Research Vision

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 The world population is rising by 12% per decade, and living space and global energy demand are increasing accordingly. Our RMGE team nurtures future leaders with expertise in rock mechanics and low-carbon subsurface technologies for the energy transition. Our current research focuses on the following areas:​

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• Rock Fractures (mineralised veins, joints, faults, etc.)

• Rock Mechanics/Physics, Rock Engineering, Engineering Geology

• Geothermal Energy (mine water geothermal, hydrothermal, petrothermal)

• Underground Energy Storage (hydrogen, compressed air) 

• Radioactive Waste Disposal

• Carbon Sequestration

• Discrete Element Method (Particle Flow Code)

• AI for subsurface science and engineering applications related to the energy transition

 

Our research has been funded by UKRI (EPSRC and NERC), the Royal Society, and the European Commission.  

Research Projects​

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• Royal Society: FENCE: Fracture Evolution in Coupled Subsurface Environments, PI, 2026-2029, £224,644.86 

• Diamond Light Source AP38 Call: Deformation and Sealing Behaviour of Veined Mercia mudstone, PI, 2025-2026

• Diamond Light Source: Synchrotron X-ray imaging. Co-I, 2024

• EPSRC IAA: Rock dowel testing. Co-I, 2024

• EPSRC (New Investigator Award): INFORM - Influence of fracture heterogeneity on rock deformation and failure: a mechanics-based multi-scale framework for radioactive waste disposal. PI, 2023-2026, £404k

• Royal Society: Clogging of rock fractures, PI, 2022-2024, £12k

• NERC: Digging deep Earth for heat to promote environmental sustainability (DEEPHEAT), PI, 2021-2023, £88k (incl £17k allocated to SUERC Glasgow) 

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Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals​

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