(MERS) Group

Open Positions

Multiple DOE- and NSF-funded Ph.D.Positions

We are looking to fill multiple DOE- and NSF-funded Ph.D. student positions. The preferred candidates will already have an MS degree and one or more of the following skills:

• MD simulations of hydrogen, CO₂, and methane hydrates using LAMMPS or GROMACS
• Implementation of GNNs, LLMs in PyTorch
• Virtual/Mixed Reality Code Development using Unity
• Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Chemo-Mechanical (THCM) simulation using opensource numerical simulators
• Triaxial Rock Testing and Core Flooding Experiments
• Strong computer programming skills in Python (and/or C++)

Post-doctoral Researcher Position

One position is available for post-doctoral research in the areas listed above.

Multiple Student Worker Positions Available

Multiple student worker positions available. These positions are part of exciting DOE and NSF-funded projects involving storing energyin solid hydrates. These positions are 10 hours per week and at standardized university rates or better depending on experience. If you are interested, please send me an email with (1) your resume and (2) your official/unofficial transcript. The related majors include (but are not limited to) computer science, chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, and petroleum engineering, and applied mathematics. Strong programming experience is a major advantage for these positions.

News

• 04/30/2025: Dr. Olorode wins $500,000 NSF Early CAREER award.
  The MERS group was awarded the prestigious NSF Early CAREER Award to conduct cutting-edge research that will improve hydrogen gas storage in solid hydrate structures.
  
  
• 04/17/2025: Our journal was published in Materials Today Sustainability Journal.
  Meisam Adibifard was the first-author on our papter titled "Coarse-grained simulation of solid hydrateCoarse-Grained Molecular Studies Reveal Potential for Increased CO2 Storage in Hydrates". It was published in the Materials Today Sustainability Journal.
  
  
• 04/07/2025: Our journal was published in Journal of Physical Chemistry B.
  Temitayo Adeyemi was the first-author on our papter titled "Molecular Studies and Advanced Visualization of the Trapping of Methane Nanobubbles During Hydrate Growth". It was published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B.
  
  
• 01/25/2025: Our journal was published in Journal of Energy Storage.
  We published a paper titled "Taking bio-induced precipitation to the field for sustainable geo-energy storage: Experimental and numerical studies of leakage mitigation". It was published in the Journal of Energy Storage.
  
  
• 01/10/2024: Our journal was published in Advances in Geo-Energy Research Journal.
  Rashid, H* and Olorode, O. M.** (2024). "Use of controlled fractures in enhanced geothermal systems." Advances in Geo-Energy Research Journal.
  
  
• 01/10/2024: Our journal was published in SPE Journal.
  Rashid, H* and Olorode, O. M.** (2024). "A Continuous Projection-based EDFM Model for Flow in Fractured Reservoirs." SPE Journal.
  
  
• 12/03/2024: Ahmed Abdullah successfully defended his M.S. thesis. Now at Oxy.
  Ahmed Abdullah successfully defended his M.S. thesis and joined Oxy.
  
  
• 10/01/2024: Dr. Olorode wins $1,400,000 DOE award as co-PI
  Dr. Olorode is co-PI on a new DOE-funded project.
  
  
• 08/14/2024: Meisam Adibifard successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation.
  Congratulations to Meisam Adibifard on the successful defense of his Ph.D. dissertation.
  
  
• 06/01/2024: Dr. Olorode wins $550,000 ARPA-E award as LSU PI
  Dr. Olorode is LSU PI for a new ARPA-E project.
  
  
• 03/05/2024: Harun Rashid successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation. Now at Los Alamos National Lab.
  Harun Rashid defended his Ph.D. and is now at Los Alamos National Lab.
  
  
• 08/29/2023: Dr. Olorode wins $525,000 DOE award as sole PI
  Dr. Olorode received a DOE award as sole PI.
  
  
• 07/18/2023: Our journal was published in Journal of Physical Chemistry B.
  Adibifard, M.* and Olorode, O. M.** (2023). "Large-Scale Nonequilibrium Molecular Studies of Thermal Hydrate Dissociation." Journal of Physical Chemistry B.
  
  
• 07/01/2023: Dr. Olorode wins $110,00 ACS PRF ND Award as co-PI
  Dr. Olorode is a co-PI on a new ACS PRF ND Award.
  
  
• 06/19/2023: Research group wins $63,444 AWS Research Credit
  The group received AWS Research Credits to support cloud-based research.
  
  
• 12/20/2022: Our journal was published in Scientific Reports.
  Read our latest in Scientific Reports.
  
  
• 08/11/2022: Our journal was published in SPE Journal.
  Egbe, U., Awoleke, O., Olorode, O. M.**, Goddard, S. (2023). "On the Application of Probabilistic Decline Curve Analysis to Unconventional Reservoirs." SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering.
  
  
• 07/01/2022: Our journal was published in Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering.
  Ihunde, T.* and Olorode, O. M.** (2022). "Application of physics informed neural networks to compositional modeling." Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering.
  
  
• 04/01/2022: Our journal was published in Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering.
• 02/14/2022: Thelma Ihunde successfully defended her M.S. thesis. Now at Tellurian inc.
• 07/08/2021: Hassan Amer successfully defended his M.S. thesis. Now at UT Austin.
• 08/13/2020: Our journal was published in SPE Journal.