
Dr. Safwat Abdel-Azeim
Research Scientist II, CIPR
Dr. Safwat Abdel-Azeim received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees from Paris XI University in Molecular Physical Chemistry, 2008 and 2004, respectively. Before joining KFUPM, in February 2017, he was a research associate at KAUST, Solar and Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center (SPERC). His main expertise is Molecular dynamics simulations, Density Functional Theory (DFT), and, the hybrid method between quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM). He has abroad research experience including bio-molecules modeling, surface chemistry, NMR simulation, reaction kinetics, and, polymer modeling. At CIPR, he is interested in EOR (chemical) related research mainly colloid stability and wettability alteration.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, University of Paris-Sud XI, France, 2008. MSc. Physical Chemistry, University of Paris-Sud XI France, 2004.
- DES Non-organic Chemistry, Cairo University, Egypt, 2000.
- BS, Chemistry, Cairo University, Egypt, 1997.
Research Interests
- Enhanced Oil Recovery (chemical) & Rational design of new potent surfactants & Nano-particles applications in EOR
- Modelling of organic photovoltaic and COF polymers using Molecular Dynamics Simulations and DFT.
- Modelling of chemical reactions in the complex systems (Bio-catalysis).
- Modelling of molecular interactions (protein-ligand, RNA/DNA-ligand and Protein-DNA interactions).
Selected Publications
- Mohamed M. EL-Deeb, Hamed M. Alshammari and Safwat Abdel-Azeim, Effect of Ortho-Substituted Aniline on the Corrosion Protection of Aluminum in 2M H2SO4 Solution, Canadian Journal of Chemistry, Feb, 13 (2017).
- S. Matthew Menke, Aditya Sadhanala, Mark Nikolka, Niva A. Ran, Mahesh Kumar Ravva, Safwat Abdel-Azeim, Hannah, L. Stern, Ming Wang, Henning Sirringhaus, Thuc-Quyen Nguyen, Jean-Luc Brédas, Guillermo C. Bazan, and Richard H. Friend. Limits for Recombination in a Low Energy Loss Organic Heterojunction, ACS Nano, (2016), 10 (12), 10736–10744.
- Safwat Abdel-Azeim, Abdesslem Jedidi, Jorg Eppinger and Luigi Cavallo, Mechanistic Insights on the Reductive Dehydroxylation Pathway for the Biosynthesis of Isoprenoids Promoted by the IspH Enzyme, Chemical Science, (2015),6, 5643-5651.
- Safwat Abdel-Azeim, Romina Oliva, Edrisse Chermak, Raimondo De Cristofaro and, Luigi Cavallo, Molecular Dynamics characterization of five pathogenic factor X mutants associated with decreased catalytic activity. Biochemistry, (2014), 53 (44), 6992.
- Safwat Abdel-Azeim, Edrisse Chermak, Anna Vangone, Romina Oliva, and Luigi Cavallo, MDcons: Intermolecular contact maps as a tool to analyze the interface of protein complexes from molecular dynamics trajectories, BMC Bioinformatics, (2014), 15 (Suppl 5):S1
- Safwat Abdel-Azeim, X. Li, L. W. Chung and K. Morokuma, Zinc-Homocysteine Binding in Cobalamin-Dependent Methionine Synthase and its Role in the Substrate Activation: DFT, ONIOM and QM/MM Molecular Dynamics Studies, Journal of Computational Chemistry, (2011), 30;32(15):3154.
- Safwat Abdel-Azeim, “Protein ligand binding interactions – ONIOM and molecular mechanics studies” VDM Verlag Dr. Müller (21 July 2010).
Awards & Honors
- CREST Post Doc fellowship, Kyoto University, Japan, 2008/09.
- SIDACTION Post Doc fellowship, ENS-Cachan, France, 2009/11.
- KAUST Post Doc fellowship, 2012/14.
- CECAM-HQ-EPFL fellow to attend tutorial on Hybrid Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) Approaches to Biochemistry and Beyond, 2013.

Dr. Ben Mansour Dia
Research Scientist III, CIPR
Ben received M.Sc. and Master’s degrees in Applied Mathematics from Gaston Berger University and then Ph.D. in 2012. His doctoral studies had been taken place jointly at Gaston Berger University and at the Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm. He joined CPG in October 2017 as Research Scientist III. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Raul Tempone at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology). His work, at KAUST, is centered on stochastic optimal control, Bayesian Experimental Design, and is applied to a wide range of engineering problems like EOR, failures detection in composite materials, and Social Interactions.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Gaston Berger University/Royal Institute of Technology
- M.S. in Applied Mathematics, Gaston Berger University
- M.S. in Applied Maths and Computer Science, Gaston Berger University.
Research Interests
- Uncertainty Quantification: Sampling techniques, Bayesian Experimental Design
- Computational Fluid Dynamics: 2-D shallow water flow, Two phase flow
- Control Theory & Applications : flow stabilization, optimal control of SDE
- Numerical Analysis: Finite Elements Method, Variational Multi-Scale formulation
Selected Publications
- Joakim Beck, Ben Mansour Dia, Luis FR Espath, Quan Long, Raul tempone, Fast Bayesian experimental design: Laplace-based importance sampling for the expected information gain, 2017, arXiv:1710.03500.
- Ben Mansour Dia, Jesper Oppelstrup, Stabilizing local boundary conditions for 2d shallow water equations, Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 2017, Vol. 9(9) 1–11.
- Tomas Chacon Rebollo, Ben Mansour Dia, Variational Multi-Scale method with spectral approximation of the sub-scales: Application to 1-d convection-diffusion equation, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg 285 (2015) 406-426.
- Dario Bauso, Ben Mansour Dia, Boualem Djehiche, Hamidou Tembine and Raul Tempone, Mean Field Games for Marriage, PLOS ONE 9(5): e94933, 2014.
- Ben Mansour Dia,Exponential Stability of shallow water equations with time dependent boundary action, Int. J. Dynam. Control (2014) 2:247–253.
- Ben Mansour Dia and Jesper Oppelstrup, Boundary feedback control of 2-D shallow water equations, J. Dynam. Control (2013) 1:41–53.
Awards & Honors
- International Science Programme (ISP, Uppsala University) fellowship, 2009 –
- Institute of Mathematics of the University of Sevilla (IMUS) fellowship, 2010.
Dr. Liu Xu
Research Scientist III, CIPR
Dr. Xu Liu joint CIPR/KFUPM on September, 2017 as Research Scientist III.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D. degree in Geophysics from the University of Adelaide, Australia.
- M.S. degree in Geophysics from the University of Science and Technology of China.
- B.S. degree in Geophysics from the Chengdu University of Technology, China.
Research Interests
- Numerical modelling of seismic waves in reservoir;
- Seismic, magnetotelluric data processing and inversion;
- Resistivity and IP inversion.
Selected Publications
- Liu Xu. Greenhalgh S., Zhou B. and Li H.J., 2019. Explicit Q expressions for inhomogeneous P and SV waves in isotropic viscoelastic media. The Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, DOI: 10.1093/jge/gxz106, in pressing
- Liu Xu. Greenhalgh S., 2019. Fitting viscoelastic mechanical models to seismic attenuation and velocity dispersion observations and applications to full waveform modelling. Geophysical Journal International, Vol.219, 1741-1756. DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggz395.
- Liu Xu. Greenhalgh S., 2019. Frequency-domain FD with an adaptable NPML boundary condition for poro-viscoelastic wave upscaled form effective Biot theory. Geophysics, Vol.84(4), WA59-WA70. DOI: 10.1190/GEO2018-0372.1
- Liu Xu. Greenhalgh S., Zhou B. and Greenhalgh M., 2019. Frequency-domain seismic wave modelling in heterogeneous porous media using the mixed-grid finite-difference method. Geophysical Journal International, Vol.216, 34-54. DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggy410.
- Liu Xu, Greenhalgh S., Zhou B. and Greenhalgh M., 2018. Effective Biot theory and its generalization to poroviscoelastic models. Geophysical Journal International, Vol.212, 1255-1273. DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggx460.
Awards & Honors
- Ludger Mintrop Award 2013 presented to Greenhalgh S., Liu Xu, and Zhou B by European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers for the paper entitled ‘Velocity and attenuation dispersion relations for the effective Biot model: total-field formulation’ published in Near Surface Geophysics, Vol.10, pp.197-
Dr. Shaikhah Laradhi
Research Scientist III, CIPR
Dr. Sheikha obtained her PhD degree in the field of Computational Chemistry from King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (Thuwal), and her Master’s degree, in Computer Science and Molecular dynamics. Before joining KFUPM, she was a post-doc fellow at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology Catalysis Center (KCC). She has studies in computational physical chemistry and materials science correlating ab initio electronic structure methods with thermodynamic and kinetic properties of matter. She uses electronic structure methods such as Density Functional Theory (DFT) along with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to support the interpretation of experimental results for designing new heterogenous catalytic surfaces. Such investigation helps also in understanding fundamental processes, which may address issues related to sub-disciplines in chemistry including photocatalysis and surface chemistry, absorption, desorption, molecular orientation, and the packing density of functionalized surfaces by appropriate molecules.
Dr. Sheikha is member of several scientific societies like (ACM) ,(MRS) , (ACS) , and (IAEE). She is the founder of Women in Renewable Energies (WiRE ) Saudi Chapter.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D.,Computational Chemistry. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KSA.
- M.S., Computer Science. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KSA.
- B.S., (1st Honors) Information Systems, Prince Sultan University, KSA.
Research Interests
- Heterogenous Catalysis and Photocatalysis.
- Density Functional Theory.
- Molecular Dynamics Simulations.
- Modelling of Green Hydrogen Production.
- Modelling of Sustainable Nanoparticles.
Selected Publications
- Sheikha Lardhi, Luigi Cavallo, Moussab Harb. Significant Impact of Exposed Facets on the BiVO4 Material Performance for Photocatalytic Water Splitting Reactions.. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters,2020. 5497–5503.
- Rowshanak Irani, Sheikha Lardhi, Luigi Cavallo, Roel van de Krol, Fatwa F Abdi et al. Nature of Nitrogen Incorporation in BiVO4 Photoanodes through Chemical and Physical Methods. Solar RRL, 2020. 1900290.
- Sheikha Lardhi, Luigi Cavallo, Moussab Harb, Determination of the Intrinsic Defect at the Origin of Poor H2 Evolution Performance of Monoclinic BiVO4 Photocatalyst Using Density Functional Theory. J. Phys. Chem. C, 2018. 122 (32): p 18204–18211.
- Sheikha Lardhi, Dalal Noureldine, Moussab Harb, Ahmed Ziani, Luigi Cavallo, Kazuhiro Takanabe, Determination of the electronic, dielectric, and optical properties of sillenite Bi12TiO20 and perovskite-like Bi4Ti3O12 materials from hybrid first-principle calculations. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2016. 144(13): p. 134702.
Awards & Honors
- KAUST Post Doc fellowship.
- Best Poster Award in The Photocatalytic Materials for Energy Symposium Of The European Material Society Meeting EMRS, 2017.
- KAUST Scholarship for High Educational Studies.
- PSU and RFS Academic Excellence Scholarship.
- King Salman Al-Saud Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence of High School Students all over Saudi Arabia -6th place
Dr. Ahmed Al-Yaseri
Research Engineer II, CIPR
Dr. Al-Yaseri joined the Center for Integrative Petroleum Research (CIPR) in December 2021 as a Research Engineer within the Petrophysics program. Al-Yaseri is highly skilled in experimental techniques for addressing critical challenges in the oil and gas industry and pioneering new research ideas for current and future applications. Al-Yaseri has more than 15 years of experience in teaching, engineering and research. He has authored over 140 peer-reviewed technical papers, and his work has been cited 6000 times, achieving an h-index of 44. His expertise includes subsurface CO2 and H2 storage, CO2 capturing, water treatment by CO2, CO2 mineralization, H2 production from organic and inorganic rocks, multiphase flow in porous media, enhanced oil and gas recovery, and rock-fluid interactions. Al-Yaseri’s contributions are instrumental in advancing the field and driving innovation in the industry, making him a highly respected name in the scientific community.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D., Petroleum Engineering, Curtin University, Australia.
- M.S., Petroleum Engineering, University of Oklahoma, USA.
- B.S., Petroleum Engineering, University of Baghdad, Iraq.
Research Interests
- Subsurface Gas storage
- Hydrogen Production
- CO2 utilization
- CO2 mineralization
- Water treatment
- Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery
- Multi-phase flow through porous media
Selected Publications
- Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Mahmoud Desouky, Murtada Aljawad, Aliakbar Hassanpouryouzband. Evidence of hydrogen release during CO2 sequestration in basalt, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 101,2025, doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.12.448.
- Mohammed H. Alyousef, Salem Alshammari, Ahmed Al-Yaseri. Synergy of CO2 Mineralization in Produced Water with Enhanced Oil Recovery: An Experimental Study, Fuel, Volume 382, Part A,2025, doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2024.133694.
- Adamu Gaduwang, Bassam Tawabini, Israa S. Abu-Mahfouz, Ahmed Al-Yaseri. Assessing hydrogen production potential from carbonate and shale source rocks: A geochemical investigation, Fuel, Volume 378,2024, doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2024.132923.
- Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Ahmed Fatah, Ridha Al-Abdrabalnabi, Saad Alafnan, Alireza Salmachi, Investigation of gas residuals in sandstone formations via X-ray core-flooding experiments: Implication for subsurface hydrogen storage, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 78,2024, doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.06.244.
- Al-Yaseri, A.; Abduljamiu, A.; Fatah, A. Experimental investigation of shale/hydrogen geochemical interactions. Fuel 2023, 346, DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2023.128272
- Ahmed Fatah, Ahmed Al-Yaseri. Salem Alshammari, Abdulaziz S. Al-Qasim. Gas Injection Dynamics and Hydrogen Storage in Carbonate Reservoirs: Core-Flooding and Molecular Simulation Study, Energy Fuels 2024, 38, 21, 20951–20966, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c03699.
Extended Publications (+)
- Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Nurudeen Yekeen, Hani Al-Mukainah, Aliakbar Hassanpouryouzband. Geochemical interactions in geological hydrogen Storage: The role of sandstone clay content, Fuel,Volume 361,2024, doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2023.130728.
- Kion Norrman, Ahmed Al-Yaseri. The effects of air plasma and argon cluster ion cleaning on quartz and calcite surfaces – Implications for rock-water-gas wettability, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 62, 2024, Pages 617-627, doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.03.112.
- Ummu-Kulthum Lawal, Hasan Khan, Kion Norrman, Ahmed Al-Yaseri. Influence of Carbonated Water on CO2 Residual Trapping in Berea Sandstones, Energy Fuels 2025, 39, 4, 2113–2121, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c04871.
- Abdulameer Almalichy, Murtada Saleh Aljawad, Zoltan Turzo, Ahmed Al-Yaseri. A study of the optimum injection rate of carbonic acid during matrix acidizing of carbonate reservoirs: Implications for reducing CO2 emissions, Heliyon, Volume 10, 2025
- Marwah Aldulaimi, Shaziera Omar, Sharul Hasan, Kion Norrman, Ahmed Almomen, Ahmed Al-Yaseri. Mechanistic Study of Wettability Alteration of Carbonate Rocks Using New Quaternary Ammonium Surfactants, Energy Fuels 2025, 39, 1, 279–286, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c04991.
- Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Ahmed Fatah, Abdulrauf R. Adebayo, Abdulaziz S. Al-Qasim, Pramod D. Patil. Pore structure analysis of storage rocks during geological hydrogen storage: Investigation of geochemical interactions, Fuel, Volume 361, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2023.130683.
Awards & Honors
- Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education Scholarship, 2014 to 2017
- Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education Scholarship, 2008 to 2010
- Top 3% most cited category in the journal Energy and Fuels
- Most Popular Article Award, Elsevier, 2023
- The World’s Top 2% Scientists for 2023 and 2024 by Stanford University
Dr. Manas Ranjan Parida
Research Scientist, CIPR
Wide-ranging experience working with various laser systems, including femtosecond oscillators and regenerative amplifiers, parametric oscillators and amplifiers, fiber lasers, solid-state pico-, and nanosecond lasers, and supercontinuum sources. These are used in various laser-matter interaction experiments including terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy, Time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, and nonlinear spectroscopy (Z-scan and multi-photon spectroscopy). My research interests include Ultrafast carrier dynamics in semiconductor optoelectronic materials including perovskites solar cells, and photoactive materials including semiconductor quantum dots and nanowires.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D. in Physics, IIT Madras, India
- Post-doc from KAUST, KSA & University of Illinois, Chicago
- Marie Curie Fellow from FZU, Prague, Czech Republic
Research Interests
- Ultrafast Spectroscopy
- Terahertz Technology
- Material Science
Selected Publications
- 3D Graphene Straintronics for Broadband Terahertz Modulation, Advanced Electronic Materials, 2024,2300853
- Terahertz charge transport in 3D graphene with localization and band regimes, Nanoscale Advances, 2023, 1, 2933-2940
- Tunable-Interfacial Charge Transfer in Heterovalent doped CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystals, JACS, 2017 139, 731-737
- Pure crystal orientation and charge transport in large-area hybrid perovskite films, Nature communication, 2016, 7, 13407
- Real-Space Mapping of Surface Trap States in CIGSe Using 4D Electron Microscopy, Nano letters, 2015, 16 (7), 4417–4423
Awards & Honors
- Marie Curie award from Europiean Union, 2021

Dr. Ahmed M. El-Zohry
Research Scientist II, CIPR
Expert in charge dynamics studies for condensed phases at bulk, surface, and across interfaces using various tools of non-linear ultrafast optical spectroscopy. Interested in fundamental studies that contain applications related to renewable energy, catalysis, interface physics, and biological fields. Contributed with more than 65 papers in highly reputed journals, and wide contributions in conferences and workshops.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D. in Chemical Physics (2016) from UU, Sweden
Research Interests
- Nonlinear Ultrafast Spectroscopy
- Renewable energy resources
- Catalysis
Selected Publications
- “Ultralong Radiative States in Hybrid Perovskite Crystals: Compositions for Sub-Millimeter Diffusion Lengths “, JPCL, 2017, 8, 4386-4390.
- “Gigantic Relevance of Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer for Organic Dyes Used in Solar Cells”. JPCC, 2018, 122, 23998−24003.
- “Extraordinary Carrier Diffusion on CdTe Surfaces Uncovered by 4D Electron Microscopy” Chem, 2019, 5, 1-13.
- ” Unprecedented Ultralow Detection Limit of Amines using a Thiadiazole-Functionalized Zr (IV)-Based Metal–Organic Framework.”, JACS 2019, 141 (18), 7245-7249.
- “Long-Lived Charge Transfer State Induced by Spin-Orbit Charge Transfer Intersystem Crossing (SOCT-ISC) in a Compact Spiro Electron Donor/Acceptor Dyad.” Angew. Chem, 2020, 59, 11591–11599

Dr. Badr Bageri
Research Scientist II, CIPR
Dr. Badr joined the CIPR in September 2021 as Research Scientist. His main expertise is essentially in evaluating and improving the drilling fluid properties using new materials. He has other interests in stimulating the formation damage caused during the drilling operations.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D., Petroleum Engineering, KFUPM, KSA, 2017
- M.Sc., Petroleum Engineering, KFUPM, KSA, 2012
- B.S., Haramout University, Yemen, 2007
Research Interests
- Drilling Fluid Properties
- Filter Cake Removal
- Formation Damage
Selected Publications
- Bageri, B.S., Adebayo, A. R., Al Jaberi, J., Patil, S., and Babu, R.,, 2021, Evaluating drilling fluid infiltration in porous media – Comparing NMR, gravimetric, and X-ray CT scan methods, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, vol. 198.
- Bageri, B. S., Gomaa, I., Mahmoud, M., Patil, S., and Al Nakhli, A., 2020, Complex barite filter cake removal using in ‑ situ generated acids by thermochemicals,” Scientific Reports, Nature, 15773 (2020).
- Bageri, B.S., Adebayo, A. R., Al Jaberi, J., and Patil, S., 2019, Effect of perlite particles on the filtration properties of high-density barite weighted water-based drilling fluid,” Powder Technology, PTEC-14912, p. 10.
- Bageri, B.S., Adebayo, A. R., Barri, A., Al Jaberi, J., Patil, S., Hussaini, R., and Babu, R., 2019, Evaluation of secondary formation damage caused by the interaction of chelated barite with formation rocks during filter cake removal,” Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, vol. 183.
- Bageri, B. S., Benaafi, M., Mahmoud, M., Patil, S., Mohamed, A., and Elkatatny, S., 2019, Effect of Arenite, Calcareous, Argillaceous, and Ferruginous Sandstone Cuttings on Filter Cake and Drilling Fluid Properties in Horizontal Wells,” Geofluids, vol. 2019.
Extended Publications (+)
- Bageri, B.S., Mahmoud, M., Abdulraheem, A., Al-Mutairi, S. H., Elkatatny, S., and Shawabkeh, R. A., 2017, Single stage filter cake removal of barite weighted water based drilling fluid, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, vol. 149.
- Bageri, B. S., Al-Mutairi, S. H.; Mahmoud, M., 2013, Different Techniques for Characterizing the Filter Cake,” in SPE Unconventional Gas Conference and Exhibition, 28-30 January, Muscat, Oman.
- Bageri B. S., Mahmoud M.A., Shawabkeh R.A., and Abdulraheem A., Barite Filter Cake Removing Composition and Method. Application Number: US20170145289A1. Filed: 2015-Grant: 2019
Dr. Joakim Henrik Beck
Research Scientist III, CIPR
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D., in Chemical Engineering, UCL (University College London), London, United Kingdom
- M.S., Eng. in Engineering Physics, KTH (The Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm, Sweden
Research Interests
- Uncertainty Quantification
- Optimal Experimental Design
- Computational Methods in Engineering and the Geosciences
Selected Publications
- Mildon, Z.K., Roberts, G.P., Faure Walker, J.P., Beck, J., Papanikoloau, I., Michetti, A.M., et al. Surface faulting earthquake clustering controlled by fault and shear-zone interactions, Nature Communications, Vol. 13, Article No. 7126, 2022
- Beck, J., Liu, Y., Von Schwerin, E., Tempone, R. Goal-oriented adaptive finite element multilevel Monte Carlo with convergence rates, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering (CMAME), Vol. 402, Article No. 115582, 2022
- Ballesio, M., Beck, J., Pandey, A., Parisi, L., von Schwerin, E., and Tempone, R. Multilevel Monte Carlo Acceleration of Seismic Wave Propagation under Uncertainty, International Journal on Geomathematics, 10(1), Art. 22, 43 pp., 2019
- Mildon, Z.K., Roberts, G.P., Faure Walker, J.P., Beck, J., Papanikoloau, I., Michetti, A.M., et al. Surface faulting earthquake clustering controlled by fault and shear-zone interactions, Nature Communications, Vol. 13, Article No. 7126, 2022
- Beck, J., Liu, Y., Von Schwerin, E., Tempone, R. Goal-oriented adaptive finite element multilevel Monte Carlo with convergence rates, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering (CMAME), Vol. 402, Article No. 115582, 2022
- Ballesio, M., Beck, J., Pandey, A., Parisi, L., von Schwerin, E., and Tempone, R. Multilevel Monte Carlo Acceleration of Seismic Wave Propagation under Uncertainty, International Journal on Geomathematics, 10(1), Art. 22, 43 pp., 2019
- Beck, J., Wolfers, S., and Roberts, G.P. Bayesian earthquake dating and seismic hazard assess- ment using chlorine-36 measurements (BED v1), Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 11, No. 11, 4383-4397, 2018
Awards & Honors
- 4-Year EPSRC PhD Studentship at UCL (United Kingdom, Awarded July 2009)
- EPSRC Network on Computational Statistics and Machine Learning Award (NCSML, Awarded June 2015)
- A Top 5 Cited Paper since 2015 in SIAM/ASA Journal on Uncertainty Quantification (JUQ, Announced March, 2020)
Dr. Denis Anikiev
Research Scientist III, CIPR
Dr. Denis Anikiev is a Research Scientist at the Center for Integrative Petroleum Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. He holds a Ph.D. in Geophysics from St. Petersburg State University, Russia, specializing in microseismic imaging and seismic inversion. Dr. Anikiev has broad expertise in computational geophysics, machine learning, data analytics, and software development, with over 20 years of programming and modeling experience.
Before joining KFUPM, he served as a Senior Scientist at GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Germany, leading projects in large-scale geological modeling and software development. He also has industry experience in real-time seismic data processing and has worked as an independent consultant in geoscience software solutions.
At KFUPM, Dr. Anikiev is pioneering the Data Analytics Program, applying AI and machine learning to geoscientific challenges, including Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) data. He is proficient in Python, MATLAB, C/C++, TensorFlow, and Keras, and actively contributes to open-source scientific software. His work has earned international recognition, including prestigious grants and a patented seismic modeling technology.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D., in Geophysics, Department of Earth Physics, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, 2015
- M.S., in Geophysics, Department of Earth Physics, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, 2011
- B.S., in Physics, Faculty of Physics, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, 2008
Research Interests
- Integration of AI and ML in geoscience
- DAS processing
- Microseismic imaging
- Induced seismicity
- Seismic inversion
- Geothermal exploration
- Subsurface coupled process modeling
- Potential field modeling
- Computational geophysics
Selected Publications
- Jechumtálová, Z., Anikiev, D. & Eisner, L. (2025). Sensitivity for monitoring array of Distributed Acoustic Sensors (DAS) in a vertical borehole. First Break, 43(4), 35–37. https://doi.org/10.3997/1365-2397.fb2025026
- Götze, H.-J., Strehlau, R., Dannowski, A., Anikiev, D., Kumar, A. & Scheck-Wenderoth, M. (2024). Do gravity data justify a rifted “Liguro-Provençal Basin”? Frontiers in Earth Science, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1475025
- Alvers, M. R., Götze, H.-J., Anikiev, D. & Plonka, C. (2023). Inversion of potential fields by interactive optimization of 3D subsurface models using a spring-based space warping and evolution strategy. GEOPHYSICS, 88(3), G79–G93. https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2022-0222.1
- Anikiev, D., Birnie, C., Waheed, U. b., Alkhalifah, T., Gu, C., Verschuur, D. J. & Eisner, L. (2023). Machine learning in microseismic monitoring. Earth-Science Reviews, 239, 104371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104371
- Gómez Dacal, M. L., Scheck-Wenderoth, M., Faleide, J. I., Abdelmalak, M. M., Bott, J. & Anikiev, D. (2023). Tracing the Iceland plume and North East Atlantic breakup in the lithosphere. Nature Communications in Earth & Environment, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01120-w
- Ahlers, S., Röckel, L., Hergert, T., Reiter, K., Heidbach, O., Henk, A., Müller, B., Morawietz, S., Scheck-Wenderoth, M. & Anikiev, D. (2022). The crustal stress field of Germany: A refined prediction. Geothermal Energy, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40517-022-00222-6
- Anikiev, D., Waheed, U. b., Staněk, F., Alexandrov, D., Hao, Q., Iqbal, N. & Eisner, L. (2022). Traveltime-based microseismic event location using artificial neural network. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.1046258
- Anikiev, D., Cacace, M., Bott, J., Dacal, M. L. G. & Scheck-Wenderoth, M. (2020). Influence of lithosphere rheology on seismicity in an intracontinental rift: The case of the Rhine Graben. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.592561
- Anikiev, D., Lechel, A., Gomez Dacal, M. L., Bott, J., Cacace, M. & Scheck-Wenderoth, M. (2019). A three-dimensional lithospheric-scale thermal model of Germany. Advances in Geosciences, 49, 225–234. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-49-225-2019
Awards & Honors
- 2024: Member of the organizing committee of the international workshop “Exploring the potential for interdisciplinary 3D interpretation of potential fields by IGMAS+” in Cairo, Egypt
- 2021: Invited speaker for the Heiland Lecture Series
- 2014: Research Grant of St. Petersburg Government
- 2012-2015: SEG Scholarship for doctorate students
- 2012-2014: Research Grants of the DAAD
- 2011: MSc diploma with distinction
- 2008: BSc diploma with distinction