I am part of the Stanford Total Enhanced Modeling of Source Rock (STEMS) project working on a novel triaxial, high pressure/high temperature, X-ray transparent core holder for in-situ monitoring and visualization of the geomechanics of rocks under extreme reservoir conditions.

My PhD research is about the analysis and application of TPWL (trajectory piecewise linearization) method in reservoir simulation. TPWL is one type of ROM (Reduced-Order Modeling) methods. My interest is about how to better control the TPWL method (how far the perturbation TPWL can handle), using mathematical perspective and computational experiments.

* DFT calculations of trace metal uptake on mineral oxide nanoparticles emitted from coal combustion processes
* Relationship of particle size and chemistry to health effects
* Surface characterization experiments using SEM and XAS techniques

I'm working on linear solver framework in Stanford's reservoir simulator (AD-GPRS). More broadly, I'm interested in efficient solution/preconditioning strategies and parallel algorithms in subsurface flow modeling.

Metallic membranes for energy and environmental application
CO2 capture and storage (CCS)
Hydrogen (H2) production and utilization
Metal-hydrogen and metal-nitrogen interaction

Thin-metal composite fabrication
Material characterization (SEM, XRD, XPS)
In-situ X-ray Diffraction using synchrotron radiation lightsource

Plane-wave density functional theory (DFT)
Electronic structure theory

Addressing the Propogation of Seismic Image Uncertainty Through the Reservoir Forecasting Process.

My research focuses on understanding physical mechanisms that cause injection-triggered seismicity. I am designing engineering strategies to mitigate triggered seismicity by leveraging knowledge of the coupled processes of subsurface fluid flow, geomechanics, and earthquake dynamics.

I am also interested in petroleum and geothermal reservoir geomechanics, especially as applied to reservoir stimulation technologies.

My research interests involve developing and using microfluidic platforms to visualize pore-scale flow phenomena relevant to reservoir engineering. Secondary and tertiary recovery can cause clay particles to detach from the rock matrix and block subsequent pore space, significantly reducing reservoir permeability. Currently, I am conducting experiments to visualize the impact of brine composition and salt concentration on the release of clay particles from the rock matrix.

Yao is working on an interdisciplinary project under Stanford Center for Reservoir Forecasting (SCRF) and Stanford Basin and Petroleum System Modeling Group (BPSM). Her research investigated advanced uncertainty quantification and geostatistical tools to improve basin and petroleum system models and enhance the hydrocarbon characterizations in different scales.