Master’s Thesis Presentations
The Master of Science (MS) degree at the Jackson School of Geosciences is considered to be the professional degree for a career in the Geosciences. This degree is the foundation for students pursuing employment in the petroleum industry, environmental and hydrogeological fields, state and federal government agencies, and other related geoscience fields. Some students also use the MS degree as preparation for pursuing a Ph.D.
The Energy & Earth Resources Interdisciplinary program provides the opportunity for students to prepare themselves in management, finance, economics, law and policy leading to analytical and leadership positions in resource-related fields. The private sector and government organizations face a growing need for professionals that can plan, evaluate, and manage complex resource projects, commonly international in scope, which often include partners with a variety of professional backgrounds.
As requirements for these degrees, students must present a professional talk on Master’s Thesis Presentations.
Previous presentations from 2019 to 2024 can be found here.
Master’s Thesis Presentations Agenda for Friday, April 19, 2024
- First Place: Nick Regier, “Paleozoic Basin Evolution during Tectonic and Climatic Transitions in the Eastern Precordillera of Argentina”
- Second Place: Daphne Smith, “The Impact of Drought on Root-Zone Water Storage Dynamics in Fractured Carbonate Bedrock of the Edwards Plateau”
Session 1A: JGB 2.216
Session Chairs: Ebony Williams & Sawsan H Almalki
Theme: Powering Tomorrow: Sustainable Solutions for Energy Transition and Urban Development
| Time | Student | Advisor(s) |
| 2:00-2:15 | Tara Greig (EER) Environmental Impacts and Social Implications of Onshoring the Lithium-ion Battery Supply Chain, an LCA approach |
Michael Young, Gürcan Gülen |
| 2:15-2:30 | Dariya Fallon (EER) – VIRTUALLY (ZOOM LINK) The Path to Net Zero Cities: An Analysis of Coupling Electrochromic Glazing (EC) with Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs) in Austin, Texas |
Dev Niyogi, Michael Garrison |
| 2:30-2:45 | Hari Keerthana Kamalakannan (EER) Optimizing Green Hydrogen: Out-of-Plant LCOH Reduction through IRA and Oil & Gas Asset Integration |
Ehud Ronn, Sergio Castellanos |
| 2:45-3:00 | Esther Gnaridia Goita (EER) Hydrogen Emissions and Associated Warming Effects During Production and Across Hydrogen Supply Chains |
Michael Webber |
| 3:00-3:15 | Alejandro Omana (EER) Technical and Environmental Evaluation of Geothermal-Driven Hydrogen Production in Mexico |
Sergio Castellanos, Carey King |
| 3:15-3:30 | BREAK |
Session 1B: JGB 2.216
Session Chairs: Ebony Williams & Sawsan H Almalki
Theme: Exploring Texas Underground: From Minerals to Subsidence
| Time | Student | Advisor(s) |
| 3:30-3:45 | Zahra Mohammed Al-Awami (GEO) The Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of Salt Creek Field, Kent County, Texas |
Charlie Kerans |
| 3:45-4:00 | Natalie deHueck (EER) Untangling the Causes of InSAR-Derived Land Subsidence in Galveston County |
David Mohrig |
| 4:00-4:15 | Shelby Robyn Short (EER) Application of Satellite and Airborne Remote Sensing Techniques to Assess Critical Mineral Potential in Trans-Pecos Texas |
J. Richard Kyle |
| 4:15-4:30 | J. Evan Sivil (GEO) – VIRTUALLY (ZOOM LINK) Geological Characterization and Reservoir Analysis of the Lower Eagle Ford Group in DeWitt County, East Texas |
Robert Loucks |
Session 2A: JGB 2.218
Session Chair: Kaixuan Kang
Theme: From Watersheds to Urbanization: Interrogating Changes in Water Systems
| Time | Student | Advisor(s) |
| 2:00-2:15 | Isabel Keddy-Hector (EER) – VIRTUALLY (ZOOM LINK) An analysis of water-borne arsenic in mining communities of Zacatecas, Mexico |
David Eaton |
| 2:15-2:30 | Sneha Nachimuthu (GEO) Natural Archives to Understand Temporal Changes of Municipal Water Input to an Urbanizing Watershed |
Jay Banner |
| 2:30-2:45 | Daphne Smith (GEO) The Impact of Drought on Root-Zone Water Storage Dynamics in Fractured Carbonate Bedrock of the Edwards Plateau |
Daniella Rempe |
| 2:45-3:00 | Lynsie Patschke (EER) Evaluating the Implications of Accurate Methane Emissions Reporting on the Waste Emissions Charge in the Inflation Reduction Act |
Arvind Ravikumar, David Spence |
| 3:00-3:15 | BREAK |
Session 2B: JGB 2.218
Session Chair: Kaixuan Kang
Theme: Exploring Geological Dynamics Across Time and Space
| Time | Student | Advisor(s) |
| 3:15-3:30 | Nicholas A. Regier (GEO) Paleozoic Basin Evolution during Tectonic and Climatic Transitions in the Eastern Precordillera of Argentina |
Brian Horton |
| 3:30-3:45 | Soraya Alfred (GEO) Insights into Chicxulub’s Post-Impact Hydrothermal Dynamics: A Numerical Approach |
Sean Gulick, Marc Hesse |
| 3:45-4:00 | Ever “Hoss” Hostettler (GEO) Origins of Rodingite-Forming Fluids from Seafloor to Exhumed Terranes: Insights from Ca, Sr, & O Isotopes |
Jaime Barnes |
Session 3A: JGB 2.324
Session Chair: Mrittika Kabir
Theme: Assessing Carbon Management Strategies: From Performance Calibration to Financial Implications I
| Time | Student | Advisor(s) |
| 2:00-2:15 | Chinemerem Clement Okezie (EER) Calibrating Performance Prediction for Large-Scale Injection |
Alexander P. Bump, Susan D. Hovorka |
| 2:15-2:30 | Christopher Deranian (EER) Evaluating the Financial Implications of Injectivity Risk in Compartmentalized Reservoirs for CCS |
Sahar Bakhshian, James Dyer |
| 2:30-2:45 | Julia Skrovan (EER) – VIRTUALLY (ZOOM LINK) The Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) Under Pressure: Decomposing GHG Model Pathways and Evaluating CRREM Results under Asset and Environmental Changes |
Varun Rai |
| 2:45-3:00 | Ismail Halim Faruqi (EER) CO2 Storage Potential in the Late Neogene Interval, Federal Offshore, Gulf of Mexico Shelf |
Alexander P. Bump, Susan D. Hovorka, Carlos Uroza |
| 3:00-3:15 | Richard Larson (EER) The Effect of Microscale Heterogeneity on the Transport of Carbon Dioxide in Geologic Carbon Sequestration |
Sahar Bakhshian |
| 3:15-3:30 | BREAK |
Session 3B: JGB 2.324
Session Chair: Mrittika Kabi
Theme: Exploring Energy Frontiers: From Assessing CO2 Storage to Optimizing Power Dispatch and Drilling Sequences
| Time | Student | Advisor(s) |
| 3:30-3:45 | Maria Paula Madariaga Cubides (EER) Assessment of CO2 Storage Potential of the Wilcox Group, Onshore Texas, USA |
Carlos Uroza, Susan D. Hovorka |
| 3:45-4:00 | Suprajha Nagaraja Sudhakar (EER) Assessing and Optimizing the Backup Power Dispatch of Solar PB and Battery Systems during Extreme Weather-Induced Power Outages: Case of Texas Winter Storm Uri of 2021 |
Sergio Castellanos, Bridget Scanlon |
| 4:00-4:15 | Karthik Menon (EER) Drilling Sequence Optimization for Subsurface Exploration using Reinforcement Learning and Data-Driven Modeling |
Eric Bickel, Michael Pyrcz |
| 4:15-4:30 | Vivek Singh (EER) Modeling EV Charging Demands on Grid using Deep Learning Approaches and Exploring Cost-Effective Grid Integration Strategies |
Javad Mohammadi |