Brian Ellis

My research interests cover topics related to the sustainable and safe development of emerging energy technologies. Included among these activities are geologic storage of CO2 and large-scale hydraulic fracturing of unconventional oil/gas reservoirs. We examine important water-rock interactions that occur in these subsurface systems through a combination of experimental studies (bench-scale high-pressure flow-through and batch reactors), imaging techniques (computed micro-tomography, SEM, XRF, XANES), and geochemical modeling. Specific topics of interest: permeability evolution in fractured geologic media, release/transport of groundwater contaminants from shale gas reservoirs, development of regulatory policy pertaining to hydraulic fracturing activities.