Rate My Professor Benoit Taisne

Benoit Taisne is an Associate Professor in the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he holds the Provost's Chair in Volcanology. He serves as Associate Chair (Research) and Director of the Centre for Geohazard Observations at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, as well as Principal Investigator there since July 2012. He is also faculty in the Division of Earth Sciences, having joined NTU as Assistant Professor in that division in 2012 and advancing to Associate Professor.

Taisne obtained his BSc in Earth Sciences (with distinction) from the École Normale Supérieure de Paris and Université Pierre et Marie Curie (2001-2002). He earned multiple MSc degrees (all with distinction): one from ENS Paris and UPMC (2002-2003), another from ENS Paris (2001-2004), and one from Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (2003-2004). He completed his PhD in Geophysics (with distinction) at IPGP (2004-2008), with a thesis on the "Vicissitudes of ascending magma through the terrestrial crust," supervised by Pr. C. Jaupart and Pr. S. Tait. Postdoctoral research took him to IPGP (2008-2010), where he modeled seismic activity linked to dyke propagation with N. Shapiro, and to the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (2010-2012), studying lava dome stability. Prior experiences included volcanological monitoring at Piton de la Fournaise Observatory (2007), seismology at Montserrat (2009), GPS measurements in Jordan (2005), and graduate projects on gas precursors to eruptions, magma mingling, and intermittent lava dome growth mechanics.

His research specializations encompass volcanology, magma transport dynamics, geophysics, and modeling, with emphasis on magma migration, dome emplacement, dike propagation through layered rocks, and infrasound for volcanic eruption characterization. Key publications include Rivalta, E. et al., "A review of mechanical models of dike propagation: Schools of thought, results and future directions" (Tectonophysics, 2015); Taisne, B. & Jaupart, C., "Dike propagation through layered rocks" (Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2009); Taisne, B. et al., "Imaging the dynamics of magma propagation using radiated seismic intensity" (Geophysical Research Letters, 2011); Taisne, B. et al., "Conditions for the arrest of a vertical propagating dyke" (Bulletin of Volcanology, 2011); and Taisne, B. & Tait, S., "Effect of solidification on a propagating dike" (Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2011). Taisne received the Nanyang Education Award in 2019, the university's highest honor for teaching excellence, and the College of Science College Award in 2021. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union and European Geosciences Union.