Research
I study the effect of rock-fluid interactions on rock properties. When monitoring many geophysical processes—for example, fluid disposal or storage, thermal and chemical stimulation of reservoirs, or naturally occurring thermo-chemical processes—the likelihood of fluid-rock chemical interactions raises numerous concerns. Unpredicted rock alteration can cause leaks leading to ground and surface contamination, can undermine the efficacy of certain stimulation practices, and can lower the rock strength exposing the area to seismic activity. To prevent unexpected outcomes in these situations, we must address an important scientific question: how to geophysically characterize, with more accuracy than is currently available, the effect of rock-fluid interactions on rock properties?
My research focuses on deciphering the geophysical response of rock-fluid interactions. My group and I are using a sophisticated experimental approach that includes multi-physics, multi-scale imaging, and time-dependence to understand the effects on the observed geophysical parameters of the wide spectrum of changes that a rock experiences as a result of coupled thermo-chemo-mechanical processes.
Practical applications of my research include the geophysical characterization of the chemical and physical changes that a rock formation experiences upon the injection of fluids for the purpose of storage (i.e., CO2) and enhancement of the production of fossil energy (i.e., unconventional reservoirs and formation damage).
Teaching
My undergraduate teaching focuses on introducing students to the topic of energy and the challenges surrounding it so they can get prepared to become environmentally aware members of society. As part of this objective, I developed a new course, The Water-Energy Nexus. Students learn about the basic concepts of the conjoined management of the water and energy resources and gain a practical knowledge of how research is done. Under the instructor's guidance, the students choose a question of interest for a short, literature-based research project related to the course theme. At the graduate level, I offer classes and seminars on experimental rock physics (GP162- Laboratory Methods In Geophysics). The class combines theoretical lectures and hands-on demonstrations of laboratory procedures. Students learn the underpinning knowledge for experimental rock physics and develop laboratory skills –e.g., making deductions from measurements, familiarizing with apparatus and measurement techniques, acquiring critical awareness, bridging theory and practice.
To adapt knowledge and skills to the high-tech student’s lifestyle and inspire and engage the next generation of experimental scientists, I am leading a project that is designed to complement lectures on laboratory techniques and analytical methods with an online repository of visualized experiments. The repository is composed of interactive, 3-D animated renderings that show how to assemble and operate laboratory set-ups for conducting experiments, and measure rock properties that are central to the characterization of the Earth sub-surface.
The tools provide a virtual laboratory to facilitate teaching of introductory laboratory classes and expose students from other institutions to techniques that might be unavailable to them due to the lack of a rock-physics laboratory in their Geosciences. facilities.