Prashanth Kumar Siddhamshetty, a doctoral candidate in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded the 2020 Association of Former Students Distinguished Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Doctoral Research.
Siddhamshetty, who is advised by Dr. Joseph Kwon, has focused his research on developing a model predictive control framework for the design of pumping schedules to regulate propped fracture geometry.
In hydraulic fracturing, geometry of the fracture strongly influences the fluid conductivity of natural oil and gas from shale formations, which depends on injected flow rate and concentration of proppant – to keep the fracture open – with time. His research addresses key practical and fundamental challenges and has the potential to lead to a lower break-even price with respect to crude oil and gas and to greatly impact the economy of the state of Texas, ultimately enabling U.S. energy independence.
Upon receiving his Bachelor of Technology in chemical engineering from Indian Institutes of Technology, Madras, Siddhamshetty worked in the technical services team at Reliance Industries Limited and joined Texas A&M in 2015. He has authored/co-authored 27 publications in leading archival journals, presented research at several national conferences and made consistent contributions to secure grants. He has received several honors and awards, including the Paul & Ellen Deisler Fellowship by the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. Apart from academic work within the department, Siddhamshetty was involved in Energy Research Society activities in 2017-18 in the capacity of a technical general officer. He defended his dissertation in January 2020 and will graduate in May 2020.