UW’s Dario Grana to Receive 2025 Felix Chayes Prize

Dario Grana, a School of Energy Resources (SER) professor and Wyoming Excellence Chair in the University of Wyoming Department of Geology and Geophysics, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Felix Chayes Prize for Excellence in Research in Mathematical Petrology.

The prize, awarded in alternating years by the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences (IAMG), is presented to recipients with exceptional potential and proven research ability and for outstanding contributions to statistical petrology or related applications of mathematics or informatics.

The award will be presented at the 23rd annual conference of the IAMG in Zhuhai, China, in October. Grana also will deliver the keynote address, discussing “Revealing Subsurface Petrophysical Properties Through Bayesian Learning.”

“It is an honor to receive the Felix Chayes Prize and to be recognized by the IAMG community,” Grana says. “This award reflects not only my own work, but the collaborative efforts of my students and colleagues. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the advancement of mathematical geosciences and to continue developing innovative tools that help us better understand the subsurface.”

In alignment with the IAMG mission to promote the worldwide advancement of mathematics, statistics and informatics in the geosciences, Grana’s research considerably advances the field of mathematical geosciences, particularly in the field of Bayesian inversion techniques applied to petrophysics characterization. His work focuses on petrophysics, rock physics, geostatistics, data assimilation and inverse problems for subsurface modeling, culminating in a fundamental analytical solution for the linear inverse problem under a Gaussian Mixture distribution.

This innovative solution -- which contributed significantly to his selection as the Felix Chayes Prize recipient -- overcomes the computational limitations associated with the common assumption of a Gaussian distribution of rock properties while maintaining high computational efficiency due to its analytical nature. This approach supports various applications, including hydrocarbon reservoir characterization, CO₂ storage monitoring and groundwater investigations.

“The Felix Chayes Prize is a well-deserved honor for Professor Grana and his groundbreaking research,” SER Executive Director Holly Krutka says. “This award is a fantastic achievement and a clear indicator of the high caliber and importance of his work, increasing his distinction in the international arena and the energy sector. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments.”

Grana is not only a distinguished UW faculty member, but also serves as the director of the Bayesian Learning Consortium and holds the title of Nielson Faculty Fellow. The fellowship recognizes his exceptional contributions to advancing energy research, education and stewardship.

Grana received an M.S. in mathematics from the University of Pavia (Italy) in 2005, followed by a Ph.D. in geophysics from Stanford University in 2013.

A widely respected scholar in his field, he has written the influential publications “Seismic Reflections of Rock Properties” and “Seismic Reservoir Modeling.” His extensive research includes more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Throughout his career, Grana's contributions to geophysics and teaching have been acknowledged through numerous prestigious accolades, including the 2015 Mathematical Geosciences Best Paper Award, the 2016 SEG Karcher Award, the 2017 EAGE Van Weelden Award and the 2022 SEG Outstanding Educator Award.

For more information about the Felix Chayes Prize and past recipients, go here.