19 About the Authors
Dr. Atilla Aydin was born in a small village in eastern Turkey. Partly because of his good luck, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in geological engineering from Istanbul Technical University (Turkey) and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in geology from Stanford University (California, USA). He taught Structural Geology for about 10 years at Purdue University (Indiana, USA) and a graduate course titled “Faults, Fractures, and Fluid Flow” at Stanford University for about two decades. The latter led to the inception of this Knowledgebase. He is the author or co-author of more than 140 refereed papers, the references for which can be found here. Atilla was the co-founder and co-director of the Rock Fracture Project and the founder and director of the Shale Smear Project at Stanford University. Many field trip guidebooks and numerous workshop volumes from these projects are now available in digital (pdf) format from the Rock Fracture Project and Shale Smear Project data repositories of the Stanford University Library. He was Emeritus Professor of Research at the Department of Geological Sciences at Stanford until his passing on February 8, 2022.
Dr. Ramil Ahmadov, is an integrated geoscientist with 15+ years of experience in conducting pure and applied research in geoscience and engineering who has held various roles at BP, Ikon Science, New England Research and CGG. Dr. Ahmadov has considerable experience integrating laboratory, well log, seismic and production data within integrated multidisciplinary teams at all stages from exploration and development to production. Ramil holds Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees in geophysics and geology from Stanford University, a Master of Science degree in petroleum engineering from University of Wyoming and a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Azerbaijan State Oil Academy.
Dr. Marco Antonellini is a professor in the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bologna. He has a Bachelor of Science in earth sciences from the University of Bologna (Italy), a Master of Science in geology from Michigan State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in quantitative structural geology from Stanford University (USA). His current research concerns structural geology and coastal hydrogeology. The main interests include fluid-rock interactions in deformed rocks, salt-water intrusion in coastal aquifers, relationships between geological structures and karst development, and water resources management. At present, his students work on the deformation of carbonate rocks, on the processes relating deformation and diagenesis, and on salt-water intrusion in mechanically drained coastal basins. He has authored more than 150 scientific contributions, is involved in national and international research projects, and collaborates with prestigious international institutions.
Dr. John Cherry, after studying in the USA and being a post-doctoral student in France, joined the University of Waterloo (Canada) in 1971 for field research on the migration and fate of contaminants in groundwater and their remediation. He co-authored Groundwater with R.A. Freeze (1979) and co-edited/co-authored several chapters in the book Dense Chlorinated Solvents in Groundwater (1996). He is the founding director of the University Consortium for Field-Focused Groundwater Contamination Research. At the G360 Centre for Groundwater Research, University of Guelph (Canada), he participates in research on groundwater monitoring technologies and creating safe wells for rural people in remote terrain. He was Chair of the Canadian Expert Panel on Environmental Impacts of Shale Gas Development (2012, 2014). He is a Foreign Member of the U.S. Academy of Engineering. He received the Lee Kwan Yew Water Prize in 2016 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2020.
Dr. Antonino Cilona, has a Doctor of Philosophy in structural geology and rock mechanics from the University of Camerino (Italy) and undertook post-doctoral study at Stanford University. He is passionate about brittle deformation and the impact of faults and fractures on fluid flow. Since 2015 he has worked for Shell Global Solutions International B.V. where he focuses on fault seal, fluid-rock interaction, and new machine learning techniques to interpret fractures and pore types from different types of images.
Dr. Shang Deng received a Bachelor of Science degree (2010) in geology (with Honors) from Moscow University (Russia). He graduated from the Structural Geology and Geomechanics Graduate Program at Stanford University and received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2014. Before joining Sinopec, he worked for the Structure & Geomechanics group led by Peter Hennings at ConocoPhillips, Houston, from 2014 to 2015. His subjects of interest include mechanics of faults and fractures and their influence on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in deep-buried carbonates. He is a structural geologist engaged in Shunbei oilfield exploration in the Tarim Basin and a senior engineer in Ma Yongsheng’s laboratory.
Dr. Eric Flodin is currently an earth science advisor with Chevron at Cabinda Gas and Oil Company in Luanda, Angola. Prior roles include petroleum development geology at Tengizchevroil and Chevron Indonesia Sumatra Operations; characterization, modeling, and simulation at Chevron Technology Company; and as faculty in the Geosciences Department at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis and a Doctor of Philosophy in geology from Stanford University.
Dr. Ghislain de Joussineau is the Director of Technology & Operations at Beicip-Franlab, the consultancy branch of the French Institute of Petroleum and New Energies. After obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy in structural geology from the University of Montpellier (France), he joined the Rock Fracture Project at Stanford University (USA) as a post-doctoral student working with Professor Atilla Aydin. His research in both institutes was focused on the mechanisms of development and fluid flow properties of faults and fractures in rocks. He joined Beicip-Franlab in 2007 as a consultant and subsurface project manager. He then led the team in charge of the development of naturally fractured reservoirs for five years, before managing the Reservoir Engineering Department of the company. In 2019, he was appointed Director of Technology and Operations and member of the Executive Committee of Beicip-Franlab, before joining its Management Board in 2021 In this position, he oversees the implementation of consultancy and software development projects and the definition and realization of innovation programs.
Dr. Beth L. Parker holds a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Industrial Chair in Groundwater Contamination, is a professor in the School of Engineering, and is the Founding Director of the G360 Institute for Groundwater Research, all at the University of Guelph (Canada). Dr. Parker is an internationally recognized expert in contaminant hydrogeology and groundwater flow system characterization and monitoring. She has made exceptional contributions to the understanding and remediation of contaminated groundwater, with a focus on fractured media, especially the role of diffusion on contaminant movement, attenuation, and remediation performance. Her research has profoundly changed the scientific understanding of how contaminants travel through bedrock to pollute freshwater resources and of the characteristics of aquitards providing source water protection, with field experience in North America, Latin America, and several European countries. Her research emphasizes field methods and a systems approach to understanding groundwater flow systems, contaminant transport and fate, groundwater monitoring and vulnerability assessments, groundwater remediation, sustainable groundwater use, multiphase fluid flow, and vadose zone/recharge. Dr. Parker has received the John Hem award (2009) and the M. King Hubbert award (2018) from the National Ground Water Association, a fellowship in the American Geophysical Union (2019), and recognition from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers & Scientists as a Board-Certified Environmental Engineering Member (2020); she became a Canadian Academy of Engineering Fellow in 2021.
Dr. Jian Zhong, received her Master of Science degree in geoscience and computer science from the State University of New York Stony Brook and her Doctor of Philosophy degree in geology from Stanford University. Her dissertation was focused on ontology application and knowledge representation in structural geology. She is a co-author of the Rock Fracture Knowledgebase.
