Natural clays are fascinating materials, especially so-called quick clays, a major geohazard, which are natural soils that can have a sudden irreversible phase change from solid to liquid due to small perturbations in environmental conditions. The project will pursue innovative modeling, testing and data analyses of natural clays starting from materials science scales. The clay-platelet level behavior will be inferred from unique experimental data, obtained with state-of-the-art diffraction and 3D imaging techniques, using data driven physics-based modeling at the particle scale. The novelty lies in advancing the Discrete Element Method towards modeling of clay platelets starting from image data, creating a virtual CLAYLAB. The actual shapes of natural clay particles will be incorporated via the Level Set Discrete Element Method (LSDEM), as well as the effects of non-frictional inter-particle forces, i.e., electrostatic forces that emerge as apparent bonding in clays at engineering scale. The resulting CLAYLAB will provide a powerful tool to investigate the complex behavior of natural clays at the particle scale, as well as aids the development of future models across the scales. The advanced knowledge and skillset of the experienced researcher in micro-mechanical modeling of geomaterials will be combined with the unique experimental data and capabilities offered by the host institute.