Summary:

A joint postdoc research position is available in the laboratories of Professor Patrick Fulton (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences) and Professor Sarah Hormozi (Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) at Cornell University. To apply, application materials must be submitted online at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/28898. Candidates are expected to submit a cover letter, full CV with publications, and contact information for three references who are willing to supply letters of recommendation. Applications will be considered as soon as they are received, but no later than January 15, 2025.

Position description: 

Professors Hormozi and Fulton are seeking an experimentalist for a postdoctoral position on the Department of Energy supported Active Tracers project. The project’s engineering goal is to develop an “active” tracer for use in geothermal reservoirs that will selectively jam flow pathways below a particular temperature threshold. The work will involve the design and construction of a large-scale heated analog fracture flow system with rough-walled surfaces for laboratory-scale fluid flow and heat transport experiments. Ideal candidates should have a strong background in: 1. Experimental design/construction involving high-temperature/pressure flows; 2. subsurface geologic systems, particularly geothermal reservoirs or fracture systems; and 3. experimental techniques such as particle image velocimetry, fluorescence spectrophotometry, and/or rheometry. Candidates should also have a sufficiently broad background and interest to interact effectively with earth scientists, soft matter physicists, and materials scientists/engineers.

Required qualifications:

• Ph. D. in geosciences or engineering and demonstrated experience involving fluids and/or rocks
• Excellent record of experimental design and construction
• Excellent organizational, presentation, and writing skills
• Demonstrated independent, creative research

Preferred qualifications:

• Background in Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control theory for high-temperature, high-pressured fluid flows
• Expertise in microfluidic fabrication
• Knowledge of polymer science
• Fundamental understanding of complex fluid mechanics

Duties:

• Conducting experimental research and construction of a Hele-Shaw cell in crystalline rock
• Investigating and implementing strategies for imaging/detecting particle transport in rough-walled fractures
• Building an experimental apparatus to demonstrate temperature-dependent jamming
• Building appropriate sensor systems for monitoring/controlling temperature and pressure
• Collaborating effectively with the 10+ members of the project, including 5 professors, postdocs, Ph. D. and M. S. students, and undergraduates
• Mentoring graduate and undergraduate students
• Documenting research and results in presentations and scientific research papers and reports
• Organizing and submitting required regular project reports and presenting at monthly meetings
• Interacting effectively across three departments in the College of Engineering including the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Materials Science and Engineering

Project title and description: 

“Temperature-responsive Swelling Particles for Elimination of Cooled Short Circuits in a Discrete Fracture”

This is a transdisciplinary project aimed at a technological innovation for controlling hydraulic properties of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The specific problem addressed is how to manage an inlet-outlet “short circuit” in fracture-dominated geothermal systems, particularly EGS. The proposed innovation employs “lab-on-a-particle” ideas invented and developed at Cornell in the nanomedicine field for bioimaging, biosensing, and drug delivery to mitigate the effects of injector-producer well short circuiting. Specifically, an engineered polymer suspension is being developed to eliminate short circuits by a targeted swelling reaction in which a single particle will volumetrically expand up to a factor of 100 when its local environment falls below a threshold temperature. When the local temperature is above this threshold, these particles behave in an inert fashion and act as a passive tracer of fluid particles circulated between one or more injector-producer well pairs.

Methods employed in this project consist of materials development, materials characterization, lab-scale demonstrations, small-scale field demonstrations, and commercial-scale field demonstrations. Materials developed in this project includes the temperature-responsive swelling particles. Materials characterization includes analytical techniques such as transmission electron microscopy and cryo-electron microscopy. The lab-scale demonstration uses microfluidic cells and temperature/pressure control to demonstrate our ability to eliminate a short circuit and to tune our materials development. A well-characterized field laboratory known as the “Altona Field Laboratory” (AFL) serves as a testing ground to demonstrate our ability to eliminate a short circuit in a naturally-occurring, discrete rock fracture. By the end of this 3+ year project, a commercial-scale demonstration will be performed in collaboration with our industry partners.

Salary range: $56,880.00 - $60,000.00, depending on qualifications (e.g., prior work/industry experience; education level; and unique applicable skills)

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