Dr Kamaljit Singh

Dr Kamaljit Singh is an Associate Professor and leads the DigiPorFlow Group. He is the DigiPorFlow Group’s resident specialist in experimental imaging and pioneering characterisation techniques for porous materials. By employing high-resolution imaging methods—such as micro-CT and advanced microscopy—alongside powerful data-driven analysis tools, he studies the hidden microstructures that govern fluid flow. Dr. Singh’s research spans environmental applications, carbon capture and storage initiatives, subsurface hydrogen storage, and biological topics such as termite mounds, all of which are informed by his passion for leveraging fundamental science for practical engineering solutions.

Dr Julien Maes

Dr Julien Maes is an Assistant Professor with over 15 years industrial and academic experience developing numerical algorithms for modelling complex multiphysic processes for carbon capture and storage, groundwater remediation, nuclear waste storage, hydrogen generation and geothermal systems. Dr Maes co-leads the DigiPorFlow group and is the lead developer of GeoChemFoam, the first-ever fully-coupled multiphase reactive transport solver for modelling subsurface processes at the pore-scale. He is passionate about bridging the gap between cutting-edge computational tools and real-world scientific problems in energy and environmental fields.

Dr Hannah P. Menke

Dr Hannah P. Menke is an Associate Professor of Integrated AI for GeoEnergy Applications, is co-founder of the GeoChemFoam project, and co-leads the DigiPorFlow group. With an unwavering commitment to interdisciplinary research, Dr. Hannah P. Menke bridges the worlds of experimental fluid mechanics, computational modeling, and advanced machine learning. By deciphering the intricate relationships between porous media and fluid flow, she develops data-driven strategies for sustainable energy production, water resource management, and environmental sustainability. Whether she’s refining complex workflows or guiding lab-scale experiments, Dr. Menke’s forward-looking approach pushes scientific boundaries and translates new knowledge into real-world solutions. Her vision empowers the next generation of researchers to harness cutting-edge technology for a more resilient future.

Dr Josh (Zhenkai) Bo

Dr Josh (Zhenkai) Bo is a postdoc research associate working on multi-scale pore network modelling and associated machine learning techniques. Before joining DigiPorFlow group, he has research experience in Australia (University of Queensland & UNSW Sydney) and Netherlands (TU Delft).

Dr Muhammad Ali

Dr Ali is a postdoctoral research associate with a background in modelling and simulation of flow through porous media. His current research focuses on utilising deep learning models for surrogate modelling of multi-phase flow through multi-scale porous media. He has previously worked on the implementation of Digital Material Twins, and the development of sensors based on 2D materials, as part of smart manufacturing of fibre reinforced polymer composites.

Dr Jacqueline Mifsud

Dr Jacqueline Mifsud joined the DigiPorFlow group as a Post Doctoral Research Associate in 2024 to work on pore-scale modelling and the NERC GeoSafe project. She specialises in Computational Fluid Dynamics, with expertise in multiphase (cavitation) and turbulence (LES) flow simulation. Jacqueline has a background in Mechanical Engineering, and prior to joining Heriot-Watt University has held positions at the University of Warwick and more recently at the University of Leicester. Currently she also holds an Honorary Research Fellow position at the University at Leicester.

Farah Rabie

Farah is a PhD candidate at Heriot-Watt University, focusing on Machine Learning (ML) for computational mechanics. In her research, she trains and optimise Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) for material modelling. She is particularly interested in theory-driven ML-based material models that integrate data-driven methods with established scientific principles. She also develop integration frameworks – using Python scripting, servers, pipes, and C++ wrappers – to connect these trained DNNs with commercial Finite Element tools like ABAQUS.

Gospel E. Stewart

Gospel is a PhD candidate specialising in modelling and simulation of flow through porous media. He holds a BSc in Petroleum and Reservoir Engineering from the University of Science and Technology, Nigeria, and an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College London. His current research focuses on developing numerical modelling tools and methods to characterize fluid dynamics in complex porous media. He is passionate about creating innovative numerical tools with applications in addressing energy and environmental challenges. His work is supervised by Dr. Julien Maes, Dr. Hannah Menke, and Dr. David Egya.

Nengi Fiona Karibi-Botoye

Nengi Fiona Karibi-Botoye is a PhD student exploring how thermoregulation and ventilation in termite mounds can inspire eco-friendly building designs using advanced X-ray imaging and numerical simulations. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering and has professional experience as a field engineer. Now driven by a commitment to sustainability, she is passionate about applying natural processes to innovative engineering solutions.

CJ Jones

CJ Jones is a PhD candidate with a background in microbial biotechnology and genetics undertaking a project looking at the impact of biofilm formation on multiphase flow in porous media using non-destructive 3D imaging techniques. The goal of investigating this is the better understand the risk microbial activity can pose in underground hydrogen storage in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Candida Menezes de Jesus 

Candida Menezes de Jesus holds a BSc in Geology and an MSc focused on sandstone provenance and diagenesis. She is a senior petrophysicist at Petrobras and a PhD candidate researching the porosity and permeability of karstified carbonates.

Tahseen Al-Nasseri

Tahseen Al-Nasseri is a PhD candidate, specialising in digital rock physics, pore-scale modelling, and reservoir modelling. He has a strong background as a reservoir engineer with expertise in reservoir simulation, integrating research and industry practices to enhance reservoir characterization. Tahseen also mentors junior reservoir engineers and serves as a reservoir engineering teaching assistant.

Mohammed Al Mandhari

Mohammed is a geoscientist at ARA Petroleum with a keen interest in integrated reservoir modelling. He holds a BSc in Geology and is currently doing his PhD research in multi-scale characterisation of hydrogen storage in carbonate reservoirs. He has experience in exploration and production geoscience and his research interests include hydrogen storage in carbonate reservoirs, impact of heterogeneity on flow, and pore-to-field characterisation.

Reza Najafi-Silab

Reza is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Geoscience, focusing on machine learning solutions for numerical simulation of fractured geothermal reservoirs. He holds a BSc and MSc in Petroleum and Reservoir Engineering from the Petroleum University of Technology in Iran. (Supervisors: Dr Julien Maes, Dr Hannah Menke, Prof. Florian Doster, Dr David Egya)

Yong Wen Pin

Yong Wen Pin is a dedicated PhD student with a passion for solving the complexities of carbonate reservoir rocks using multi-scale imaging and image analysis. 

“Understanding the carbonate rocks is like solving a fascinating puzzle, and each discovery brings us closer to more efficient and sustainable energy solutions.”

Abdul Hakim Bin Mazeli

Abdul Hakim Bin Mazeli is a PhD candidate specialising in CCS and is currently working with PETRONAS. His research focuses on the dissolution behavior of trapped CO2 in heterogeneous Malaysian carbonate rocks under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. Combining pore-scale X-ray imaging, direct numerical simulations and experiments at facilities like Heriot-Watt University and the Swiss Light Source (SLS).

Shamim Karimi Pashaki

Shamim is a PhD candidate in the DigiPorFlow group. She has a background in Mechanical Engineering (B.Sc.) and Energy Conversion (M.Sc.) from Iran. She joined the group in 2024 and is working on pore-scale modelling of multiphase reactive transport.

Douglas Smith

Doug is a geoscientist based at the British Geological Survey and Heriot-Watt University. His main research interests relate to energy systems, particularly hydrogen storage. His current research, for his PhD, concerns the effect of discontinuities in sandstone on underground hydrogen storage. Doug’s supervisors are Edward Hough (BGS), Andreas Busch (HWU), Daniel Arnold (HWU), Oliver Wakefield (BGS) and Kamaljit Singh (HWU). Doug has a BSc in Environmental Science and an MSc in Applied Geoscience.

Dr David Egya

Dr David Egya is a visiting scholar and researcher at Petronas Global Technology Centre, bringing 14 years of academic and industry experience. Specialising in reservoir engineering and subsurface integrated studies, Dr Egya has expertise in hydrogen generation, geothermal systems, CO2 geological storage, and petroleum resources. He is dedicated to driving research and development in frontier technologies at the intersection of academia and industry, with a strong focus on leading sustainable energy research and innovations.

Subhankar Ray

Subhankar Ray is a Ph.D candidate visiting DigiPorFlow from Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (IIT BBS), India. He holds B.Tech and M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering and  Thermal Engineering respectively. He will be conducting research on subsurface hydrogen storage in sandstones which involves non-destructive and high-resolution 3D imaging techniques like micro-CT. Mr. Ray’s visit is a part of UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) and Scheme for promotion of academic & research collaboration (SPARC) project on ‘Digital analysis of flow processes in porous materials for geo-energy applications.’ 

Harkirat Singh

Harry is undergraduate student pursuing a degree at Thapar University, Patiala, India. Currently, he is a visiting researcher with the DigiPorFlow Group. His project focuses on developing a deep learning transformer model for predicting permeability and relative permeability.

Fugui Liu

Fugui Liu is a Petroleum Engineering Ph.D. candidate visiting us from China University of Petroleum (East China) with expertise in deep learning-based digital rock image processing, generation and multi-scale digital rock reconstruction. He is currently investigating pore-scale and micro-continuum (multi-scale) modelling of fluid flow in shale porous media.