Researchers

Dr. Shuvajit Bhattacharya (Principal Investigator)

Dr. Shuvajit Bhattacharya is a Research Associate Professor, specializing in geophysics, petrophysics, and integrated subsurface characterization. Shuvajit leads the HotRock geothermal research consortium and Texas Imperative project on the geothermal resources on the Gulf Coast and East Texas. Shuvajit completed several geothermal projects on integrated characterization, modeling, and techno-economics, including the US (Gulf Coast and Rio Grande Rift Zone) and the Netherlands. Shuvajit is leading a geothermal lab for rock thermal property measurements at ambient and subsurface conditions at BEG. Apart from geothermal, Shuvajit has spent more than a decade on oil and gas, and carbon and hydrogen storage research. He also leads geophysical research on gravity and magnetics for mapping and modeling volcanic, mafic, and ultramafic rocks in the subsurface for geothermal, carbon mineralization, and geologic hydrogen studies. 
Shuvajit is the recipient of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists J. Clarence Karcher Award (2022) for “significant contributions to science and technology of exploration geophysics.” His collaborative research on the geothermal feasibility and field test design for a potential site near Houston earned an Honorable mention (2nd best poster) at the IMAGE conference, the joint AAPG-SEG annual meeting in 2022. He is also a co-recipient of the Gulf Coast American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ A.I. Levorsen Award for the most innovative oral presentation at GeoGulf 2023.
Shuvajit's personal webpage: https://www.beg.utexas.edu/people/shuvajit-bhattacharya

Ken Wisian (Former Principal Investigator)

Ken Wisian, Ph.D., Major General USAF (retired), Associate Director, Bureau of Economic Geology, is a geophysicist with more than 20 years in geothermal systems research. Other current research includes; planetary geology/space exploration, Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence, disasters and infrastructure resiliency, and international relations. He teaches Life in the Universe and Geothermal Systems at the University of Texas a Austin. Previously, Dr. Wisian was a senior state executive responsible for disaster recovery, oil spill prevention and response, and coastal infrastructure and environmental protection for Texas.

Peter Eichhubl

Peter Eichhubl is a Research Professor in Structural Geology and Reservoir Geomechanics. With his students and postdocs, he investigates fracture processes in chemically reactive systems, flow and transport processes in fractures and fault systems, and the geomechanics of fluid injection and production, with applications to geothermal system, wastewater injection, and carbon and hydrogen storage. He is co-PI of the GeoH₂ industrial consortium at the BEG. He has a PhD from the University of California Santa Barbara and a MSc from the University of Vienna.

Personal research website: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/researcher/peter_eichhubl/

Bissett Young

Bissett Young is a research science associate with 10+ years’ experience in seismic data management and analysis. She has worked on many seismic networks around the country and temporary array deployments internationally. Bissett has been a researcher at the Bureau for seven years, having previously worked for the Texas Seismological Network (TexNet). For the Hotrock IA, she is primarily focused on data analysis and interpolation for the purpose of geothermal resource assessment.

David Chapman

Mr. Chapman’s passion is delivering advanced technology that can change the world by satisfying the triple bottom line (financial, environmental, and societal profitability) with commercially sustainable competitive advantages. Mr. Chapman manages multiyear, cross-university research programs for the BEG, drawing on proven strengths in technical and business development, with 30 years’ experience in advanced technology with Motorola, Intel, Research Triangle Institute, SEMATECH. Mr. Chapman currently provides program management for HotRock, CEO, MINER, SubMap, and Casing Anulus Programs and the BEG and previously spent 15 years managing the microfabricated sensors program in the AEC.

Nicola Tisato

Nicola Tisato is an Assistant Professor of Geophysics at the Earth and Planetary Science Department of UT Austin. He is a rock physicist and principal investigator of the Rock Deformation Laboratory. He earned his PhD from ETH Zurich in 2013 and a Master's degree from the University of Padova in 2008. Nicola is a caver and loves mountains.

Nicola’s webpage: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/researcher/nicola_tisato/

Jackson Marshall Grimes

A native Texan, Jackson received his MSc in Sustainable Energy Sciences from the Iceland School of Energy at Reykjavik University, where his studies focused on Geothermal Policy and Social Governance. Upon returning to Texas, he joined the geothermal working group at the BEG investigating ways in which geothermal development can impact disadvantaged communities, methods for engagement, workforce development, and the associated economics. He is a firm believer that community-driven geothermal projects are a critical first step towards wider societal acceptance of next generation geothermal technologies. Beyond his work with the BEG, Jackson holds positions with Project InnerSpace, the Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance, and the UNESCO IGCP-636 Geothermal Resources for Energy Transition Project.