GERC - Virginia Tech Collaboration: Xu Tang
I am Xu Tang, a full time PhD student in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University (Virginia Tech) in the US. I work with Dr. Nino Ripepi at Virginia
Tech in the field of geological storage of carbon dioxide in unconventional
reservoirs, specifically unmineable coal seam and shale formations.
The purpose of my travel was to strengthen the partnership
between Virginia Tech and the University of Nottingham with my trip fully
funded by the Virginia Tech College of Engineering. I was at the University of
Nottingham from the 11th – 17th July staying in halls of
residence on the University Park Campus. During this time I worked with Dr. Matthew Hall, Dr. Lee Stevens and Dave Mee (analytical
technician) to study the pore feature characterization of organic rock such as
coal and shale. Our main focus is on the characterization of porosity and
surface area in coal and shale samples taken from our US test sites. Our test
results are so far very interesting and will prove useful in rethinking the current
published gas sorption test data.
Apart from the interesting
lab time I have to say I spent a wonderful week in Nottingham. The day I arrived
in Nottingham Dr. Hall showed me the beautiful Nottingham campus and gave me some
suggestions for my short stay. He also told me how squirrels store their food
for later usage when we walked around the lake in the campus! During my stay I had
a good time meeting members of GERC and Dr. Hall’s research group when we enjoyed
an evening meal out together.
In my opinion, when you
visit Nottingham, Nottingham Castle and the oldest inn in England (Ye Olde Trip
to Jerusalem) should definitely not be missed. Unfortunately on my visit there
with Lee and Dave I only got to experience the soft drinks!
Time always goes too quickly
when you’re having fun but the memory of Nottingham and my friends will always
be with me. If I ever get the chance again to choose another place to do my research,
the University of Nottingham will be the one.
GERC has an established partnership with Virginia Tech especially the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research (VCCER)
*You can keep up to date with GERC activities on our social media channels*
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