The Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences has awarded the 2025 W. A. ''Tex'' Moncrief Grand Challenge Awards to Principal Faculty member Omar Ghattas and Affiliated Faculty member Carlos Torres-Verdín.
The Moncrief Grand Challenge Award was established to support researchers to tackle complex problems that can positively impact society through computational science and engineering. The award is named in honor of William "Tex" Moncrief Jr., a prominent businessman with a deep passion for advancing science.
Omar Ghattas
Ghattas, professor of mechanical engineering and Director of the Optimization, Inversion, Machine Learning, and Uncertainty for Complex Systems research center at the Oden Institute, will expand his group’s current framework for solving massive-scale Bayesian linear inverse problems governed by autonomous dynamical systems. Ghattas’ group carries out research on Bayesian inverse problems, including those related to tsunami hazard early warning. They recently developed a real-time computational framework capable of reconstructing earthquake-induced seafloor motion from pressure sensors and using that motion to predict the propagation of tsunamis toward critical regions. With this award, Ghattas plans to extend this framework to a broader class of wave propagation source inversion problems that are vital for threat and natural hazard detection. He anticipates the project will lead to projects from the Department of Defense (DOD).
"I am delighted to be selected as a Moncrief Grand Challenge awardee, which will allow me to expand my group's work in real-time Bayesian inference to a wider range of source inversion problems," said Ghattas.
Carlos Torres-Verdín
Torres-Verdín, professor of petroleum and geosystems engineering, aims to develop efficient 3D inversion methods for interpreting deep-sensing borehole electromagnetic (EM) measurements, which is critical for the drilling and effective navigation of high-angle and horizontal wells. Torres-Verdín, member of the Electromagnetics and Acoustics Group, intends to design real-time 3D inversion algorithms to dynamically adjust the well trajectory and positioning for optimal fluid production and injection. He believes this work could lead to funded projects with the Department of Energy (DOE) and ultimately billions of dollars in savings and significant increase in recovery/storage factors in the reactive subsurface well navigation of energy projects.
“I thank the Moncrief Grand Challenge Committee and the Oden Institute for selecting this research proposal to bolster the important role played by UT Austin in developing new and effective inversion algorithms for the interpretation of modern 3D low-frequency EM measurements used across the world for reactive subsurface well placement," said Torres-Verdín.
Principal, core and affiliated faculty members at the Oden Institute are eligible to submit research proposals for the award. Awardees are selected based on their proposals that address grand challenges “affecting the competitiveness and international standing of the nation.” Selected recipients receive a stipend of up to $75,000 to support their proposed research. Recipients prepare a final report summarizing their accomplishments.
For more about present and past Moncrief Grand Challenge winners, follow this link.