Academician Ranjith P.G. delivered a lecture

Lecture site

On the afternoon of June 21, 2024, the Overseas Experts and Scholars Series Lecture(2024, Issue 1) was held in Conference Room B201 of the College Building. Over 30 teachers and students attended the lecture, including Professor Yang Shengqi from the college and Researcher Song Lei from the Deep Earth National Key Laboratory. The lecture was presided over by Professor Yang Shengqi.

The lecture featured a special academic report entitled Green Energy from Below: The Promise of Geothermal Power by Professor Ranjith P.G. Gamage, Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and Professor at Monash University. Academician Ranjith began by introducing global energy consumption, demand, and production; greenhouse gas emissions; the current status of renewable energy and fossil fuels; sources and applications of new sustainable energy; and the distribution of geothermal energy in regions and countries such as the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and Australia. He then provided a detailed case study on Australia’s enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), including the Queensland Shallow Geothermal System and the development status of Australia’s deep engineering project, the Habanero EGS. Finally, he discussed the technical differences and application prospects of hydraulic fracturing, supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing, and foam fracturing in geothermal extraction. He highlighted that supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing is more effective than hydraulic fracturing, while foam fracturing outperforms other fluids, demonstrating significant development and application potential.

After the leture, Academician Ranjith engaged in in-depth discussions with teachers and students on topics such as carbon dioxide fracturing reservoirs. This lecture not only provided the college’s faculty and students with a high-level, insightful academic feast but also broadened their academic horizons and research perspectives.

Expert Profiles:

Professor Ranjith Pathegama Gamage is currently a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and Foreign Member of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He serves as the Director of the Deep Earth Energy Research Laboratory at Monash University and is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK), the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Engineers Australia.Professor Ranjith’s research focuses on the coupled mechanical behavior of rock mass multiphysics fields related to geological carbon dioxide storage, unconventional natural gas extraction, geothermal energy development, and nuclear waste disposal engineering. His work emphasizes the recovery of mineral and hydrocarbon resources, deep geothermal energy, hydrogen storage, and climate mitigation strategies, including carbon sequestration in geological formations.With high international academic influence, Professor Ranjith has published over 400 academic papers in top-tier journals. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Geomechanics and Geophysics for GeoEnergy and GeoResources, Associate Editor of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources, and Editorial Board Member of two authoritative ESI journals in geotechnical engineering: Engineering Geology and Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. He also chaired the 1st and 2nd International Conferences on Geomechanics for GeoEnergy and GeoResources.Professor Ranjith was selected into the Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Expert Program in 2017, awarded the Jiangsu Provincial May 1st Labor Medal in 2019, and honored with the Jiangsu Provincial Friendship Medal in 2021.

News source: Yin Pengfei, Yang Shengqi
Responsible Editor: Yan Xiaofei
First Review & First Proofreading: Lv Nuan
Second Review & Second Proofreading: Zhu Yuxiao
Third Review & Third Proofreading: Wang Yingchao