Chao Li brings expertise in the areas of waste isolation, geomechanics, multiphase flow modeling, and risk and uncertainty analyses. He applies this expertise to develop analytical and numerical solutions to thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) problems in complex heterogeneous media to examine a variety of issues, including the safe disposal of radioactive waste, sequestration of carbon dioxide, landslide mechanisms, and subsidence and uplift in reservoirs. In support of the radioactive waste geological disposal programs, Chao develops site-descriptive geological models, repository models for several types of waste (low- and intermediate-level, spent nuclear fuel), and fully-coupled models incorporating regional groundwater, heat transport and geomechanics. He assesses the impacts of stress evolution on the safety of waste repositories, investigates the chemo-physical processes of rocks and clays, and assesses the performance of excavation-, heating-, gas generation- and climate change-induced effects.