Fukuyama Wins AGU Outstanding Presentation Award
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April 27, 2022
Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering graduate student David Fukuyama has won an Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA) from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for research presented during the organization’s annual meeting last fall.
Fukuyama’s paper, “Mass Transport Processes at the Pore Scale During Hydrate Formation,” details research conducted for his Ph.D. under the supervision of Assistant Professor Wen Song. The work reveals an important mechanism that controls, fundamentally, the behavior of hydrates in porous geologic systems that was not previously understood, with broad implications on the capacity and security of CO2 stored in subsea systems. The research used novel geochemical microfluidics to discover the mechanism, and demonstrates the power of in situ visualization on elucidating fundamental controls on geological systems. Associate Professor Hugh Daigle also advised the research. The OSPA awards committee cited Fukuyama’s paper as “an important study that uses pore-scale imaging techniques to improve our understanding of how methane hydrates form in the natural environment” with the potential to impact how scientists measure in situ geophysical and geochemical properties.
According to AGU, OSPAs are awarded “for only the most exceptional presentations” to promote, recognize and reward undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. students for quality research in Earth and space science and the ability to effectively communicate it. Fukuyama’s paper was one of 129 chosen for an OSPA out of more than 2,800 considered. He scored the maximum number of points in several categories: organization and logic; coherence of findings; creative expression of research and originality; understanding of project significance; appealing visual layout; and logical visual flow.
Established in 1919, AGU currently supports 130,000 members worldwide in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. AGU operated as an unincorporated affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences for more than 50 years before it was independently incorporated in 1972.
