Biography

Dr. Mengwei Liu received his Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Western Australia and his Master’s degree in Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia. He obtained his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2024, under the supervision of Professor Carlos Santamarina, an internationally renowned geotechnical engineer and the 2014 Terzaghi Lecturer. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Liu received the Outstanding Geomaterials Research Award from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech, an annual award presented to one recipient. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Liu worked as a Research Associate at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), U.S. Department of Energy, and was appointed as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow. During this period, he received the Outstanding Individual Award from NETL’s Geological and Environmental Systems Directorate.

Dr. Liu’s research employs multiphysics experimental characterization methods, with particular emphasis on X-ray computed tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance, together with numerical simulations such as pore-network modeling, to investigate coupled thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical processes in porous media. In the broader context of energy geotechnology, his research aims to understand macroscopic mechanical and hydraulic behavior from pore-scale phenomena, with applications to long-term geological gas storage, natural gas hydrates, and geologic hydrogen. Dr. Liu has published 10 SCI-indexed papers in internationally recognized journals in geotechnical engineering, geoscience, and energy, including Géotechnique, Earth-Science Reviews, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, and Advances in Water Resources. His research on near-surface clay sediments and hydrate’s pore habit in natural gas hydrate-bearing sediments has been featured by Georgia Tech and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. Dr. Liu also serves as a reviewer for international journals including Nature Communications, Géotechnique, and Geophysical Research Letters, as an invited reviewer for the U.S. National Science Foundation, and previously served as a project mentor for the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Educational Background

- 2024, Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

- 2020, M.S., Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia

- 2018, B.S., Mining Engineering, University of Western Australia, Australia

- Exchange Student, Excellence Initiative · International and European Studies, University of Tübingen, Germany

Professional Experience

May 2026-present, Assistant Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology, China

August 2024–April 2026, Research Associate, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy

Honors and Awards

- Outstanding Individual Award, Geological and Environmental Systems, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, 2026

- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow, U.S. Department of Energy, 2024–2026

- Outstanding Geomaterials Research Award, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024

- Global Scholarship, University of Western Australia, 2018

Projects

- Task Principal Investigator, U.S. DOE NETL RIC Field Work Proposal (FWP-1022410), Natural Gas Hydrates Research, Project 5: Pressure Core Characterization and Analysis, 2024–2026; personal share: US$1,005,000; total project funding:      US$2,716,000.

- Principal Investigator, U.S. DOE NETL, Natural Gas and Hydrogen Technologies (NGHT): Understanding Potential for Natural Hydrogen Based on Mineralogical, Geochemical & Microbiologic Signals, FY25; project funding: US$150,000.

Publications

Featured publications (*Corresponding Author):

(This article was selected by Georgia Tech for an “Institutional Repository Spotlight” feature)

2. Liu, M., Pohlman, J., Waite, W., Pohl, M., Jarvis, K., Atallah, C., Poston, J., Campbell, P., Collett, T., Myshakin, E. and Seol, Y.*, 2026. Oil in Alaska North Slope Gas Hydrate Reservoir: Micro-CT and Flow Simulation Insights into Permeability. Energy & Fuels.

(Accepted; in press)

3. Liu, M., Warner, T., Zhao, Y., Xia, Z., Zhang, D., Zhan, P., Frohman, R., Creason, G. and Seol, Y.*, 2025. Geologic hydrogen: From natural occurrences to anthropogenic generation—A review of fundamentals, potential, challenges and prospects. Earth-Science Reviews, 105338.

4. Liu, M.* and Seol, Y., 2025. A statistical and simulation-informed model for estimating permeability from pore size distribution in saturated geomaterials. Advances in Water Resources, 105197.

5. Li, H.#, Liu, M.#, Katterbauer, K., Tang, H. and Yan, B.*, 2025. Pores and flows in shales: A statistical, numerical and deep learning study. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 1–19.(#Co-first author)

6. Liu, M., Park, J.* and Santamarina, J.C., 2024. Stratified water columns: Homogenization and interface evolution. Scientific Reports, 14, 11453.

(Selected as one of Scientific Reports’ Top 100 in Physics in 2024)

Academic and Professional Service

Reviewer for Nature Communications, Géotechnique, Geophysical Research Letters, and other international journals

Invited reviewer for the U.S. National Science Foundation

Project mentor for the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai