Is there a person that studies mud?

Yes, although they tend to study other things too. They’re called either Geologists or Soil Scientists, depending on exactly what sort of mud they look at.

I have a friend who studies mud. She is a sedimentologist and works at our local university as a professor.

e.g. There is this abstract of a paper from Harvard geologists, 2008, funding by Office of Naval Research (ONR).

A numerical modeling framework for the study of wave-mud interaction
Torres-Freyermuth, A.; Hsu, T.
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #OS21E-1215

A numerical modeling framework introduced by Hsu et al. (2007, J. Geophys. Res., 112) is extended here for the study of wave-mud interaction. This approach is based on the Fast Equilibrium Eulerian Approximation (Ferry and Balachandar 2001, Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 27) to the two-phase flow equations. As a part of this framework, a well-validated 2DV depth/phase-resolving wave propagation model (COBRAS, Lin & Liu, 1998, J. Fluid. Mech., 359) based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations has been modified for the study of this problem. The resulting single-phase governing equations and closures reduce to the RANS equations when the sediment concentration approaches zero. Hence, the numerical model is able to simulate continuously and consistently the nonlinear water wave propagation, the fluid-mud generation and transport, the wave-boundary layer processes, turbulence modulation owing to the presence of the fluid-mud, and the rheological effects on attenuating the waves with a single set of balance equations and closures. For monochromatic waves forcing, the time- and depth-dependence of the fluid-mud characteristics were integrated to provide with the input parameters required in Kranenburg’s (2008, Delft University of Technology) two-layer wave propagation model. Qualitative agreement between the two models was observed in terms of the dissipation rate. Preliminary results for the case of a wave group propagating over a muddy seabed confirmed recent field observations pointing out the importance of nonlinear wave interaction for explaining the high dissipation rate at the higher and lower frequencies within the incident wave spectrum. Funding of this study is provided by ONR.

Keywords: 4534 Hydrodynamic modeling, 4546 Nearshore processes, 4558 Sediment transport (1862), 4560 Surface waves and tides (1222), 4568 Turbulence, diffusion, and mixing processes (4490)

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008AGUFMOS21E1215T

Professor Oak studies Muk.

There is also this guy who is a sedimentary geologist. He is a member of both the International Association of Sedimentologists and the Society of Sedimentary Geology (SEPM).

There are people who make and use various types of mud, clay, and straw to build walls/houses

@rangerr

Well I laughed.

You mean when I was making mudpies in my backyard years ago I could have made that my profession?!

I’m currently taking a class on mud and dirt, actually. Soil science. “Mud” has a whole new meaning to me now.

Political Scientists.

@filmfann – I think they just fling mud.. I don’t think they actually study it.

Every civil engineer (at my university at least) had to study mud as part of their degree.