LSU's Ipsita Gupta is Educating Future Petroleum Engineers
February 10, 2023
Ipsita Gupta, LSU Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering teaches undergraduate courses focused on subsurface storage, reservoir engineering and reactive transport. She hopes her students learn the technical knowledge of the courses, but also “develop an ability to think independently and solve problems in an ever-changing world, a love of learning and keep an open mind.”
“It truly humbles me when I realize that over the past six-plus years at LSU, I have taught more than 1,000 students from sophomores to graduate students in courses and classes ranging in size from seven to more than 200,” Gupta said.
Her research in hydrogen recently received funding through the Provost's Fund for Innovation in Research. Read more about how her research impacts Louisiana and her advice for future petroleum engineers.
What do you enjoy about Baton Rouge?
I emigrated from India to the United States, and have made Baton Rouge, Louisiana
my home. Baton Rouge is very similar to Kolkata (where I was born and raised) in many
ways – warm weather and warm people; the Mississippi flows through Baton Rouge and
the Ganges (Ganga) flows through Kolkata—both cities along major rivers. Music and
art-loving Louisiana and West Bengal (home state in India) also share similar food
habits: fish/seafood, rice, spices! And of course, the Bengal Tiger from the Sundarbans
in Bengal has found love and a home in Louisiana.
Can you explain your research and why the community should know about it?
As a scientist, I study how fluids like water, oil or gas move from one point to the
other, thousands of feet deep in the subsurface where our energy resources lie. I
investigate solid-fluid and fluid-fluid interactions, physical, chemical and biological
to study how we may store hydrogen or carbon dioxide at long time-scales or produce
current hydrocarbon resources in a safe and environment-friendly manner. From these
studies, I can predict how long something may stay underground without leaking, how
long wellbores or caprocks may hold integrity. For Louisiana, this translates to research
and economic opportunities in the oil and gas sectors, including identifying leakage
potentials, and researching ways to permanently store carbon dioxide or cyclically
store and produce hydrogen in the subsurface.
You worked in industry before pursuing a career in academia. Share with us how that
experience has shaped your approach to teaching.
My industry experience helps me emphasize the application of fundamentals to real
life engineering solutions. I try and illustrate concepts using examples from industry
projects. One of the most critical steps towards nurturing future engineers, scientists
and educators begins with accessible educational opportunities that get students excited
about learning. We strive to make those opportunities available to our students by
inviting industry to our department to demonstrate their case studies and tools, present
their research and donate state-of-the-art software for our students to use for class
and senior design projects.
Congratulations on your Provost's Fund for Innovation in Research grant! You will lead a team to investigate how hydrogen, a low-carbon alternative
to oil and gas, may be stored securely in Louisiana’s subsurface formations through
this project. Tell us how you developed this project and its potential impact.
As the human population and corresponding energy demand continue to grow, adaptation
to future energy alternatives is crucial in preparing today's population for the future.
This is especially true in Louisiana where the oil and gas industry has been strong
for many generations. One very promising, cutting-edge and innovative alternative
is hydrogen. It is very efficient, but storage is a problem. Due to its low density,
surface options have limited feasibility. Subsurface storage in salt caverns, depleted
oil and gas fields and aquifers are attractive permitting large-scale cyclic storage
and production. The Gulf Coast, and particularly Louisiana, is home to hundreds of
depleted oil and gas fields and salt caverns where hydrogen can be stored and produced
in large volumes to transition to a low-carbon energy era. Given our geology, existing
infrastructure and in-house expertise, we plan to fundamentally investigate underground
hydrogen storage potential for Louisiana formations.
What advice do you have for students pursuing careers in petroleum engineering, especially
women?
Keep learning. Change is the only thing that is constant in this world. Whether it
is traditional petroleum engineering or the energy transition, technology is ever-evolving.
Keeping our fundamentals strong and our minds open and agile will help us adapt to
areas of interest and make us attractive to recruiters.
Finally, to anyone who may sometimes feel a little out of place, misunderstood or unheard, do not let others define you. The world is a beautiful place, and you are a part of it. Give your best and look upward, come what may.