College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Dean's Office
EERB 401
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-4253
Email: enginfo@uwyo.edu
The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences has partnerships for facilities and investments to enhance education and research in the following areas.
Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Professor Vladimir Alvarado’s center of excellence will focus on improved oil and gas recovery in unconventional
reservoirs. A generous donation from ExxonMobil funded an advanced core-flooding dynamic
geochemical flow-thru system and a state-of- the-art microfluidic experimental platform.
The team has also received U.S. Department of Energy funding.
Team: Teresa Lehmann from the Department of Chemistry, John Oakey from the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, John Kaszuba from the
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Michael Urynowicz from the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, and Klaas van ’t Veld
from the Department of Economics and Finance
This innovative coal-conversion project led by Department of Chemical and Petroleum
Engineering Professor Maohong Fan aims to produce a synthetic gas that can be used in the production of value-added
chemicals. Donations from Peabody Energy Inc. and Arch Coal Inc. were matched by the
state to support this promising research. Wyoming is the most prolific coal-producing
state in the United States, but in 2013, Wyoming coal production fell by 3 percent,
making Fan’s research all the more timely.
Team: David Bell and Hertanto Adidharma from the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and Michael Stoellinger from the Department of Mechanical Engineering
Led by Department of Mechanical Engineering Professor Dimitri Mavriplis, this work continues developing world-class computational research infrastructure.
The state has made major investments both on campus and in attracting the NCAR-Wyoming
Supercomputing Center to the state. In addition, management of big data and the development
and use of sophisticated high-fidelity computer-based simulation models are becoming
increasingly important across a wide range of industries, such as the energy industry
and advanced manufacturing.
Team: Michael Stoellinger from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Xiaohong Liu from the Department of Atmospheric Science, and Amy Banic from the Department of Computer Science
About 50 to 70 percent of the original oil remains stranded in Wyoming’s aging fields,
and enhanced oil recovery methods have the potential to retrieve an additional 5 to
15 percent. Wyoming Excellence Chair in Petroleum Engineering Mohammad Piri, an international leader in the field, will lead his team as they examine oil and
gas flow in unconventional reservoirs. Their research includes a permeability simulator
model to improve oil and gas reservoir rock yield forecasts, improved reservoir characterization
methods, a fundamental pore-scale model for establishing oil and gas flow in reservoir
rock, and screening of new surfactants and nano-fluids to stimulate oil and gas productivity.
Team: Lamia Goual and Saman Aryana from the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and Dario Grana from the
Department of Geology and Geophysics
The University of Wyoming's High Bay Research Facility contains approximately 90,000 square feet of traditional and high-bay research laboratories, offices and meeting areas. The goal of this facility is to provide sufficient space, capacity and state-of-the-art equipment to grow various niche areas of research being conducted at the University of Wyoming.
The facility has been designed to be easily reconfigurable, modular and expanded as different research areas grow or dissemble over time.
The Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media conducts critical research in oil and gas. Wyoming's economy is largely based on natural resource extraction, so energy research to be conducted in the High Bay has direct implications for the future of the state and its citizens.
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Dean's Office
EERB 401
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-4253
Email: enginfo@uwyo.edu