PROGRAM PERSONNEL
Dr. Flemings studies stratigraphy and flow in porous media. He uses seismic, well, and core data to characterize subsurface systems, he uses theoretical modeling to study stratigraphic and hydrodynamic evolution, and he uses laboratory analysis to study geomechanical properties of low permeability rocks. Dr. Flemings is a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, and a Research Scientist at both the Bureau of Economic Geology and the Institute for Geophysics. |
John “Jack” Germaine is a Senior Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a world leader in experimental methods in geotechnical analysis. In recent years Jack has worked on small-strain nonlinearity of normally consolidated clay and has explored factors affecting the initial stiffness of cohesive soils. |
Gang Luo earned his Ph.D. in geosciences from University of Missouri-Columbia, in 2009, his M.S. and B.S. in geophysics and geology from Peking University, P.R. China. His primary research interest is computational geodynamics and finite element modeling on stress within and around salt, fluid flow, fault interactions, earthquake stress triggering, crustal/lithospheric stress and strain evolution during earthquake cycles. |
Maria is a Civil/Geotechnical Engineer. She earned her ScD from MIT in 2008, her MSc from MIT and her Diploma from NTUA, Greece. She specializes in theoretical soil mechanics and the constitutive modeling of earth materials. She is interested in understanding the stress state within and around salt bodies. Before joining the Bureau, Maria worked as a postdoc for Shell in the Depleted Drilling Group. |
Julia joined the UTGeoFluids group in Fall 2006. Her interests are in mudrock consolidation, overpressure generation and evolution, and subsurface fluid flow. As part of the UT Geofluids group, Julia is involved in geotechnical laboratory experimentation to analyze material properties, fabric as well as compression and permeability behavior of mudrocks. She is working on various materials such as Boston Blue Clay and Nankai mudstone from offshore Japan. Julia earned her Ph.D. in Geosciences from The University of Texas in 2011, her B.S. and M.S. in Geosciences from the University of Bremen. |
Athma joined UT Geofluids as a postdoctoral fellow in April 2012. He earned his Ph.D. from University of Southampton, and M. Eng degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Tokyo. Athma's main research interests lie in experimental geomechanics, more specifically, laboratory study of deformation and flow in geomaterials (soils and rocks). During his PhD, he developed a novel digital image-based deformation measurement system for triaxial tests and used it to study the initiation and evolution of failures in a naturally locked sand. He examines the underlying mechanics of observed macro-scale behavior of geomaterials. |
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Peter is responsible for all UTGeoFluid laboratory facilities at UT’s Pickle Research Campus. He is responsible for all laboratory activities, safety, purchasing, managing of personnel and equipment, and is the UTGeoFluids official brewer. His background is in fluvial geomorphology where he used experimentally derived mechanical properties of rock to constrain bedrock channel evolution and morphology. Peter received a BS in geology and MS in applied geosciences from San Francisco State University in 2007 and 2009 respectively. |
Donnie provides mechanical support and assistance with machinery in the GeoFluids lab. Donnie received an BS in Physics from Auburn University and an ME in Radiological Health Engineering from the University of Michigan. |
Tessa is responsible for project management and marketing activities of the UT GeoFluids Consortium. She is the webmaster, logistic person, and all around answer lady. In addition Tessa is responsible for coordinating the annual UTGeoFluids meeting and oversees financial management of the consortium. |
Heather is a consultant for the UT GeoFluids group. She serves as the UT GeoFluids librarian, data manager, and assists with running a productive research group. She resides in State College, Pennsylvania and works for NASA in her free time. |
Jennifer is with the Bureau of Economic Geology. She assists UT GeoFluids with travel and administrative needs. |
Amy joined the MIT team in 2009 and is working on a thesis related to stress dependent permeability anisotropy behavior of clays. Her work involves laboratory experiments on resedimented Boston Blue Clay and includes flexible wall constant head tests as well as constant rate of strain (CRS) tests. Cubic specimens are used to allow multidirectional testing on a single specimen in the constant head device. Amy earned her bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada and gained interest in laboratory testing and material behavior through co-op work placements with a geotechnical engineering firm. |
William is studying consolidation and deformation of mudstones in the Nankai Trough area of offshore Japan. He joined the UT Geofluids group in 2010. He has a B.S. in Geology from Brigham Young University, and completed an internship with NASA in 2009. |
Brendan is a PhDstudent studying geotechnical engineering at MIT. He completed a BEng in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University College Cork, Ireland, in 2009 and joined the UT Geofluids group in early 2010. Brendan’s research focuses on high stress one-dimensional consolidation and undrained shear behavior of cohesive soil. He is also developing a new high pressure triaxial testing device with associated auxiliary equipment for testing conventional sized soil specimens in compression and extension modes of shear as well as having capabilities for one-dimensional consolidation. |
Michael joined the UT GeoFluids consortium in fall 2011 after receiving a B.S. degree in Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering and a B.S. degree in Geosciences (Honors) from the Pennsylvania State University in May 2011. As a first year PhD student, his research interests include geomechanics, methane hydrates, and large scale fluid flow modeling. Currently he is working on transient permeability measurement techniques in mud rock. Undergraduate internships include working as a hydrologist for the USGS (Summer 2009), as a production engineer at ConocoPhilips (Summer 2010), and as a reservoir engineer at Shell (Summer 2011). |
Amer is a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT studying geotechnical engineering. His research is dedicated to the quantification of mudrock microfabric through image analysis of high resolution SEM micrographs. In particular, he is investigating micro-textural features causing permeability anisotropy of mudrocks. |
Brian is a Masters student studying Geotechnical Engineering at MIT. He completed a BEng in Civil Engineering at the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2007. He has spent 5 years working with a civil engineering contractor specialising in the construction of microtunnels and caissons and he joined the UTGeoFluids group in 2012. |
Baiyuan joined UT-GeoFluids group in the fall of 2010 after earning her B.S. in resource exploration engineering from China University of Petroleum. Her research interests are pore pressure prediction, basin modeling and petroleum system. Baiyuan is currently working on pore pressure prediction within dipping reservoirs. She will systematically study the effects of reservoir relief, shale properties, and 3D geometry on reservoir pressure. She will also develop simple approaches to predict the in-situ reservoir pressure. |
Jana is a Masters student majoring in Geotechnical Engineering. She graduated from MIT in 2010 with a B.S. degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering. She first became acquainted with the geotech field doing research in the soils lab under Dr. Germaine as an undergraduate. After deciding to continue her studies at MIT, she joined the UT Geofluids group and is conducting her research in the use of Bender Elements to propagate waves through soil specimens and accurately determine the soil's properties under different confining stresses. |
Dylan joined the UT GeoFluids consortium in the fall of 2012 after graduating with high honors from Eckerd College with a B.S. degree in Marine Science (geophysics concentration) and a B.S. degree in Computer Science in May of that same year. His interest in geophysical research has been cultivated through numerous undergraduate internships including the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institute (Summer 2009), US Geological Survey (Summer 2010 and Summer 2012), and Incorporate Research Institutes for Seismology/Center for Earthquake Research and Information (Summer 2011). |
Yao joined the group in fall, 2009. He is now working with Dr. Peter Flemings and Dr. David Mohrig in Jackson School of Geosciences. His interests are in quantitative modeling of crustal fluids and geomorphology. He is currently studying failure in sand caused by breaching in subaqueous and submarine environments, and he is also trying to model the pore pressure in Ursa Basin using soil properties measured by the GeoFluids group. Yao earned his B.S. from Peking University in China and he majored geology and mathematics. He then got his Master's degree in Indiana University where he worked with Dr. Mark Person on pore pressure in compacting basins and fluid flow in faults. |
Amy Lynn Adams
Brendan Casey
Amer Deirieh
Brian Fahy
Jana Marjanovic 
Ruarri is interested in mudstone diagenesis, fabric anisotropy and physical properties. He joined Shell following his work with UT GeoFluids |
Aiden studied Geotechnical Engineering at MIT. He studied the effect of salt concentration on the compressibility of soils such as Gulf of Mexico mudrock and Boston Blue Cla. This work helped develop a geomechanical model for mudrocks that will better allow us to predict compaction behavior, pore pressure, and borehole stability at geologic stresses. |
Sean Johnson studied geotechnical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology His research interest included Wave Propagation through Bender Element agitation using Ticino Sand. |
Michael's research focused on characterizing the pressure and stress at the Mad Dog field that lies directly below an allochthonous salt sheet along the Sigsbee Escarpment in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. He used logging data, direct pressure measurements, and drilling records to understand how the reservoir is segmented and how to predict pore pressure across the field. Upon completion of his M.S., he joined Conocophillips in Houston, TX. UT Thesis: Pressure and Stress at Mad Dog Field, Gulf of Mexico |
Derek studied sedimentation, deformation, and fluid flow on continental margins. Upon completion of his PhD, Derek, joined the Operations Geology group of ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas. UT Thesis: Failure Mechanics, Transport Behavior, and Morphology of Submarine Landslides |
Andrew's work focused on the process of venting and associated hydrate formation at deepwater vents in the Gulf of Mexico. After completing his MS, he joined the marine geology and geophysics research group at the University of Tromsø in Norway as a Fulbright scholar. UT Thesis: Observations and Models of Venting at Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Vents |
Hilary's thesis focused on consolidation characteristics of mass transport complexes in the Ursa Region. Upon completion of her MS, she joined ExxonMobil as an Operations Geologist. UT Thesis: The Origin and Properties of Mass Transport Deposits Ursa Basin, Gulf of Mexico |
Ruarri Day-Stirrat
Aiden Horan, S.M., MIT 
Sean Michael Johnson, S.M., MIT 
Derek Sawyer, PhD 
Hilary Strong, M.S.
