Rate My Professor Matthias Leopold

Matthias Leopold is a Professor and serves as Department Head for Environmental Science in the UWA School of Agriculture and Environment at the University of Western Australia. Prior to this, he was a Senior Scientist at the Technical University Munich TUM Science Center Weihenstephan. As a soil geomorphologist, he focuses on soils and their properties to better understand landscape evolution and soil functions. He integrates knowledge from pedology and geoscience to examine near-surface processes at various scales and in diverse environments. Leopold develops 2D and 3D subsurface models using geophysical methods to portray the complexity of the subsurface critical zone and applies numerical dating techniques such as optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon to stratigraphic sections.

His research expertise spans soil science, geomorphology, critical zone science, geoarchaeology, and shallow geophysics. Key projects include developing the Avon River Critical Zone Observatory as an international platform studying water-soil-plant-atmosphere connections; establishing the Australian Critical Zone network with five university partners; innovative cover systems for mine site rehabilitation in collaboration with BHP and O'Kane Consultants; investigations into water repellence in Western Australian sandy soils; subsurface hydrology in Western Australian karst systems using electrical resistivity tomography; subsurface conditions of high alpine Mauna Kea, Hawaii; and geoarchaeological studies of the Dampier Archipelago. Leopold has obtained funding through 26 grants totaling significant amounts, including the ARC Linkage project Dating Murujuga's Rock Art (2020-2024, $3,463,000) and Laying foundations for the Australian Critical Zone Observatory (2021-2023, $70,000). He coordinates the Bachelor of Science with a major in Environmental Science and units such as EART3338 Land Capability Assessment and ENVT4401 Advanced Land Use Management. Notable publications include 'Seismic constraints on critical zone architecture, Boulder Creek watershed, Front Range, Colorado' (2011), 'Colluvium: Definition, differentiation, and possible suitability for reconstructing Holocene climate data' (2007), 'Chronology and erosion rate of the Pinedale glaciation, Colorado Front Range (USA)' (2024), and 'Estimating regolith thickness in the complex lateritic landscape of the southern zone of rejuvenated drainage in Southwest Western Australia' (2026). His work has garnered 1,642 Scopus citations and an h-index of 23.