J. Carlos Santamarina, Ph.D.

Faculty

Professor of Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering

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Research Interests

Professor Santamarina explores the scientific foundations of geomaterial behavior and subsurface processes using particle-level and pore-scale experiments, combined with numerical methods and high-resolution process monitoring systems. This conceptual and experimental framework is advancing the study of phenomena and the development of solutions in energy geotechnology with contributions to: resource recovery (petroleum, methane hydrates), energy geo-storage, efficiency and conservation, and energy waste (carbon geological storage, fly ash and nuclear waste).

Selected Publications

  • ​Kim, S. H. and Santamarina, J. C. (2014). CO2 Geological Storage: Hydro-Chemo-Mechanical Analyses and Implications, Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, vol. 4, pp. 528-543.
  • Pasten C., Shin, H. and Santamarina J.C (2014), Long-Term Foundation Response to Repetitive Loading, ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 140-4, 140(4), 04013036.
  • Dai, S., Santamarina, J.C., Waite, W. and Kneafsay, T. (2012), Hydrate Morphology: Patchy Hydrate Saturation in Sands, Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, vol. 117, B11205, 12 pages.
  • Pasten, C., and Santamarina, J.C. (2012), Energy and Quality of Life, Energy Policy, vol. 49, pp 468-476.
  • Espinoza, D.N. and Santamarina J.C., (2012), Clay interaction with liquid and supercritical CO2: The relevance of electrical and capillary forces, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, vol. 10, pp. 351-362.

Education

  • ​​​​​​​​Ph.D., Purdue University, 1987
  • M.Sc., University of Maryland, 1984
  • Civil Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, 1982​

KAUST Affiliations

  • Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)
  • Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center (ANPERC)
  • Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE)
  • Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)