Behzad Ghanbarian is listed as being in the top 2% of researchers in the world, according to a 2022 study done by Stanford University (https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/4). The study determined the researchers included by most research citings for scientists around the world.
NSF funded Karin Goldberg to study Off-grid construction via sustainable compression curing of vegetable oil-impregnated sediments
Dr. Goldberg has been recently funded by NSF Division of Civil Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation, Future Manufacturing program. This project combines faculty in engineering (the lead PI Scott Thompson from KSU’s Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering and another engineer from GSU), chemistry (a chemist from GSU), architecture (Co-PI Genevieve Baudoin from KSU), and geology (Karin Goldberg as a Co-PI) to develop a sustainable 3D binder jet printer. This innovative equipment will use solar-powered compression and a curing technique that fabricates building materials by adding tung oil to sediments extracted locally. By focusing on the use of raw earth materials and recyclable binders, the team aims to reduce the large carbon footprint associated with concrete-based, 3D-printing methods currently employed. This project is potentially groundbreaking research not only because it is much cheaper and eco-friendly, but also because it may allow for construction in remote/severe environments such as in space!
ACS-PRF funded Ghanbarian and Higgins to study transport mechanisms in shales
Behzad Ghanbarian, assistant professor of geology, and Daniel Higgins, professor of the chemistry department, received $110,000 from the American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Fund to investigate the molecular mechanism of mass transport in shales. Through this two-year project, two graduate students will work on mass transport phenomena providing them with multidisciplinary training and research experiences. Unconventional reservoirs, including oil and gas shales, are one of the major contributors to energy supplies in the U.S. and are distributed around the world with an estimated endowment of several thousand trillion cubic feet. Full production of unconventional reservoirs is limited in part by the incomplete understanding of mass transport mechanisms in shales. Ghanbarian and Higgins investigate these transport phenomena using fluorescence-based optical single-molecule methods.