Alexis Sáez awarded the 2026 Rocha Medal
© 2026 EPFL
We are proud to announce that Alexis Sáez, a recent PhD graduate advised by Prof. Brice Lecampion at EPFL Geo-energy Laboratory – Gaznat Chair, has been awarded the prestigious Rocha Medal 2026 by the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM). This award recognizes the most outstanding doctoral thesis in the field of rock mechanics worldwide.
Alexis’s work performed under the supervision of Prof. Brice Lecampion, titled “Three-dimensional fluid-driven frictional ruptures: theory and applications to injection-induced seismicity”, presents a comprehensive theoretical and numerical framework for understanding fluid-driven fault slip in three dimensions—a topic of central importance to geomechanics, earthquake science, and subsurface energy technologies.
His work includes the development of analytical and numerical solutions for injection-induced aseismic and seismic fault slip, and scaling laws that explain the spatiotemporal evolution and magnitude of such events across laboratory to field scales. The results offer critical insights into the physics governing fluid-induced seismicity and its mitigation, with applications ranging from geothermal energy and geological carbon storage in the geo-energy industry to the understanding of natural phenomena such as seismic swarms and slow earthquakes.
This achievement reflects the innovative spirit and scientific rigor of Alexis’s research and its impact on the field of rock mechanics.
Alexis will receive his award at the 14th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium, which will be held in Fukuoka, Japan, in November 2026.
Congratulations, Alexis!
The official announcement can be found on the ISRM website https://isrm.net/newsletter/show/262#isrm-award-winners-were-announced-during-the-eurock2025