photo: rao

Dandina Rao

Emmett C. Wells Jr. Distinguished Professor

Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering

Louisiana State University

3209W Patrick F. Taylor Hall

Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Phone: 225-578-6037 / Fax: 225-578-8433

dnrao@lsu.edu

 

Educational Background

  • June 1983 - Ph.D. in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, The University of Calgary.
  • May 1977 - M.S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan.
  • April 1974 - B. Tech. (Honors with Distinction): Chemical Engineering, Osmania University, India.

 

Employment History

  • 2008 - Present Professor - Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
  • August 2004-2008 Associate Professor - Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
  • January 1999 - August 2004 - Assistant Professor - Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
  • January 1998 - December 1998 - Principal Petroleum Engineer, TRW/BDM Petroleum Technologies, Bartlesville, OK.
  • April 1997 - December 1997 - Staff Engineer, HydroFlame Engineering Consultants, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • June 1986 - March 1997 - Petroleum Recovery Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • January 1986 - June 1986 - Research Engineer, Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • April 1984 - December 1985 - Senior Engineer, Budra Research Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • July 1983 - March 84:  Research Associate, Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, The University of Calgary.
  • September 1978 - April 1984 - Instructor - Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

 

Research Interests 

  • Reservoir Engineering
    • Characterization of reservoir wettability at subsurface conditions
    • Measurements of dynamic contact angles and gas-oil, oil-brine, and brine-gas interfacial tensions at elevated pressures and temperatures
    • Spreading, adhesion and stability of wetting films in reservoir rock-fluids systems
    • Applicability of Zisman-spreading, critical spreading tension and line-tension concepts in solid-liquid-liquid-gas systems
    • Correlation of wettability with relative permeability measurements
  • Enhanced Oil Recovery
    • Development of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) process
    • Demonstration of the GAGD process in a Louisiana oil field
    • Development of Nitrogen-GAGD process for offshore oil fields
    • Enhancement of oil recovery by reservoir wettability alteration
    • Relative permeability effects in chemicals floods
    • Flue gas/CO2-GAGD for heavy oil recovery
    • Field demonstration of HydroFlame technology for efficient heavy oil recovery
    • Further development of the Vanishing Interfacial Tension (VIT) technique for gas-oil miscibility determination

 

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