Postdoctoral Fellow - CO2 Mobility and Subsurface Transport in Nanoporous Rocks

About the role

The successful candidate will join an elite, fast-moving, and tightly integrated research cohort at the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin. They are a small but exceptionally strong team dedicated to pioneering innovative experimental and modeling techniques that bridge the gap between laboratory-scale physics and field-scale implementation. Their mission centers on developing next-generation solutions for energy security, efficiency, and sustainability.

Responsibilities

• Operate and modify advanced gas expansion/liquid transient flow systems to measure CO2 (gas and supercritical phase) mobility, effective permeability, molecular diffusion, and adsorption.
• Quantify rock-fluid interactions and transport degradation under dynamic net confining stress environments to evaluate reservoir stress-sensitivity.
• Upscale laboratory-derived petrophysical, diffusion, relative permeability, and stress-dependent parameters into compositional reservoir models to perform robust sensitivity and production forecast studies.
• Work closely with the lab formulation team to translate fluid-interface mechanics into numerical transport constraints, preparing technical frameworks for upcoming field-scale pilot deployments.

Requirements

• PhD in Petrophysics, Petroleum Engineering, Geomechanics, Chemical Engineering, Geosciences, or a closely related geosystems discipline.
• Proven experimental expertise in high-pressure core experiments, petrophysical measurements (effective permeability, porosity), or fluid transport phenomena.
• Deep fundamental understanding of fluid transport mechanisms in tight/unconventional formations (diffusion, adsorption, Darcy vs. non-Darcy flow).
• Strong capability in data analysis, scripting, or laboratory automation (Python, MATLAB, or LabVIEW).

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive proficiency with commercial compositional reservoir simulators (e.g., CMG GEM, ECLIPSE) and a proven track record of history-matching laboratory core-floods.
• Experience or strong fundamental training in Geomechanics (stress-strain relationships, fracture conductivity, or rock mechanics).
• Experience utilizing digital rock physics, image analysis, or CT scanning to evaluate multi-phase flow displacement.