Ajay Ganesh, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Complex systems and control Data Science Machine Learning Multi-Physics Processes

About

Dr. Ajay Ganesh is a Research Associate at the University of Alberta with research interests spanning the crossroads of Complex Energy Systems Engineering and Data Analytics. He is a well-seasoned engineer, inculcating the best of both academia and industry. A researcher-cum-educator, trained by prestigious Universities of Canada, the United States, and India in Complex Systems & Control Engineering and Data Science. He is a creative problem-solver possessing a multidisciplinary academic background in the reservoir, chemical, and electrical engineering. He is a competent team player with experience working with people across the globe with different cultural, religious, and language backgrounds.

During his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta, he worked on a thesis titled "Proxy Model-based Closed-Loop Reservoir Management: A data-driven approach." He developed Machine Learning-based data-driven models to manage petroleum reservoirs to strike a balance between the economics and safety of the operation. His approach focused on implementing Machine Learning models in the place of first-principles-based models when the latter becomes computationally expensive for control and optimization purposes. He has successfully published his research in high-impact journals and at international conferences. During his previous Postdoc at the Delaware Energy Institute, University of Delaware, U.S.A., he worked on Physics and Data Analytics-based modeling and control of the natural gas upgrading process. He also possesses industrial experience as a software engineer, where he acquired project management documentation skills apart from code development.

Research

Ten years of experience in the crossroads of Data Science and Complex Systems & Control Engineering. Successfully published articles in renowned, high-impact-factor international journals, conferences, symposiums, and online platforms during Ph.D. and Postdoc (present and back in the U.S. (U Delaware)).

Currently working on the following projects:

• Data mining techniques to extract geomechanical characteristics of the underlying caprock layer from the reservoir field data.
• Application of Value of Information analysis in reservoir surveillance and management
• AI-based framework for modeling and optimization of CO2 sequestration

Refer to the Google Scholar link at the end of the page for a complete list of publications.

Teaching

Highlights:

• Principal Instructorship in applied statistics and process control related courses
• Secured a 4000 CA$ teaching award to revamp an undergraduate/graduate course in Data Science.
• Completed sixty-plus hours of graduate teaching and learning training.
• Served thrice as Teaching Assistant, Grader, and Internship-student mentor and once as a Laboratory Manager