Rate My Professor Dmitry Nicolsky

Dmitry Nicolsky is a Research Associate Professor in the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a position to which he was promoted in 2020. He received his Ph.D. in Numerical Modeling of Natural Systems from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2007, an M.S. in Mathematics from the same university in 2003, and a B.S. in Physics from St. Petersburg State University, Russia, in 2000. His academic and professional career has emphasized the development of numerical models for geophysical processes impacting Alaska's Arctic and coastal environments.

Nicolsky's research specializations include permafrost dynamics and degradation, modeling of sub-sea permafrost in areas such as the East Siberian Arctic Shelf and Laptev Sea region, coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in soils, and tsunami generation, propagation, and runup. He has produced tsunami inundation maps and hazard assessments for Alaskan communities including western Passage Canal, Whittier, Seward, Chenega Cove, Port Valdez, Sitka, Yakutat, Cold Bay, and Juneau, often in collaboration with the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys. His contributions extend to national efforts like the USGS SAFRR Tsunami Scenario and NTHMP model benchmarking workshops.

Key publications by Nicolsky encompass 'Dependence of the evolution of carbon dynamics in the northern permafrost region on the trajectory of climate change' (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018), 'Ebullition and storm-induced methane release from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf' (Nature Geoscience, 2014), 'Climate change damages to Alaska public infrastructure and the economics of proactive adaptation' (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017), 'Sensitivity of a model projection of near-surface permafrost degradation to soil column depth and representation of soil organic matter' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 2008), 'Modeling long-term permafrost degradation' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 2018), and tsunami studies such as 'Validation and verification of a numerical model for tsunami propagation and runup' (Pure and Applied Geophysics, 2011) and 'Combined effects of tectonic and landslide-generated tsunami runup at Seward, Alaska during the Mw9.2 1964 earthquake' (Pure and Applied Geophysics, 2011). Nicolsky has served on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Faculty Affairs Committee.