Mike Fienen
Research Hydrologist at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolMike Fienen is a research hydrologist with 15 years of experience at the U.S. Geological Survey, specializing in groundwater modeling, Bayesian inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. He blends rigorous academic training (PhD and MS from Stanford) with practical data science and software development skills, contributing backend code to the widely used flopy Python package for MODFLOW modeling. His work spans uncertainty analysis and building decision-support systems that translate complex hydrogeologic models into actionable guidance for resource managers. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, he has also held leadership roles—including acting deputy director of integrated modeling—and brings both technical depth and programmatic experience. An avid collaborator, he pairs scientific rigor with open-source contributions to improve reproducibility and model interoperability.
15 years of coding experience
4 years of employment as a software developer
BA, Geology/Russian, BA, Geology/Russian at Macalester CollegePh. D., Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology, Ph. D., Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology at Stanford University
Github Skills (9)
model-building10
python10
scientific-computing10
modeling10
model-driven10
numpy10
model-driven-development10
data-structure7
data-structures7
Programming languages (5)
Github contributions (5)
modflowpy/flopy
Dec 2014 - Jan 2023
A Python package to create, run, and post-process MODFLOW-based models.
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:64 commits, 23 PRs, 11 comments in 8 years 2 months
Contributions summary:Mike primarily contributed to the `flopy` Python package, which is designed to create, run, and post-process MODFLOW-based models. Their work focused on modifying and updating specific MODFLOW packages, such as the DRN, GHB, WEL, CHD and UZF packages, adding methods, fixing bugs, and setting default data types. The user's commits show involvement in modifying, extending, and debugging various aspects of the model construction, indicating a focus on back-end development.
pythonmodflowplottingmodelingpython-package
DOI-USGS/neversink_workflow
Sep 2021 - Jun 2023
Contributions:1 review, 2 PRs, 9 pushes in 1 year 9 months
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