Peter B Flemings

Peter B. Flemings is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin and holds the Leonidas T. Barrow Centennial Chair in Mineral Resources. He is affiliated with the Jackson School of Geosciences and the Institute for Geophysics. His research focuses on crustal fluid flow, methane hydrates, and geomechanical modeling, with significant contributions to the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). He leads the UT GeoFluids Consortium and the Genesis of Methane Hydrate Project.

Education: PhD in Geology (Cornell University, 1990), MS in Geology (Cornell University, 1987), BA in Geology (Dartmouth College, 1984).

Research interests include stratigraphy, basin-scale fluid flow, pore pressure prediction, submarine landslides, and geohazards. His work integrates field studies, laboratory experiments, and computational modeling to address challenges in energy resources, subsurface fluid dynamics, and climate change.

Awards: AAPG George C. Matson Memorial Award (2021), Director’s Circle of Excellence Award (2021–2022), and multiple teaching and research recognitions including the G. Montgomery and Marion Mitchell Award (2003). He has served on prestigious committees such as the American Geophysical Union’s Asahiko Taira Prize Committee and the Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee to the U.S. Secretary of Energy.

Advising and grants: Supervised over 50 graduate students and postdocs. Leads industry-supported consortia and has driven initiatives like the Gulf of Mexico Methane Hydrate Drilling Project. Key collaborations include Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the IODP.

Labs and teams: Directs the UT GeoMechanics and GeoFluids laboratories, focusing on sediment mechanics, hydrate systems, and basin-scale geomechanics. Active in global research networks addressing energy transition and carbon sequestration.