Larry W. Lake
Professor and Chair
Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering
W.A. (Monty) Moncrief Centennial Endowed Chair in Petroleum Engineering
Phone: (512) 471-8233
Fax: (512) 471-9605
Email: larry_lake@mail.utexas.edu
Dr. Larry W. Lake earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Rice
University in 1973. He joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin
in 1978. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997.
Dr. Lake is a specialist in reservoir engineering and geochemistry. More
specifically, he studies enhanced oil recovery and reservoir characterization.
Lake’s work in quantifying the effects of geochemical interactions and flow
variability for resource recovery is now widely applied by industry. His
reservoir characterization work includes demonstrating that different geological
depositional processes produce flow properties that can be statistically
described. He was also among the first to recognize the importance of rock-fluid
chemical interactions on enhanced oil recovery. Lake’s work has been crucial in
developing more efficient methods for recovering oil and gas from reservoirs.
For example, many companies now simulate hydrocarbon recovery by taking into
account variations discovered through Lake's research.
Research interests:
- Geochemical modeling and statistics
- Reservoir characterization
- Enhanced oil recovery
- Reservoir engineering