Principal Investigator
Dr. Kyung Jae Lee is Associate Professor of Department of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Houston. Her research expertise is in multiscale reactive transport modeling and AI digital twin for subsurface systems of energy and resources.
Ph.D. Students
Muhammed Rashik Mojid
Dissertation research topic: CO2 Mineralization Assisted Direct Lithium Extraction from High Mg/Li Continental Brines
Musfika Rahman
Dissertation research topic: Experimental and numerical modeling study of thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behavior of engineered barrier system for nuclear waste disposal
Tanveer Alam Munshi
Dissertation research topic: Numerical and AI modeling approach for geologic hydrogen production
Wisdom Kewu
Dissertation research topic: Circular energy and resources systems through experimental characterization and AI modeling
M.S. Students
Fahad Abdulla Choudhary
Thesis research topic: Direct lithium extraction from formation brines by adsorption method
Syed Hassan Ahmed
Thesis research topic: Reservoir simulation and AI modeling of cationic carbonations in formation brines for enhancing lithium recovery
Alumni-Ph.D. Graduates
Xuan Yi (Ph.D., 2024)
Dissertation title: Alteration of Kerogen Wettability Due to Compositional Change in Shale by Interaction with Fluid
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: CNPC
Lotanna Ohazuruike (Ph.D., 2024)
Dissertation title: Analytical Modeling of Illitization of Smectite in the Bentonite Buffer of Nuclear Waste Disposal Systems
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: Bain & Company
Xinwei Xiong (Ph.D., 2023)
Dissertation title: Analytical Modeling of Bentonite Swelling and Numerical Reactive Transport Modeling in Nuclear Waste Disposal Systems
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: CNOOC
Jiahui You (Ph.D., 2022)
Dissertation title: Pore–Scale Reactive Transport Modeling of Subsurface Water–Rock Interactions
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: Continuation as Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Alumni-M.S. Graduates
Adarsh Abraham Cherian (M.S., 2025)
Thesis title: Numerical Reservoir Simulation of Generation and Production of Geologic Hydrogen
Thales de Oliveira Souza (M.S., 2022)
Thesis title: Reducing the Risk of Gas Leaks into the Ocean Floor Induced by Offshore Production Well Failure in the Gulf of Mexico
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: Georgia Institute of Technology
Floriane Youzan (M.S., 2021)
Thesis title: Numerical Simulation Study for Analyzing the Factors Affecting Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: Linde Engineering
Xinwei Xiong (M.S., 2019)
Thesis title: Optimization of Injection Well Placement for Waterflooding in Heterogeneous Reservoirs using Artificial Neural Networks Coupled with Reservoir Simulation
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: Continuation as PhD student
Alumni-Postdoctoral Fellows
Jiahui You (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2022-2024)
Position after Kyung Jae Lee Group: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Current position: Scientist at U.S. DOE NETL