Theses & Dissertations

Department of Geological Sciences

Qiqi Wang | PhD in progress | Fracture growth processes

Stephanie Forstner | PhD in progress | Fracture pattern development in chemically reactive environments

Rodrigo Correa | PhD in progress | Fracture systems in carbonate rocks

Natchanan “Mint” Doungkaew | PhD 2023 | Role of diagenesis in ductile fracture growth history

Bethany Rysak | M.S. 2022 | Fractures in shale in the Midland basin | to Ovintiv Services Inc

Matt Ramos | PhD 2018 | Experimental studies of fracture pattern development | to Chevron

Owen Callahan | PhD 2018 | Interactions between chemical alteration, fracture mechanics, and fluid flow | to UT postdoctoral fellowship

Jon Major | PhD 2018 | Natural fractures in mudrocks | to UtUE

Sungbin Cho | Undergraduate research assistant 2017-2018

Andrew Stearns | Undergraduate research assistant 2017-2018

Elizabeth McKinnon | MS 2017 | Structural diagenesis of bed-parallel and bed-normal fractures, Cretaceous Crato Formation carbonate rocks, NE Brazil | to AISD

John Li | MS 2017 | Structural diagenesis of fracture spatial arrangement | to UT graduate program, statistics

Hal Hundley | MS 2017 | Size distribution and spatial arrangement of normal faults | to Eagle Oil & Gas

Erick Wright | MS 2017 | Flow pathways in cemented fractures | to NY-UE

Casey O’Brien | MS 2016 | Structural diagenesis of deformation bands | to Shell

Natchanan “Mint” Doungkaew | MS 2016 | Fracture evolution in folds using kinematic and dynamic numerical approaches | to PhD program, UT

Qiqi Wang | MS 2016 | Fracture systematics in shale | to PhD program, UT

Peter Laciano | MS 2015 | Fault and fracture kinematics | to Shell

Ashlyn Zare | BS project 2015 | Fault rock diagenesis | to Mech. Eng.

Lauren Copley | MS 2015 | Fracture sets, timing, and size distributions in the Cretaceous Frontier Formation, Greater Green River basin, Wyoming | to Cimarex

Nike Tokan-Lawal | MS 2014 | Understanding fluid flow in rough-walled fractures using x-ray microtomography images | to Shell

Ҫanalp Ozkul | MS 2014 | Fracture abundance and strain in folded Cardium Sandstone, Alberta Fold-and-Thrust Belt, Canada | to TPAO

Yaser Alzayer | MS 2014 | Fracture opening kinematics in unconventional oil and gas reservoirs | to Aramco

Sara Elliott | RSA in progress | Microstructural image collection and analysis

Shelby Bean | RSA 2014-2015 | Microstructural image collection and analysis | to Colorado School of Mines

Laura Pommer | MS 2013 | Natural fracture cementation in the Marcellus shale | to Anadarko

Stephanie Frelinger | RSA 2012 | Microstructural image collection and analysis | to UT graduate program

John N. Hooker | PhD 2012 | Fracture scaling and diagenesis | to Oxford University 2012

Faustino Monroy-Santiago | PhD 2012 | Interrelationships between carbonate diagenesis and fracture development: Example from Monterrey Salient, Mexico and implications for hydrocarbon reservoir characterization | to Pemex

Guangjian (Ceclia) Xu | MS 2012 | Fluid inclusion studies of microfractures in Eriboll Formation, NW Scotland: Insights into timing of fracture opening | to Texas A&M Ph.D. program 2012

Karen Black | RSA 2012 | Microstructural image collection and analysis | to Core Lab

Luke Fidler | MS 2011 | Natural fracture characterization of the New Albany Shale, Illinois basin, United States | to Newfield

Autumn Kaylor | MS 2011 | A fluid inclusion and cathodoluminescence approach to reconstruct fracture growth in the Triassic-Jurassic La Boca Formation, Northeastern Mexico | to Chevron

Alex Urquhart | MS 2011 | Structural controls on CO2 leakage and diagenesis in a natural long-term carbon sequestration analogue: Little Grand Wash fault, Utah | to Sandia National Lab

Frank L. Morgan | BS 2011 | Fracture aperture and spacing patterns in two folded quartz arenites: Cambrian Flathead Formation, Teton Range, Wyoming and Cambrian Eriboll Formation, Northwest Scotland | to LSU 2011

Hyein Ahn | GRA 2010 | Microstructural imaging and analysis | to Berkeley

Brandon Barber | MS 2010 | Natural fracture characterization, Frontier Formation, Wyoming | to ExxonMobil 2010

Peter Hargrove | MS 2010 | Fault-related fracture systems in the Cambrian Eriboll Formation, Northwest Scotland: A field and petrographic study of a tight gas sandstone analog | to BP

Aysen Ozkan | PhD 2009 | Structural diagenetic attributes of the Late Cretaceous Williams Fork sandstones with implications for petrophysical interpretation and fracture prediction, Piceance basin, Colorado | Dissertation  | to Shell Research 2009

Magdalena A. Ellis | MS 2009 | Fracture pattern evolution and diagenesis in fault zones, Torridonian sandstone, NW Scotland | to ExxonMobil 2009

Juan F. Inigo | MS 2009 | Structural model and fracture analyses for a major gas emplacement in Devonian sandstones of the Subandes | to Pluspetrol

David Westwood | URA 2009 | Undergraduate Assistant in FRAC program, Tufts University, Summer 2009

Tim Gibbons | MS 2007 | Spatial arrangement of deformation bands and processes of formation within porous sandstone: Arches National Park, Utah | to El Paso

Leonel Gomez | PhD 2007 | Characterization of the spatial arrangement of opening-mode fractures | to ExxonMobil Research 2007

Edgar Pinzon | MS 2007 | Fracture pattern prediction using geomechanical models incorporating diagenesis, with comparison to outcrop data, Cambrian Eriboll sandstones, Northwestern Scotland and core observations, Tertiary Mirador Formation sandstones, Llanos foothills Colombia | to Conoco

Ankur Roy | MS cand. 2007 | Geomechechanical and diagenetic modeling of fracture pattern evolution and spatial scaling | to Ph.D. program, Tennessee

Kira Diaz-Tushman | MS 2007 | Fracture tectonics, fracture porosity evolution and structural diagenesis, Cambrian Eriboll sandstones, Northwest Scotland | to BP 2007

Meghan E. Ward (Playton) | MS 2005 | Opening history and porosity evolution of fractures in sandstone, Triassic to Jurassic La Boca Formation, Northeast Mexico | to Chevron Research 2005

Astrid Makowitz | PhD 2004 | The genetic association between brittle deformation and quartz cementation elucidated by scanned cathodoluminescence imaging | to BP

Petro Papazis | MS 2004 | Petrologic characterization of processes controlling fracture evolution in the Barnett Shale and their financial implications, Fort Worth Basin, Texas | to Chevron

John N. Hooker | MS 2004 | Fault timing in the Sierra Madre Oriental, Northeastern Mexico | to RSA at BEG 2004-2012

Orlando Ortega | PhD 2002 | Fracture-size scaling and stratigraphic controls on fracture intensity | to Shell Research 2002

Christopher Hare | MS 2002 | Analysis of fracture clustering using the continuous wavelet transform: An example from the Marble Falls Limestone | to Anadarko

Aysen Ozkan | MS 2001 | Diagenesis and porosity evolution of the Flathead Sandstone (Middle Cambrian), Wyoming and Montana | to Core Lab 2001

Javier Geovanni Moros | MS 1999 | Relationship between fracture aperture and length in sedimentary rocks | to Petrobras

Department of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering

Byungtark (B.T.) Lee | PhD in progress | Modeling chemical/mechanical fracture pattern evolution

Syed Talha Tirmizi | MS in progress | Fracture pattern reconstruction

Mahmood Shakiba | PhD 2022 | Statistical aspects of fracture patterns | to research affiliate, PGE

Gabriel Gallardo Giozza | PhD  | Mechanical stratigraphy in shale systems

Mohsen Babazadeh | PhD 2018 | Fracture propagation in fractured media | to Schlumberger

Valerie Gono | MS 2018 | Fracture pattern development | to ORTEC

Andreas Michael | MS 2018 | Fracture growth  modeling | to PhD program LSU

Kaimin Yue | PhD 2018 | Fracture propagation in laminated rocks with brittle and ductile layers | to Pegasus

Weiwei Wang | PhD 2017 | The mechanics of natural fracture – hydraulic fracture interaction | to Shell

Hunjoo Lee | PhD 2015 | Fracture propagation in naturally fractured reservoirs | to Postdoctoral fellow, PGE

Valerie Gono | MS 2015 | On shaky ground: Understanding the correlation between induced seismicity and wastewater injection in the Forth Worth basin | to PhD student, PGE

Kaimin Yue | MS 2015 | Fracture propagation in laminated rocks with brittle and ductile layers | to PhD student, PGE

Nana Asiamah | MS 2015 | Multi-fracture propagation in unconventional shale | to industry

Kan Wu | PhD 2014 | Fully coupled fluid flow and mechanics modeling for hydraulic fracturing from horizontal wells | to Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University

Kashif Nasseem | MS 2014 | Simulating gas production in realistic hydraulic fracture networks: A case study of Marcellus Shale | to Schlumberger

Emad Alabbad | MS 2014 | Multi-frac propagation from horizontal wells: an experimental study in hydrostone blocks | to ExxonMobil

Ji Li | PhD 2013 | Permeability effects on natural fracture development | to ConocoPhillips

Abdul Khan | MS 2013 | Multi-frac treatments in tight oil and shale gas reservoirs: Effects of hydraulic fracture geometry on oil production | to industry

Farrokh Sheibani | PhD 2012 | Solving three dimensional problems in natural and hydraulic fracture development: Insights from displacement discontinuity modeling | to Postdoctoral Research Associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

H. A. (Rudy) Reynolds | MS 2012 | Hydraulic fracture optimization using hydraulic fracture and reservoir modeling in the Piceance basin, Colorado | to BP

Benjamin Lee Bahorich | MS 2012 | Examining the effect of cemented natural fractures on hydraulic fracture propagation in hydrostone block experiments | to Durango Resources

Mehran Hosseini | MS 2012 | Hydraulic fracturing of weakly consolidated sands | to Ph.D. Student at University of Southern California

Syed Muhammad Farrukh Hamza | MS 2012 | Shear-enhanced permeability and poroelastic deformation in unconsolidated sands | to Halliburton

Jennifer Reese | MS 2010 | Simulating gas production from hydraulic fracture networks: A case study of the Barnett Shale | to ConocoPhillips

Arash Dahi | PhD 2009 | Analysis of hydraulic fracture propagation in fractured reservoirs: an improved model for the interaction between induced and natural fractures | to Assistant Professor, LSU

Hasnain Khan | MS 2009 | Shear-induced relative permeability changes in uncemented sands | to Halliburton

Raushan Kumar | MS 2009 | Effect of chemical environments on subcritical crack growth in geological materials | to Chevron

Atif Mohammed Malayalam | MS 2008 | Multidisciplinary hydraulic fracture evaluation in the Mesaverde Group of the Piceance Basin | to Anadarko

Hamid Adefashe | MS 2006 | Determining the fracture mechanics properties of sedimentary rocks using double torsion testing | to Chevron

Namsu Park | PhD 2006 | Discrete element modeling of rock fracture behavior: fracture toughness and time-dependent fracture growth | to Baker Hughes

Peggy Rijken | PhD 2005 | Modeling naturally fractured reservoirs: From experimental rock mechanics to flow simulation | View Dissertation | to Chevron

Myeong Noh | PhD 2004 | Reactive transport modeling in fractures and two-phase flow

Zeno Philip | PhD 2003 | Incorporating subcritical crack growth mechanics into natural fracture characterization for improved reservoir simulation | to Pinnacle

Yuan Qiu | PhD 2002 | Natural fracture characterization and modeling | to Shell

Yaguang Gu | PhD 2000 | Fracture pattern modeling and fluid flow | to Schlumberger

Hwanjo Baek | PhD 1994 | Evaluation of fracture mechanics properties and microstructural observations of rock fractures [Department of Civil Engineering] | to Professor, University of Chuncheon, Korea

Energy and Earth Resources Graduate Program | EER

Abdulaziz Almansour | MS 2017 | Engineering, geological, and economic impact of natural fractures in unconventional reservoirs | to Saudi Aramco

Jeanne Eckhart | MA 2012 | Geologic, engineering, and economic analysis of natural fracture reservoir quality in the context of hydraulic fracture treatment design in tight oil and gas reservoirs, Texas

Walaa Ali | MA 2009 | Lithofacies, depositional environment, burial history and calculation of organic richness from wireline logs: A study of Barnett Shale in the Delaware Basin, Pecos Co., West Texas, and comparison with the Barnett Shale in the Fort Worth Basin | to ENOC

Libsen Castillo | MA 2008 | Integrated analysis to improve hydraulic fracturing treatments in carbonate and clastic reservoirs in Torunos Hydrocarbon Field, Barinas Basin, Southwest Venezuela | to PDVSA

Natalia Kalitynska | MA 2007 | Economic and engineering evaluation of hydraulic fracture completion practices in the Piceance Basin, CO, USA | to Shell

Chris Wilson | MA 2004 | Predicting fracture degradation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado: Can a surrogate measurement guide the way to open fractures and highly productive wells? A geology, engineering and value-of-information study | to Chevron