University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Claudia Elijas-Parra is a PhD student in Geophysics at the University of Edinburgh, specializing in the rheology of dense unsteady granular flows with shear gradients. Her research focuses on understanding granular temperature and the contact network in complex flows, particularly in pyroclastic density currents, to refine large-scale volcanic hazard models. With expertise in high-performance computing and numerical modeling, she contributes to advancing our knowledge of volcanic processes and geophysical flows.
Profile
🎓 Education
Claudia Elijas-Parra is a PhD candidate in Geophysics at the University of Edinburgh, researching pyroclastic density currents using numerical modeling and high-performance computing. She holds a First-Class Honours MEarthPhys from the same university, with work on geomechanical risk and geophysical flow modeling. She completed her secondary education at Institut Pons D’Icart, Spain, with a 9.7/10 grade and spent an exchange year in London.
💼 Experience
Claudia Elijas-Parra is a PhD candidate in Geophysics at the University of Edinburgh, specializing in numerical modeling of pyroclastic density currents. She holds a First-Class Honours MEarthPhys and has experience as a Tutor & Demonstrator in mathematics, programming, volcanology, and seismology. Previously, she worked as a Research Assistant on catastrophic rock failure and interned to improve hybrid learning strategies. She completed her secondary education in Spain with a 9.7/10 grade and spent an exchange year in London.
🔬 Research Interests
🌋 Granular Flow Rheology – Understanding the dynamics of unsteady shear flows in pyroclastic density currents
💻 High-Performance Computing – Numerical simulations using MFIX-DEM, ParaView, COMSOL Multiphysics
🌍 Volcanic Hazard Assessment – Improving the boundary conditions of large-scale volcanic models
🧱 Rock Mechanics & Failure – Investigating microcrack evolution in deforming porous rocks
🏆 Awards & Grants
🏅 Overseas Research Visit & Conference Fund – E4DTP (2023) (Cities on Volcanoes 12, Guatemala)
🏅 12th SAGES Small Grant – SAGES (2023) (Cities on Volcanoes 12, Guatemala)
🏅 Small EPS Grant – University of Edinburgh (2023) (Cities on Volcanoes 12, Guatemala)
🏅 Certificate of Achievement – University of Edinburgh (2023) (Top Student in Earth Science Masters)
🏅 Small EPS Grant – University of Edinburgh (2022) (Summer Research Internship)
📚 Publication & Conferences
📄 Elijas-Parra et al. (2025). Controls on shear band orientation in deforming porous rocks: insights from improved microcrack segmentation method. 🔗 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2025.105404
🎤 Tectonic Studies Group (TSG) Annual Meeting (Burlington House, London, 2022)
Quantifying crack network evolution during failure of a porous rock
🎤 Cities on Volcanoes 12 (CoV12) (Antigua, Guatemala, 2022)
Basal flow rheology of pyroclastic density currents: Implications for large-scale modeling in volcanic hazard assessment