Mukul M. SharmaDr. Mukul M. Sharma is Professor and holds the “Tex” Moncrief Chair in the Department of Petroleum, Geosystems & Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin where he has been for the past 40 years. He served as Chairman of the Departmen from 2001 to 2005. His current research interests include hydraulic fracturing, oilfield water management, energy transition strategies, formation damage and improved oil recovery. He has published more than 550 journal articles and conference proceedings and has 21 patents. He founded Austin Geotech Services an E&P consulting company in 1996. He also co-founded Layline Petroleum in 2006 and Polaris Lithium in 2018 (both companies had very successful exits in 2013 and 2024), He also co-founded Navidad Energy in 2017 and and Geothermix, LLC in 2020. Sharma has a B. Tech in chemical engineering from IIT Kanpur and an MS and PhD in chemical and petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California. Dr. Sharma is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and an Honorary Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). He is the recipient of the 2017 John Franklin Carll Award and the 2009 Lucas Gold Medal, SPE’s highest technical awards. He has also received the 2004 SPE Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award, the 2002 Lester C. Uren Award, and the 1998 SPE Formation Evaluation Award. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of both IIT Kanpur and USC. He served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2002, has served on the Editorial Boards of many journals, and taught and consulted for industry worldwide. Read More Read Less