Amin Mehrabian

Amin Mehrabian serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering within the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. His academic appointment centers on petroleum and natural gas engineering with a focus on subsurface mechanics and energy applications. He maintains active research collaborations with major energy companies and has translated academic findings into industry-deployed digital solutions.

His educational background includes dual bachelor's degrees in Petroleum and Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (2004-2005), a Master's in Mechanical Engineering from the same institution (2006), and a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma (2013). Prior to academia, he worked as a principal R&D engineer at Halliburton's Houston Technology Center.

Mehrabian's research investigates coupled physical processes in porous media, including deformation, fracture mechanics, fluid transport, and electrochemical interactions. His work bridges theoretical poromechanics with practical applications in drilling, reservoir management, and energy storage. Key methodologies involve analytical modeling of nonlinear phenomena in deformable rocks and development of constitutive relations for complex subsurface systems.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals consistent focus on poro-viscoelastic behavior, wellbore stability in depleted reservoirs, and nonlinear transport phenomena. His work demonstrates strong integration of geomechanics with fluid dynamics, particularly in unconventional reservoir contexts. The research shows increasing application of computational methods to solve industry-relevant problems in drilling and completion engineering.

Mehrabian teaches core courses including Drilling Engineering (PNG 450), Drilling Engineering Laboratory (PNG 451), and graduate-level Coupled Flow and Deformation in Porous Media (PNG 502). His industry experience directly informs his pedagogical approach, emphasizing practical problem-solving alongside theoretical foundations. He has developed patented technologies related to managed pressure drilling and wellbore hydraulics that are implemented in field operations.

His research group produces high-impact publications in top journals such as Water Resources Research, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal. The group maintains strong industry partnerships that facilitate technology transfer from academic research to field implementation, particularly in the areas of wellbore stability analysis and lost circulation mitigation.