International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, May 22–24, 2006, v. 1, pp. 283-287.
Muffels, C., H. Zhang, J. Doherty, R. Hunt, M. Anderson, and M. Tonkin, 2006. Incorporating PROPACK into PEST to Estimate the Model Resolution Matrix for Large Groundwater Flow Models. Presentation at the 2006 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. December 11–15, 2006.
Muffels, C., M. Tonkin, J. Haas, and D. Trego, 2005. Predictive and Post-Audit Mass Flux Estimates. Proceedings of the National Ground Water Association Ground Water Summit, San Antonio, TX, April 17–20, 2005.
Soderberg, K., R. Hennet, and C. Muffels, 2005. Uncertainty and Trend Analysis for Radium in Groundwater and Drinking Water. Abstract Book, 2005 National Ground Water Association Naturally Occurring Contaminants Conference: Arsenic, Radium, Radon, and Uranium, Charleston, SC, February 24-25, 2005, pp. 30–44.
Tonkin, M., J. Weaver, C. Zheng, C. Muffels, and J. Rumbaugh, 2005. Coupled Free and Dissolved Phase Transport: New Simulation Capabilities and Parameter Inversion. in Proceedings of the 2005 National Ground Water Association (NGWA) Conference on MTBE and Perchlorate, Assessment, Remediation, and Public Policy, San Francisco, CA, May 26–27, 2005.
Tonkin, M., S. Larson, and C. Muffels, 2004. Assessment of Hydraulic Capture through Interpolation of Measured Water Level Data. Presentation at the Conference on Accelerating Site Closeout, Improving Performance, and Reducing Costs through Optimization, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Remediation Technology Roundtable, Dallas, TX, June 15–17, 2004.
Tonkin, M., and C. Muffels, 2004. Assessing Hydraulic Capture through Combined Analytic Elements and Interpolation. Presentation at the EPA Groundwater Forum, Sacramento, CA, October 2004.