• Number 404  |
• January 6, 2014

The practical application of an elite researcher’s life: Isaac K. Gamwo

For a man whose expertise includes reactive multiphase fluid dynamics, complex fluid properties, and chemical looping combustion processes, Dr. Isaac Gamwo is surprisingly easy to comprehend. 

“The research we do in this lab is not confined to the world of academia,” he notes, “it has tangible impacts on the way we produce energy.”

As senior research chemical engineer at DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Dr. Gamwo is currently focused on complex fluid properties at high temperatures and pressures. His recent work includes research applicable to ultra-deep hydrocarbon exploration and production.  

Ultra-deep conditions create an environment like none other on the planet, and it is challenging to characterize such extremes. Yet, in a paper presented at the 2013 conference of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Dr. Gamwo showed that experimental modeling could mimic temperature and pressure conditions typically encountered in ultra-deep oil reservoirs several miles below sea floor.

What is the practical application of this work? When it comes to hydrocarbon exploration and production, using models to simulate extreme conditions can result in enormous savings in time, money, materials, and equipment. Such tools also have the potential to reduce the risk of accidents in the field.

Other research projects Dr. Gamwo has led include simulating the production of methane from hydrate reservoirs, predicting optimum particle size for hydrocarbon reactors, simulating rock cutting, and modeling a variable-thickness bubbling fluidized bed. All of this work supports DOE's goal of increasing domestic energy production in a safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly manner.

But, Dr. Gamwo does not always work in a laboratory setting. In 2010 he led a team that laid out a comprehensive multi-year research roadmap to address problems that prevent industries from drilling deeper than 15,000 feet for oil and gas.

Twenty-five years ago, Professor Emeritus Dimitri Gidaspow, a pioneer in the field of multiphase flow and fluidization, was a mentor for Dr. Gamwo.  Now, Dr. Gamwo is a pioneer in his own right. In 2010, Dr. Gamwo and a doctorate student he mentored were the first to apply a physics-based computational fluid dynamics model to explore novel designs of the chemical looping combustion system.

“Dr. Gidaspow’s work is widely referenced,” says Dr. Gamwo. “I want the work I do to have the same kind of practical relevance.”

Dr. Gamwo also mentors students through NETL's Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program, NETL's Regional University Alliance (NETL-RUA), and by participating on Ph.D. committees.  And when he is not working with university students, he mentors an even younger set of future leaders.  He is a licensed youth soccer coach, as well as a referee of the U.S. Soccer Federation, and he firmly believes that a balanced life includes recreation, community, and family.

Dr. Gamwo seems to have boundless energy, publishing several papers and presentations a year. His Oxford University Press book Ultraclean Transportation Fuels was ranked among the top ten best sellers in 2007 of all the American Chemical Society books.  Similarly, his paper on fuel reactor modeling (Powder Tech., Vol. 183, No. 3) was the most downloaded article (in September 2008) worldwide in Elsevier International Journal.

In 2013, the AIChE inducted Dr. Gamwo as a Fellow; this is the highest grade conferred to elite members of the society. The recognition is based on his distinctive and sustained professional accomplishments and contributions for over two decades.

“It is a great privilege to join the elite members of the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals,” said Dr. Gamwo.

He also won the 2011 Outstanding Professional Employee of the Year Gold awards from the Federal Executive Board, has served as a referee and associated editor for two international journals, and has worked as a guest lecturer at the university level.

When asked what he thought about so many researchers referring to his work, and all the recognition he continues to receive, Dr. Gamwo acknowledged, “It is indeed a pleasure to be held in high esteem by my peers.”

In short, Dr. Gamwo is more than an elite researcher, writer, mentor, and coach. Like his research, which applies the mathematics of complex dynamics, properties and processes to real solve world problems, his life is the very embodiment of practical application.

Submitted by DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory