Baylor Ph.D. Candidate Granted Prestigious Department of Energy Award

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Media contact: Tonya Lewis, (254) 710-4656
WACO, Texas (April 21, 2017) – Bulbul Ahmmed, Ph.D. candidate in Baylor University’s department of geosciences, has been awarded a Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Fellowship from the Department of Energy (DOE).
The award was granted for the proposed SCGSR research project “Delineating Discrete Fracture Networks and Estimating Their Hydraulic Properties Using a Simulated Annealing Inversion Method,” which will be conducted at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from June 1 to Sept. 1.
“I was looking for an opportunity to do outstanding research outside of Baylor and this opportunity is the best starting point I could have hoped for,” said Ahmmed, whose research focuses on characterizing fracture flow using geological, geophysical and mathematical tools.

Ahmmed's selection for the SCGSR award is in recognition of his outstanding academic accomplishments and the merit of the SCGSR research proposal, and reflects his potential to advance the Ph.D. studies and make important contributions to the mission of the DOE Office of Science.
“Not only is Bulbul the first Baylor student to receive this award, he is the first ever to be funded by DOE’s Geosciences Program," said Scott James, Ph.D., assistant professor of geosciences and Ahmmed’s advisor. "This fellowship will allow Bulbul to not only work directly with preeminent scientists at Sandia National Laboratories, but to access their world-class scientific and computing facilities. He will be collecting data and performing computations and simulation in direct support of his Ph.D. research, which has wide-ranging applications to anything from hydraulic fracturing to geothermal energy to nuclear-waste storage.”
“The SCGSR program prepares graduate students for science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission,” said Steve Binkley, acting director of DOE’s Office of Science. “We are proud of the accomplishments these outstanding students have already have made and look forward to following their achievements in years to come.”
by Kelsey Dehnel, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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