The possibility of causing felt seismic events because of CO

2

injection could be a “showstopper” to deploying large-scale CO

2 storage.

A 2013 National Academy of Sciences report, Induced Seismicity in Energy Technologies, stated that “Given that the potential magnitude of an induced seismic event correlates strongly with the fault rupture area, which in turn relates to the magnitude of pore pressure change and the rock volume in which it exists, large-scale CCS may have the potential for causing significant induced seismicity.”

Based on the DOE Midterm Review and the GSCO2 Annual Review Meeting, the GSCO2 recognized its unique position to

conduct research that will lead to better understanding of the mechanical and seismic properties of geologic formations that influence the occurence of microseismicity.

This research consists of measuring and predicting mechanical properties of rocks and modeling (computational and laboratory) the transmission of energy through geologic formations as it relates to microseismicity induced by CO

2 injection and storage.

The Center has a single overarching research question:

What are the mechanisms of injection-induced microseismicity, and can we control and predict its occurrence?

To effectively answer this question, the Executive Committee,

identified five research themes (see insert) named Microseismicity, Geo-mechanical Measurements, Reser-voir-scale Geology, Geochemical Reactions, and Pore-scale Pressure Transmission. In addition, research-ers were added with expertise in measurements of mechanical prop-erties of rocks at the pore and core scale and computational modeling of energy transmission through pore space and surrounding solid rock fabric (grains and cementation).

This research is based on the collective experience of the research team, including experience from the Illinois Basin–Decatur Project, the GSCO2’s deep subsurface obser-vatory. Data and results from this observatory are used to test hypotheses and validate models. Because the measured and located microseismic events at the deep sub-surface observatory are proximate to the injection well and perforated interval, the research plans are focused on the Lower Mt. Simon Sandstone (the injection interval), Argenta Formation (below the Mt. Simon), and Precambrian crystalline basement (below the Argenta). The Argenta and Precambrian are both believed to have joints present and possibly faults with modest offset.

Newsletter for the Center for Geologic Storage of CO2

a US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Energy Frontier Research Center

GSCO2 in FocusJanuary 2017Issue 2

GSCO2 research focuses on mechanical properties of rocks and microseismicity

www.GSCO2.org

Page 1

GSCO2 Research Questions• How can the links between injection-induced

microseismicity and the stress field be unravelled?• How can measurements of geomechanical properties

at pore and core scales be improved?• How do pore fluid pressure fluctuations transmit in,

and affect the state of, porous and fractured media?• How do reservoir-scale geologic features relate

to geomechanical and seismic properties of rocks?• In the presence of specific geologic attributes/

features, how do CO2 and brine mixtures affect the

geomechanical and seismic properties of rocks?

Directing the Center for Geologic Storage of CO2 within the guidelines and

expectations of the Energy Frontier Research Center program is a unique experience. The program, which is sponsored by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Science division (DOE OS BES), has no explicit deliverables, unlike many other contracts. At a very high level, we are expected to collaborate, produce, and educate.

Collaborative research begins at the grass-root level. There is a keen distinction between “working together” and collaborating. The EFRC program expects collaboration to be a symbiotic relationship between researchers—that is, researchers must be involved with all aspects of each other’s work, from designing experiments to interpreting results. “Working together” is described when researchers work autonomously but their results are shared with each other and are integral to each other’s research. This has been described as “handing off” to

each other, which is much less desirable to the EFRC program compared to collaboration.Doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars are integral to the research plan. We educate the next generation

of scientists by providing unique and meaningful experiences for these students and scholars. They are able to contribute to the scientific community through publications, build skills and knowledge in their respective disciplines, and network with fellow researchers from other institutes. We track our alumni’s post-GSCO2 accomplishments in academia, government, and industry.

Publications with multi-institute co-authors are the ultimate product of collaborative research. The EFRC program gauges productivity by quantity and quality of high-impact, peer-reviewed journal publications. Research that results in single-institute publications should be minimized under the auspices of the EFRC program.

The Center’s organizational structure is designed to meet the program’s expectations. We have five themes that consist of 16 principal investigators, 11 PhD students, and six postdoctoral scholars. Three to five institutes are represented in each theme. The members of each theme collaborated in developing their research plans so that the subsequent research completed collaboratively leads to multi-institute publications.

Because the EFRC program focuses on basic research, GSCO2 research must not be applied; however, use-inspired basic research is intended to lead to a solution to a specific observed problem. Observations during the injection of CO

2 at the Illinois Basin–Decatur Project were instrumental in identifying the new areas of

research: microseismicity and mechanical properties of rocks. Nevertheless, the GSCO2’s basic research contributes to the DOE OS BES Grand Challenge: How do we characterize and control matter away—especially very far away—from equilibrium?

Results from our external review identified and subsequently recommended that mechanical properties of rocks and the associated microseismicity as our sole research focus. The possibility of seismic events occurring as a consequence of large-scale CO

2

injection is finite. Recent seismic activity due to water injection in basal sands makes this a potential show-stopper for CO

2 storage. Basic research that leads

to technologies that can characterize mechanical properties of the geological subsurface and control and predict the occurence of injection-induced seismicity can address one of the commercial challenges to CO

2 storage.

Scott

Page 2

Letter from the Director

Illustration credit: Daniel Byers; modified by Scott Frailey, ISGS.Photo credit: Joel Dexter, ISGS.

Photo credit: Joel Dexter, ISGS.

Page 3

PublicationsFreiburg, J.T., R.W. Ritzi, and K.S. Kehoe, 2016,

Depositional and diagenetic controls on anom-alously high porosity within a deeply buried CO

2 storage reservoir—The Cambrian Mt. Si-

mon Sandstone, Illinois Basin, USA: Inter-national Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, v. 55, p. 42–54. Impact factor (2015): 4.064.

Bakhshian, S., and M. Sahimi, 2016, Computer simulation of the effect of deformation on the morphology and flow properties of porous me-dia: Physical Review E, v. 94, p. 042903-1– 042903-17. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.94.042903

Malmir, H., M. Sahimi, and M.R.R. Tabar, 2016, Microstructural characterization of random packings of cubic particles: Scientific Re-ports, v. 6, p.1–9. doi: 10.1038/srep35024

Gershenzon, N., R.W. Ritzi Jr., D.F. Dominic, E. Mehnert, and R.T. Okwen, 2016, Comparison of CO

2

trapping in highly heterogeneous reservoirs with Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten type capillary pressure curves: Advances in Water Resources, v. 96, p. 225–236. doi: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.07.022

Tsuji, T., F. Jiang, and K.T. Christensen, 2016, Characterization of immiscible fluid displace-ment processes with various capillary num-bers and viscosity ratios in 3D natural sand-stone: Advances in Water Resources, v. 95, p.

3–15. doi: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.03.005Ritzi, R.W., J.T. Freiburg, and N.D. Webb, 2016,

Understanding the (co)variance in petrophysi-cal properties of CO

2 reservoirs compris-

ing sedimentary architecture: International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, v. 51, p. 423–434. doi: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.05.001

Klokov, A., and B. Hardage, 2016, SV-P and S-S imaging at a CO

2 storage site using verti-

cal seismic profiling data: International Jour-nal of Greenhouse Gas Control, v. 46, p. 259–270. doi: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.01.014

Gershenzon, N.I., R.W. Ritzi Jr., D.F. Dominic, M. Soltanian, E. Mehnert, and R.T. Okwen, 2015, In-fluence of small-scale, fluvial, sedimentary archi-tecture on CO

2 trapping processes in deep saline

aquifers: Water Resources Research, v. 51, no. 10, p. 8240–8256. doi:10.1002/2015WR017638.

Laleian, A., A.V. Valocchi, and C.J. Werth, 2015, An In-compressible, Depth-averaged Lattice Boltzmann method for liquid flow in microfluidic devices with variable aperture: Computation, v. 3, no. 4, p. 600–615. doi: 10.3390/computation3040600

Yoon, H., Q. Kang, and A.J. Valocchi, 2015, Lattice Boltzmann-Based approaches for pore-scale reactive transport: Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, v. 80, no. 1, p. 393–431. doi: 10.2138/rmg.2015.80.12

Charles Monson, MS Theme: Reservoir-scale GeologyPhD student Charles Monson is pursuing a PhD in geology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the guidance of Dr. Jim Best. His primary research is sedimentology and stratigraphy of clastics. Charles holds a BS (geoscience) and an MS (geoscience, paleontology emphasis) from the University of Iowa. He has been with the ISGS since 2010, where he is currently an Assistant Project Coordinator in the Energy Research and Development section. Monson is working on sedimentology and paleoenvironmental interpretations of the Argenta (located below the Mt. Simon), and their relationship to geomechanical properties that may influence microseismicity occurrence.Sahar Bakhshian, MS Theme: Pore-scale Pressure TransmissionPhD student Sahar Bakhshian is a PhD student in chemical engineering under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Sahimi at USC. Her research interests include modeling and simulation of porous materials, fluid flow, and other transport phenomena in porous media. She received her BS in chemical engineering from Isfahan University of Technology (Isfahan, Iran) and MS degree in environmental engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran, Iran). Sahar is working on simulation of deformation of porous media and packed beds using numerical methods, lattice Boltzmann, and molecular simulation.

Student Portrait in a Paragraph

Photo court. of C. Monson, UIUC.

Photo court. of S. Bakhshian, USC.

Image of the Issue: Micro-CT scans of core sampes after triaxial loading

Page 4

New ResearchersDr. Ange-Therese Akono is an assistant professor

in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Dr. Akono is also an affiliate faculty in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering and a faculty fellow at the Nation-al Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Akono’s research investigates fracture and failure mechanisms in complex materials systems from the molecular level up to the macroscopic scale.

Dr. Alexey Bezryadin is a professor in the Department of Physics at the UIUC. His current research is in three critical and related areas of the physics of low-dimen-sional nanoscale systems: quantum superconductor- insulator transitions in one-dimensional supercon-ductors; electronic properties of DNA molecules; and Aharonov-Bohm effects in carbon nanotubes.

Dr. Jennifer Druhan is an assistant professor in the Department of Geology at the UIUC. She is a long-time associate of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and collaborates with Earth Science Division scientists in development and application of reactive transport software. Her research focuses on the relationship between phys-ical structure and chemical reactivity in aquifers.

Dr. Ahmed Elbanna is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the UIUC. His research focuses on developing computational and analytical models for complex material behavior such as friction, adhe-sion, fracture, and viscoplasticity, and elucidating the implications of these phenomena, in lieu of oth-er microstructural geometric features, on fracture toughness and optimality in multiscale systems.

Dr. Roman Makhnenko is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technol-ogy in Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland) from 2013–2016, who will be joining the UIUC in the fall of 2016. His current research is related to assessing geological storage of CO

2, including thermo-hydro-

mechanical and petrophysical characterization of possible host rock (sandstones and limestones) and caprock (shales) in contact with high-pressure CO

2.

Dr. John S. Popovics is a professor in the Depart-ment of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the UIUC and also holds the title of CEE Excellence Scholar. He has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute and the American Society for Nondestructive Testing. His research investigates testing, analysis, and novel mea-surements for infrastructure and geologic materials.

Image credit: Dr. Pierre Cerasi, SINTEF.

Reconstruction from micro-CT scans of a Castlegate outcrop plug (left) and a Mt. Simon Sandstone core plug (right), after testing in a triaxial load frame. During testing, a weak fracture plane was created intentionally by increasing differential applied stress past the shear strength of each plug, and then the axial stress was reduced and pore fluid pressure was increased. Though the pressure reduction in the last step was larger compared to the initial stress increase, it still caused large shear deformation accompanied by intense acoustic emission events. The red dots highlight areas with significantly higher porosity as measured by X-ray absorption. After segmenting the absorption data, background porosity was removed to leave only the areas with porosity or void volumes above the threshold value. The ensemble of red dots shows the obtained shear failure plane, confirming localization by acoustic emissions. The interbedded layers in the core on the right have either high porosity or contrasting mineral content. The green zone within the Mt. Simon plug indicates a second fracture plane at a different angle. The plugs are 1.5 in. in diameter and 3 in. long.

Geophysics

Geochemical ReactionsCharles Werth

UTA

Pore-scale Pressure TransmissionAlbert Valocchi

UIUC

Michelle Johnson, GSCO2 CoordinatorMark Yacucci, Center Database Coordinator

Daniel Klen, Assistant Scienti�c Editor

Executive CommitteeScience Advisory CouncilIndustry Advisory Board

Scott M. FraileyGSCO2 Director

and Lead PI

Geomechanics

Geomechanical MeasurementsJohn Popovics

UIUC

Sergey StanchitsSLB

Michael JordanSINTEF

Roman MakhnenkoAlexey Bezryadin

UIUC

GeomechanicsAngela GoodmanDustin Crandall

NETL

Ange-Therese AkonoJennifer Druhan

UIUC

Kristian JessenTheodore Tsotsis

USC

GeomechanicsDustin CrandallNETL

Kenneth ChristensenUND

Muhammad SahimiUSC

Ahmed ElbannaUIUC

Reservoir-scale GeologyDustin Sweet

TTU

Geomechanics

David DominicNaum Gershenzon

Robert RitziWSU

Robert BauerJames Best

Scott FraileyStephen Marshak

UIUC

MicroseismicityVolker OyeNORSAR

Robert BauerEdward Mehnert

Roland OkwenUIUC

GeomechanicsBettina Goertz-AllmannNORSAR

Pierre CerasiSINTEF

Sergey StanchitsSLB

Steve WhittakerGSCO2 Associate Director

Calvin BarnesMelanie Barnes Paul Sylvester

TTU

Bettina Goertz-AllmannVolker OyeNORSAR

The new GSCO2 organizational structure consists of groups of researchers that collaborated to draft the technical responses that form the teams for each theme. These small multi-institute teams will ensure that this focused, collaborative research leads to multi-institute publications.

The Director recruited leaders for each question and new GSCO2 researchers. These leaders held 1-hour kickoff meetings to develop ideas for a technical response to their respective question, and all new and existing GSCO2 researchers were invited to the meetings. Smaller groups of researchers who had interest in a specific question collaborated through follow-up meetings and email exchanges to draft their technical response, which was submitted to the Director.

In addition, the Center added the position of Associate Director, who will assist the Director with issues and challenges related to the functionality of the Center, such as staff effectiveness and reallocating resources to pursue new, promising research directions. The Associate Director is a member of the Executive Committee, which includes the Director and theme leaders.

Dr. Edward Mehnert, a geohydrologist at the Illinois State Geological Survey, served as the first Associate Director. Dr. Mehnert was the Multiphysics Flow and Transport Theme Coordinator and member of the Executive Committee for the past two years. He retired at the end of December 2016. The GSCO2 staff thanks him for the time, commitment, and knowledge he gave to the Center. Dr. Steve Whittaker, Director of Energy Research and Development at the Illinois State Geological Survey, assumed the role of GSCO2 Associate Director on January 1.

The GSCO2 also added four doctoral students and two postdoctoral researchers. These new students and post-docs bring the total number of students, post-docs, and early career professionals in the Center to 25.

Organizational Structure

Page 5

GSCO2 by the Numbers•29 senior/key personnel•16 principal investigators•20 post-docs and students•5 early career professionals•11 partner institutions

Dr. Edward Mehnert, the first Associate Director, who retired at the end of 2016. Photo credit: Joel Dexter, ISGS.

Students Portrait in a Paragraph

Page 6

Research Themes

Geomechanical MeasurementsHow can measurements of geomechanical properties at pore and core scales be improved?

Completing coordinated but distinct laboratory-scale experiments focusing on characterization of thermo-hydro-mechanical properties of rock will provide improved measurement capability and further enable the linkage of important reservoir material behavior processes, specifically injection- induced microseismicity, across the pore and core scales. New (X-ray CT scanning, advanced ultrasonics) and conventional (electrical resistivity) experimental measurement methods will be used.

Geochemical ReactionsIn the presence of specific geologic attributes/ features, how do CO

2 and brine mixtures affect the

geomechanical and seismic properties of rocks?

Geochemical reactions promoted by CO2 alter the

stress field and reduce mineral strength along grain boundaries, thus promoting fracture propagation. Similar cores will be characterized, exposed to CO

2-saturated brine, and then evaluated for

changes in mineralogy, rock mechanical properties, and fracturing. Nanoindentation, sliding friction, and scratch tests will be used on rock samples with pre- and post-exposure to CO

2-saturated brine.

Xiao Ma, MSPhD studentTheme: Pore-scale Pressure Transmission

Xiao Ma is a PhD student in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of Dr. Ahmed Elbanna. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Jilin University, China, and an MS in civil engineering from the UIUC. His research focuses on modeling solid amorphous material and earthquake mechanics.

MicroseismicityHow can the links between injection-induced micro-seismicity and the stress field be unravelled?

Small, critically stressed fractures that are distributed in clusters with variable orientation are triggered to slip as a response to small changes in the in-situ stress field, associated with minor increases in pore pressure. By injecting fluids at low pressures, artifi-cial fractures will be tested for slip. Computational experiments will be conducted to understand the effect of pressure propagation at the continuum scale to cause microseismicity in small clusters as a consequence of very low pore pressure increases.

Pore-scale Pressure TransmissionHow do pore fluid pressure fluctuations transmit in, and affect the state of, porous and fractured media?

Modeling coupled stress, strain, and multiphase flow processes that induce microseismicity must have pore-scale geologic heterogeneity represented. Realistic geologic heterogeneity of flow paths and solid skeleton can lead to localized increase in pore pressure, leading to localized failure of the solid skeleton or slippage of pre-existing cracks across all scales, thus inducing microseismic events. Models of pore-scale heterogeneity will be developed based on high-resolution CT scans of rock core.

Reservoir-scale GeologyHow do reservoir-scale geologic features relate to geomechanical and seismic properties of rocks?

A nexus of new research on geologic architecture, new approaches for relating geomechanical properties and seismic velocities to geologic facies, and new research on depositional-based approaches to simulating geologic facies will lead to significant advances in modeling three-dimensional spatial variation in geomechanical properties and seismic velocities. The contact between the basal sedimen-tary rocks and underlying crystalline basement (igeneous, metamorphic, or both) will be studied.

Photo courtesy of Xiao Ma, UIUC.

Page 7

Understanding the relationships between sedimentary architecture in geologic formations and the variation in petrophysical attributes provides a better evaluation of how injected CO

2 migrates

through a reservoir. Dr. Robert Ritzi (Wright State Univ.), Jared Freiburg, and Nathan Webb (UIUC) have published a paper that provides a hierarchical analy-sis of textural factors affecting the sample variance of petrophysical attributes in a sedimentary reservoir. This analysis allows for a useful, simple, and straight-forward quantitative description of how a sample (co)variance arises from a hierarchy of textural factors of the reservoir rock, such as depth, grain size, bedding, and bleaching alteration.

The authors used a data set from the deep subsur-face observatory, where CO

2 was injected into a saline

geologic formation with sedimentary architecture. The results quantify the magnitude that each textural factor contributes to the (co)variance, and thus clarify each textural factor’s relative contribution within the hierarchy. These results provide a basic understand-ing of how the sample (co)variance arises within sedi-mentary architecture and which factors are important in defining it. The quantitative analysis of textural fac-tors contribution to (co)variance aids in the develop-ment of an efficient textural-facies based system for modeling petrophysical attributes within reservoir modeling workflow.

Textural factors affect the variance of petro-physical properties in a sedimentary reservoir

Drs. Naum Gershenzon, Robert Ritzi Jr., David Dominic, Mohamadreza Soltanian (Wright State University), Edward Mehnert, and Roland Okwen (UIUC) have published a paper that compares Brooks-Corey- and van Genuchten-type capillary pressure curves when heterogeneity and hysteresis are repre-sented. For example, the Brooks-Corey-type capillary pressure curves represent heterogeneity in capillary entry pressures; CO

2 is trapped by capillary pinning.

In the van Genuchten-type capillary pressure curves, however, capillary entry pressure is negligible, but the way in which the method simulates a connected pore-pathway slows the spread of CO

2. The authors dem-

onstrate how the differences in physical systems rep-resented by these capillary pressure curve types, at the small scale, ultimately affect the mass, shape, and po-sition of CO

2 plumes at the large scale. For example,

in their simulations, mobile CO2 eventually reached

the caprock when using van Genuchten-type capillary pressure curves but never reached the caprock when using Brooks-Corey-type capillary pressure curves.

This work builds on a 2015 paper titled “Influence of small-scale, fluvial, sedimentary architecture on CO

2 trapping processes in deep

saline aquifers,” which demonstrated the importance of representing the heterogeneity of small-scale features in saturation functions, as well as the hys-teresis in those saturation functions, when simulating capillary trapping processes in CO

2 storage reservoirs.

Differences in physical systems affect CO2 plumes in deep saline reservoirs

Gershenzon, N., R.W. Ritzi Jr., D.F. Dominic, E. Mehnert, and R.T. Okwen, 2016, Comparison of CO

2 trapping in highly heterogeneous reservoirs

with Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten type capil-lary pressure curves: Advances in Water Resourc-es, v. 96, p. 225–236.

Gershenzon, N.I., R.W. Ritzi Jr., D.F. Dominic, M. Soltanian, E. Mehnert, and R.T. Okwen, 2015, Influence of small-scale, fluvial, sedimentary architecture on CO

2 trapping processes in deep

saline aquifers: Water Resources Research, v. 51, no. 10, p. 8240–8256. doi:10.1002/2015WR017638.

Ritzi, R.W., J.T. Freiburg, and N.D. Webb, 2016, Understanding the (co)variance in petrophysical properties of CO

2 reservoirs comprising sedimen-

tary architecture: International Journal of Green-house Gas Control, v. 51, p. 423–434.

Variation in bedforms and grain sizes in braided fluvial deposits in the Lamotte Sandstone (equivalent to the Mt. Simon Sandstone) at Pickle Springs Natural Area in Missouri. Charles Monson and Ruisong Zhou are studying depositional facies characteristics and distribution (particularly with respect to Precambrian basement highs) in the Lamotte to help inform geologic facies simulation in the Mt. Simon and the underlying Argenta Formation. Photo credit: Charles Monson, UIUC.

Page 8

Annually, the GSCO2 has an external review by the Center Science Advisory Council (CSAC) and Center Industry Advisory Board (CIAB). The CSAC consists of university professors and scientists of national laboratories with expertise in various aspects of each research theme but not necessarily specific to the geologic storage of CO

2. The CIAB represents natural gas storage, oil and gas industry (upstream services and consult-

ing), and utilities. Their purpose is to provide advice to the Director and Executive Committee with regards to areas of research, research accomplishments, and relevance and usefulness of research.

Center research integrates the basic and applied science expertise of researchers from academic institutions, research organizations, and industry, which provides a “technological pull” rather than the “scientific push” described in the US Department of Energy’s 2010 report titled Science for Energy Technology: Strengthening the Link between Basic Research and Industry. Basic-science results from the themes will contribute to develop-ing deployable technology that achieves the central theme of the Center: use-inspired basic research. Because basic-science research is the root of each theme, there is risk present that this research will not lead to industry-ready technology. To ensure the Center’s research leads to industry deployable technology, the two advisory boards represent the nexus of science and industry.

GSCO2 Advisory Committees

Center Science Advisory CouncilName Company/Institution Title Term of Service

Donald DePaolo Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Assoc. Lab. Dir. for Energy Sciences; Prof. and Isotopic Geochemist

2014–2018

Neeraj Gupta Battelle Memorial Institute Senior Research Leader 2014–2018George Guthrie Los Alamos National Laboratory Program Manager for Applied Energy 2015–2017Thomas Johnson Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Prof. and Head of Department of Geology 2015–2017

Young Shin Jun Washington University in St. Louis Assoc. Prof. in the Depart. of Energy, Environmen-tal, and Chemical Eng.

2014–2018

Larry Lake University of Texas at Austin Prof., Petroleum and Geosystems Eng.; Dir., Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security

2014–2018

John McBride Brigham Young University Prof. and Chair, Department of Geological Studies 2014–2018Henrique Reis Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Prof. Departments of Industrial and Enterprise

Systems Eng. and of Civil and Environmental Eng.2014–2018

Timothy Scheibe Pacific Northwest National Lab. Senior Scientist and Lead Scientist for Multiscale Modeling and High-Performance Computing

2015–2017

Dorthe Wildenschild Oregon State University Prof., School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering

2014–2018

Lesli Wood Colorado School of Mines Endowed Chair Prof., Geology and Geological Eng. 2014–2018

Center Industry Advisory BoardName Company Title Term of Service

Charles Christopher CO2 Store CO2 Geological Storage Consultant 2014–2018

Tom Davis WEC Energy Group Supervisor, Petroleum Engineering Consultant 2014–2018Richard Esposito Southern Company Prog. Manag.–Geosci., Carbon Stor. and Utilization 2014–2018

Albert Giussani Oxy Reservoir Engineer 2015–2017George Koperna Advanced Resources International Vice President 2014–2018Ian Lunt Statoil Principal Geologist 2015–2017Yongqi Lu Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chemical/Environmental Engineer 2014–2018Shawn Maxwell ITASCA-IMaGE President/CTO 2014–2018Carl Sisk Ingrain Chief Reservoir Engineer 2015–2017Rob Trautz Electric Power Research Institute Principal Technical Leader 2014–2018Robert (Bo) Tye DeGolyer and MacNaughton Vice President, Geological Advisor 2014–2018

Who is the GSCO2?

•Ange-Therese Akono•Calvin Barnes•Melanie Barnes•Robert Bauer• James Best•Alexey Bezryadin•Pierre Cerasi•Kenneth Christensen•Dustin Crandall•David Dominic• Jennifer Druhan•Ahmed Elbanna•Scott Frailey•Naum Gershenzon•Bettina Goertz- Allmann•Angela Goodman

•Kristian Jessen•Michael Jordan•Roman Makhnenko•Stephen Marshak•Edward Mehnert•Roland Okwen•Volker Oye• John Popovics•Robert Ritzi•Muhammad Sahimi•Sergey Stanchits•Dustin Sweet•Paul Sylvester•Theodore Tsotsis•Albert Valocchi•Charles Werth•Steve Whittaker

Senior/Key Personnel

Postdoctoral Scholars and Students•Sahar Bakhshian•Peter Berger•Gianluca Blois•Yu Chen•Laura Dalton• James Damico•Hassan Dashtian•Gabriela Dávila• Jared Freiburg•Samantha Fuchs•Ahmed Ghareeb•Ritu Ghose•Setare Hajarolasvadi•Pooyan Kabir

•Amir Kohanpur•Nadège Langet•Yaofa Li•Xiao Ma•Kavya Mendu•Charles Monson• Jami Moore•Mahsa Rahromostaqhim•Arjan Reesink•Zhuofan Shi•Ali Tarokh•Mary Tkach•Ruisong Zhou

Partner Institutions• Illinois State Geological Survey•University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign•Wright State University•University of Notre Dame•NORSAR

•SINTEF•University of Southern California•Schlumberger•National Energy Technology Laboratory•U. Texas at Austin•Texas Tech University

Portrait in a Paragraph

Newsletter by Dan Klen, Asst. Scientific Editor, ISGS Contact: dklen2@illinois.edu Page 9

Ange-Therese Akono, PhD Principal Investigator in the GSCO2Theme: Geochemical Reactions

Dr. Ange-Therese Akono holds a PhD (2013) and an MSc (2011) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States), along with an MSc (2009) from the École Polytechnique (France). Dr. Akono’s honors include the ASCE New Faces of Civil Engineering Professionals Award (UIUC, 2016), the ASCE nomination for the DiscoverE New Faces of Engineering Award (UIUC, 2016), the Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education Collins Fel-lowship (UIUC, 2015), and the MIT Energy Initia-tive Fellowship (MIT, 2009). Dr. Akono’s laboratory investigates fracture and failure mechanisms in com-plex materials systems from the molecular level up to the macroscopic scale. This research is articulated over three main thrusts: environment-friendly and high-per-formance structural materials, natural and nano-engi-neered biomaterials, and geological materials such as shale or rock. Dr. Akono’s areas of expertise include nano-mechanics, fracture analysis, nanotechnology, advanced experimental testing, and multiscale modeling.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Akono, UIUC.