News

  • August 8-9, 2024: Dr. Lee gave a poster presentation at SPE PEDHA workshop, entitled “Well-to-Tank Analysis of Lithium Extraction from Synthetic Brine Using Li-Al/LDH Chloride: A United States Perspective.”
  • August 5, 2024: Xuan Yi (our Ph.D. student) successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Alteration of Kerogen Wettability Due to Compositional Change in Shale by Interaction with Fluid.” Congratulations, Dr. Yi!
  • July 13-14, 2024: Dr. Lee presented at the SK Global Forum, on the topic of “Identifying a Production Potential of Lithium-Rich Brines: Focusing on Oil and Gas Brines.”
  • May 8, 2024: Dr. Lee received Cullen College of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award for 2023-2024. [Link]
  • April 24, 2024: Dr. Jiahui You (our former Postdoc fellow) published a journal article at Geoenergy Science and Engineering, entitled “Upscaling Reactive Transport Models from Pore-Scale to Continuum-Scale Using Deep Learning Method.” [Link]
  • April 8, 2024: Muhammed Rashik Mojid (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Sustainable Materials and Technologies, entitled “A Review on Advances in Direct Lithium Extraction from Continental Brines: Ion-Sieve Adsorption and Electrochemical Methods for Varied Mg/Li Ratios.” [Link]
  • March 19, 2024: Xinwei Xiong (our former Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Nuclear Engineering and Technology, entitled “Multiscale Modeling of Smectite Illitization in Bentonite Buffer of Engineered Barrier System.” [Link]
  • March 8, 2024: Dr. Jiahui You (our Postdoc fellow) published a journal article at Transport in Porous Media, entitled “Pore-Scale and Upscaled Investigations of Release and Transport of Lithium in Organic-Rich Shales.” [Link]
  • February 23, 2024: Dr. Lee presented at the Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series, on the topic of “Identifying the Production Potential of Lithium in Shale Reservoirs.” [Link]
  • February 6, 2024: Dr. Lee presented her research poster entitled “Turning produced water from shale reservoirs into a sustainable source of lithium” at Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science & Technology (TAMEST) annual conference.
  • January 16, 2024: Xinwei Xiong (our former Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Progress in Nuclear Energy, entitled “Analytical Modeling of Bentonite Swelling with Experimental Validations through Hydrothermal Reaction and Free Swelling Index Measurement.” [Link]
  • January 10, 2024: Dr. Lee’s collaborative research proposal for geologic hydrogen production (leading institution: Stanford University, participating institutions: Texas Tech University & University of Houston)  has been selected for funding by U.S. Department of Energy. [Link]
  • October 30, 2023: Xinwei Xiong (our Ph.D. student) successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Analytical Modeling of Bentonite Swelling and Numerical Reactive Transport Modeling in Nuclear Waste Disposal Systems.” Congratulations, Dr. Xiong!
  • October 23, 2023: Dr. Lee, Lotanna Ohazuruike, and Xinwei Xiong (our Ph.D. students) published a journal article at Progress in Nuclear Energy, entitled “Effect of Smectite Illitization on Swelling behavior of Gyeongju Bentonite.” [Link]
  • October 4, 2023: Xuan Yi (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Applied Geochemistry, entitled “Analyzing the Impact of the Interaction between Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid and Kerogen on Its Wettability Alteration.” [Link]
  • August 25, 2023: Dr. Lee and Dr. Jiahui You (our Postdoc fellow) published a journal article at Fuel, entitled “Release, Transport, and Accumulation of Lithium in Shale Brines.” [Link]
  • July 22, 2023: Thales de Oliveira Souza (our former M.S. student) published a journal article at Petroleum Science and Engineering, entitled “Reducing the Risk of Gas Leaks into the Ocean Floor Induced by Offshore Production Well Failure.” [Link]
  • May 4, 2023: Dr. Lee participated in the panel discussion of “Energy Security & New Energy” at the 20th Annual Forum of the Korean-American Oil & Gas Engineers Association.
  • January 14, 2023:  Lotanna Ohazuruike (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Nuclear Engineering and Technology, entitled “A Comprehensive Review on Clay Swelling and Illitization of Smectite in Natural Subsurface Formations and Engineered Barrier Systems.” [Link]
  • December 2, 2022: Congratulations to Thales de Oliveira Souza (our M.S. student), for successfully defending his M.S. thesis entitled “Reducing the Risk of Gas Leaks into the Ocean Floor Induced by Offshore Production Well Failure in the Gulf of Mexico.”
  • November 6, 2022: Dr. Lee presented at the 5th Annual Meeting of the
    SIAM Texas-Louisiana Section, on the topic of “Multiscale Modeling for Clean Energy Transition.”
  • October 13, 2022: Dr. Jiahui You (our Postdoc fellow) published a journal article at Energy & Fuels, entitled “Experimental Characterization and Pore-Scale Modeling of Iron Precipitation in Shale Reservoirs by Interacting with Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid.” [Link]
  • July 29, 2022: Dr. Lee participated in the panel discussion of “ESG: Turning Water Waste Into Value Streams With Alternative Monetization Strategies” at the 2022 Marcellus Shale Water Business Update in Pittsburgh, PA. [Link]
  • May 29, 2022: Floriane Youzan (our former M.S. student) published a journal article at Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, entitled “Analyzing the Factors Affecting Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery through Numerical Simulation Study.” [Link]
  • May 17, 2022: Dr. Lee’s research on identifying the high concentration zones of lithium in shale reservoirs has been highlighted on UH Energy News. [Link]
  • April 18, 2022:  Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Pore–Scale Reactive Transport Modeling of Subsurface Water–Rock Interactions.” Congratulations, Dr. You!
  • March 23, 2022: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Fuel, entitled “The Experimental Investigation and Data–Driven Modeling for Thermal Decomposition Kinetics of Green River Shale.” [Link]
  • January 24, 2022: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at SPE Journal, entitled ” Pore-Scale Numerical Investigations of the Impact of Mineral Dissolution and Transport on the Heterogeneity of Fracture Systems During CO2-Enriched Brine Injection.” [Link]
  • December 13, 2021: Dr. Lee published a journal article at Energy Reports, entitled “Potential of petroleum source rock brines as a New Source of Lithium : Insights from basin-scale modeling and local sensitivity analysis.” [Link]
  • December 6, 2021: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) presented at the 2021 SPE International Conference on Oilfield Chemistry, on the topic of “Pore–Scale Numerical Investigations of the Impact of Mineral Dissolution and Transport in Naturally Fractured Systems During CO2–Enriched Brine Injection.” [Link]
  • November 16, 2021: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) presented at the 2021 AIChE Annual Meeting, on the topic of “The Pore–Scale Darcy–Brinkman–Stokes Model For Iron–Precipitation In Shale Reservoir With The Injection Of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid.” [Link]
  • November 9, 2021: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) presented at the 2021 AIChE Annual Meeting, on the topic of “The Investigation of Impact of Mineralogical Heterogeneity of Clay–Calcite Based Fracture–Matrix System for CO2 Storage by Using a Hybrid–Scale Model.” [Link]
  • November 8, 2021: Dr. Lee participated in the panel discussion of Petroleum Engineering Careers/Future of Work Session at Earth, Energy, and Environment (E3) Student Conference and Exhibition. [Link]
  • June 24, 2021: Dr. Lee’s research proposal has been selected for New Directions Grant from American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF ND). [Link]
  • June 3, 2021: Dr. Lee presented at the Korean–American Oil and Gas Engineers Association Seminar, on the topic of “Petroleum Source Rock Brines as a Sustainable New Source of Lithium.”
  • June 1, 2021: Dr. Lee’s research proposal has been selected for award from KAERI. [Link]
  • May 10, 2021: Congratulations to Floriane Youzan (our M.S. student), for successfully defending her M.S. thesis entitled “Numerical Simulation Study for Analyzing the Factors Affecting Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.”
  • April 7, 2021: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, entitled ” Pore–Scale Investigation of Surface Roughness on the Evolution of Natural Fractures During Acid Dissolution using DBS Method.” [Link]
  • March 20, 2021: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Transport in Porous Media, entitled “Pore-Scale Study to Analyze the Impacts of Porous Media Heterogeneity on Mineral Dissolution and Acid Transport Using Darcy–Brinkmann–Stokes Method.” [Link]
  • February 5, 2021: Dr. Lee’s research and educational proposal has been selected for NSF CAREER Award. [Links: NSF, UH]
  • January 13, 2021: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at SPE Journal, entitled “Analyzing the Dynamics of Mineral Dissolution during Acid Fracturing by Pore-Scale Modeling of Acid-Rock Interaction.” [Link]
  • August 31, 2020: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) presented at SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, on the topic of “Analyzing the Dynamics of Mineral Dissolution During Acid Fracturing by Pore–Scale Modeling of Acid–Rock Interaction.” [Link]
  • May 25, 2020: Xinwei Xiong (our Ph.D. student) published a journal article at Energy Exploration & Exploitation, entitled “Data-Driven Modeling to Optimize the Injection Well Placement for Waterflooding in Heterogeneous Reservoirs Applying Artificial Neural Networks and Reducing Observation Cost.” [Link]
  • March 7, 2020: Congratulations to Lotanna Ohazuruike (our Ph.D. student) and Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) for taking 2nd and 3rd places of PhD level at UH SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Student Paper Contest!
  • January 31, 2020: Jiahui You (our Ph.D. student) presented at SPE Gulf Coast Section Women in Energy (WIN) Congress, on the topic of “Analyzing the Dynamics of Mineral Dissolution during Acid Fracturing by Pore–Scale Modeling of Acid–Rock Interaction.”
  • January 31, 2020: Lotanna Ohazuruike (our Ph.D. student) presented at UH Center for Carbon Management in Energy (CCME) Research day, on the topic of “Candidate Selection for CO2 Storage–Insights from Pore–Scale Modelling.”
  • November 19, 2019: Dr. Lee presented at the MLUR (Machine Learning for Unconventional Resources) Workshop regarding limitation and improvement of data-driven models to predict hydrocarbon production from complex reservoirs.
  • October 1, 2019: Dr. Lee served as an Academics Representative Adviser at Career Pathways Fair of 2019 SPE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (ATCE).
  • September 27, 2019: Dr. Lee presented at Department of Petroleum Engineering Seminar Series at UH, on the topic of “Data-Driven Models to Predict Hydrocarbon Production from Unconventional Reservoirs by Thermal Recovery.”
  • August 1, 2019: Dr. Lee’s research work was mentioned at the article of Formation Evaluation by Dr. Shouxiang (Mark) Ma in Journal of Petroleum Technology. [Link]
  • April 22, 2019: Congratulations on Xinwei Xiong (our M.S. student), for successfully defending his M.S. thesis titled “Optimization of Injection Well Placement for Waterflooding in Heterogeneous Reservoirs using Artificial Neural Networks Coupled with Reservoir Simulation.”
  • April 8, 2019: Dr. Lee presented at 2019 SPE International Conference on Oilfield Chemistry in Galveston on the topic of “Characterization of Type and Maturity of Organic Matter in Source Rock by In-situ Electrical Heating and Temperature Transient Analysis.” [Link]
  • January 22, 2019: Dr. Lee’s research grant proposal to develop data-driven models for groundwater flow in Houston area was selected for funding by Data Science Institute at University of Houston.
  • October 23, 2018: Dr. Lee  presented at Lunch and Learn Seminar Series of Chevron Energy Technology Company, on the topic of “Reducing Uncertainty of Hydrocarbon Production from Thermally Upgraded Organic-Rich Shales.”
  • May 14, 2018: Dr. Lee gave a presentation at InterPore 2018 meeting in New Orleans on the topic of “A comprehensive simulation model for solvent-aided thermal recovery of heavy oil and bitumen.” [Link]