About Us

You need answers you can trust. We’ll help you find them.

For over 25 years, Aestus has helped environmental consultants, project managers, and agencies make smarter drilling decisions. We understand the pressure to keep projects moving and the importance of getting it right the first time. That’s why we’ve completed thousands of scans for environmental cleanup, water-resource development, and large industrial projects. Clients trust us because we don’t just hand over raw data. We interpret it and give you clear, actionable insight you can rely on.

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Years of experience in subsurface scanning and data interpretation

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Number of GeoTrax Survey Scans

Number of US States where Aestus has worked
Trusted by :

Who we work with

While much of our history is rooted in helping environmental consultants tackle complex cleanup projects, we also work with trusted experts in a variety of other situations. Regardless of the project, they all have one thing in common: they need to see what’s happening underground to make smart decisions.
Where we make the biggest impact:
  • Environmental cleanup
  • Groundwater development
  • Geohazard mitigation
  • Monitoring site changes over time

Values that shape who we are and how we serve our clients.

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Promote Sustainability
We consider the long-term impact of every project, protecting the environment, the economy, and the health and safety of the communities we serve.
Continual Improvement
We embrace innovation and new technologies so our clients get the most accurate, reliable data and insight available.
Balanced Responsibility
We honor our responsibility to clients, stakeholders, and society—delivering results that are effective, ethical, and fair.
Absolute Integrity
We believe trust is earned through honesty, transparency, and doing what’s right, even when no one’s watching.
Quality Service
Our clients deserve clear communication, reliable results, and an unwavering focus on their success from start to finish.
Mutual Respect
We value the people we work with—our team, partners, and clients—because strong relationships make strong outcomes.

Targeted Design. Faster Closure. Lower Cost.

Without this improved CSM understanding, we would not have been able to target our remedial design investigation by focusing monitoring and planned extraction wells in the high flow pathways so that our chlorinated solvent remediation can be more technically and cost effective.
- Demetrios Klerides, P.E., BCEE
Senior Project Manager
Professional Associate at HDR, Inc

From Contamination to Compliance in Two Years.

I believe a key factor in the success of the project was due to the expertise of Aestus and their use of ultra-high resolution methods for the characterization of the release and the local hydrogeologic environment. Their efforts allowed for the effective design, operation and evaluation of the remedial efforts.
- Guy W. Sewell
President, City of Ada (Oklahoma)
Water Resources Board

Key Team Members

You get more than data. You get expert partners who interpret it and guide you every step of the way.
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Stuart McDonald, P.E.
CEO/Project Executive/Contracting
Biography
Todd Halihan, Ph.D., P.Gp.
CTO/Data Interpretation Lead
Biography
Michael McNair
Project Geologist / Field Team Leader
Biography
Samantha Frandsen, M.Sc.
Hydrogeophysicist / Project Manager
Biography
Kyle Spears, M.Sc.
Technical Sales Manager/Hydrogeologist
Biography
Grant Eastman
Equipment Manager / Field Technician
Biography
Morgan Love, M.Sc.
Senior Project Geologist
Biography
Autumn Town, M.Sc.
Staff Geologist / Field Technician
Biography
Michelle Lahti, PACE
Administrative Director
Biography
Madison Culver, M.Sc.
Staff Geologist / Field Technician
Biography

Our core purpose

Our core purpose is to develop useful solutions to complex problems for the benefit of society and the environment.

Our BHAG

We want to change the paradigm of subsurface characterization and conceptual site model (CSM) development from a drill first, low-data-density approach to a scan first then drill, ultra-high data density and focused approach. This is our Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal (BHAG), to serve those who are tired of “drilling blind.”
Guesswork is the enemy of smart drilling. It leads to wasted money, rework, and nonstop frustration. Aestus scans your site and interprets the data so you can see what’s beneath the surface, make smart decisions, and keep your project moving forward.
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Madison Culver, M.Sc.
Staff Geologist / Field Technician
Since joining Aestus in 2024, Madison has performed various project tasks including field data acquisition, data integration and analysis, 2D and 3D visualization, and project report development.

As an undergraduate at Oklahoma Sate University, Madison utilized electrical resistivity imaging to locate a drilling target for a municipal water well in rural Oklahoma. Her Master’s degree, also from Oklahoma State University, focused on the production and laboratory testing of a novel groundwater tracing particle for use in a sole source aquifer.

Madison previously worked at an environmental consulting firm in Dallas, Texas, where she performed soil/groundwater investigations/reporting, PFAS sampling programs, and Environmental Site Assessments.

Madison is based out of Irving, Texas.
Michelle Lahti, PACE
Administrative Director
Since joining Aestus in 2021, Michelle has supported the CEO and other managers in their day-to-day needs. She also manages human resources and all elements of the many conferences Aestus attends. Michelle works hard to ensure that the needs of stakeholders are addressed in all steps of the business process when working with our clients.
Michelle has a bachelor’s degree in Avionics Engineering Technology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She also has experience as a small business owner, and over 15 years’ experience as an executive assistant in many different industries. She has her Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence (PACE) through the American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP).
Michelle is based out of Wellington, Colorado.
Autumn M. Town, M.Sc.
Staff Geologist / Field Technician
Autumn performs various project tasks for Aestus, including field data acquisition, data integration and analysis, 2D and 3D visualization, and project report development. Since joining Aestus in 2023, she has helped meet project objectives such as mapping stratigraphy, identifying areas of contamination, and characterizing preferential flow pathways at complex sites across the United States.
As an undergraduate at Oklahoma State University, Autumn utilized electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) to evaluate the hydrogeologic effects of PFAS-containing firefighting foams. While completing her Master’s degree, also at Oklahoma State University, she focused primarily on sedimentology and stratigraphy as she studied the effects of depositional and diagenetic processes on porosity development in a tight gas sandstone reservoir.

Autumn is based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Morgan Love, M.Sc.
Senior Project Geologist
Morgan has been a part of the Aestus team since 2012. She supports all aspects of data integration for Aestus in 2D and 3D space, including modeling of geophysical, geochemical, and geologic data. She also performs geophysical data processing and develops quality control and automation protocols to ensure data integrity.

Prior to Aestus, Morgan used her environmental geology undergraduate degree working for a water resource company, a geosciences software company, and a seismic data acquisition company. She holds a Master's Degree in Computer Information Systems.

Morgan is based out of Fort Collins, Colorado.
Grant Eastman
Equipment Manager / Field Technician
Grant maintains all our equipment and vehicles at a firehouse ready status in order for the field team to be ready to mobilize at moment’s notice. He also troubleshoots any technical issues that come up as well as being a member of the field team.

Grant graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Watershed Science. After graduating he completed 8 years of military service with the Colorado Army National Guard, including two deployments to the middle east. Before joining Aestus, he was a senior technician building custom automation equipment and wire harness mockups for aerospace companies.

Grant is based out of Milliken, Colorado.
Kyle W. Spears, M.Sc.
Technical Sales Manager/Hydrogeologist
During his tenure at Aestus, Kyle previously led field teams to perform electrical hydrogeology characterization and identify preferential groundwater flowpaths, NAPL contaminant distribution, and geohazards in alluvial and bedrock sites across the USA. In his current role, Kyle works to build meaningful relationships with existing and new clients and help them solve problems relative to complex subsurface issues at their project sites.

Kyle previously worked for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board as a Groundwater Resources Geologist. He performed groundwater well hydraulic testing and co-authored technical publications on several of the state’s aquifers. As part of completing his Master’s degree at Oklahoma State University he conducted research using electrical hydrogeology to characterize alluvial aquifers and evaluated new methods used to collect deeper data and delineate paleochannel morphology.

Kyle is based out of Edmond, Oklahoma.
Samantha Frandsen, M.Sc
Hydrogeophysicist / Project Manager
Since joining Aestus in 2018, Samantha has performed all aspects of the Aestus project lifecycle, including acquisition field work, processing of geophysical data, data integration, 3D visualization, and reporting. As project manager, she oversees a variety of projects completed at complex sites across the United States and strives to help our clients efficiently leverage Aestus’ high-resolution GeoTrax Survey™ data to improve understanding of subsurface conditions.

Prior to her time with Aestus, she earned her Bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) in Physics from the University of Richmond and taught high school physics as a Teach for America corps member. She then completed her Master’s degree (Distinction) in Exploration Geophysics at the University of Leeds in the UK. For her thesis, she utilized several different geophysical techniques to characterize the subsurface remains of a former gasworks facility for which she was awarded the GETECH award for best overall performance in the Independent Project and the Association for Industrial Archaeology’s Dissertation Award.

When she’s not investigating what’s below the ground, Samantha enjoys exploring all the above-ground fun her Stateline (South Lake Tahoe), NV home has to offer via trail running, mountain biking, and snowboarding.

Samantha is based out of Stateline, Nevada.
Michael McNair
Project Geologist / Field Team Leader
Michael has worked on a variety of project types using Aestus’ electrical hydrogeology techniques to help Aestus’ clients succeed relative to characterization of contaminated sites, evaluating geohazards, municipal water well exploration, and monitoring subsurface changes over time. Michael currently manages Aestus’ field operations to collect high quality subsurface electrical imagery (GeoTrax Survey™) at rural, urban, and industrial sites with complex logistics. When not in the field, Michael is a key member of Aestus’ reporting team and leads or assists with 2D/3D data integration, QC, data interpretation, and reporting.

Michael previously worked at an environmental consulting firm in Dallas, Texas, where he performed soil/groundwater investigations in the field and subsequently developed reports. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Baylor University.

Michael is based out of Orlando, Florida.
Todd Halihan, Ph.D., P.Gp.
CTO/Data Interpretation Lead
Todd’s focus at Aestus centers on subsurface characterization using electrical hydrogeology and sustainable water supply. He is also a professor and the Sun Company Clyde Wheeler Chair in Hydrogeology at Oklahoma State University. He was the National Ground Water Association’s 2018 McEllhiney Lecturer and he is a founding member of the NGWAU program for groundwater outreach and education.

Dr. Halihan is the recipient of the American Institute of Hydrology’s C.V. Theis Award winner. He is also a professional geophysicist (CA), professional driller (OK) and a PADI divemaster.

Todd is based out of Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Stuart W. McDonald, P.E.
CEO/Project Executive/Contracting
Stuart has dedicated over 20 years of his career overseeing the development of Aestus with the goal of empowering clients worldwide to gain more certainty in subsurface issues to make better technical decisions and save time and money on their projects. He has been involved in managing hundreds of projects for Aestus in the USA, Europe, Asia, and South America.

Stuart spent the first decade of his career as an environmental consultant primarily with Canonie Environmental and Harding Lawson Associates and gained experience performing cradle to grave site characterization and remediation work on high profile Superfund and other projects. This experience was the genesis of founding Aestus in 2001 as it became clear that the environmental industry needed more data density and more certainty for optimal decision-making on projects.

Stuart is based out of Loveland, Colorado.