Alana Leahy-Dios
alana.leahy-dios@aya.yale.edu
Education
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Aug 2003 – Mar 2008
− PhD in Chemical Engineering: “Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Fickian and Thermal
Diffusion Coefficients in Hydrocarbon Mixtures”, advised by Prof. Abbas Firoozabadi
− Results from PhD work have applications in improved oil recovery from CO2 and gas injection, reservoir
initialization, wax precipitation in flowlines and CO2 sequestration
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mar 1997 – May 2003
− Chemical Engineering Bachelor Degree (GPA: 8.8/10)
− Ranked second among 100 graduating class
Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, MI
Aug 1999 – May 2000
− Brazilian/US Scholarship for one year study at MSU (chemical engineering major)
Work Experience
ExxonMobil – Upstream Research Company, Houston, TX
Oct 2008 – Current
Engineering Specialist; Improved Recovery Section, Improved Hydrocarbon Recovery Division.
Research Projects include
− Development and implementation of enhanced oil recovery processes screening algorithm;
− Investigation of physical phenomena important in modeling of carbon capture and sequestration.
ExxonMobil – Upstream Research Company, Houston, TX
Summer Internship in Light Oil Recovery Technology Section:
May – Aug 2007
− Optimization of well placement for high permeability contrast reservoirs, using reservoir simulation
Consulting – ConocoPhillips, Bartlesville Technology Center, performed in New Haven, CT Aug – Dec 2005
− Development of user-friendly interface for calculation of rock relative permeability
ConocoPhillips– Bartlesville Technology Center, Bartlesville, OK
Summer Internship in Reservoir Recovery Mechanism Section:
May – Jul 2005
− Development of algorithm to obtain rock properties from Forchheimer permeability equation
− Development and implementation of non-linear regression to calculate rock properties from experimental
data
ExxonMobil, Esso Brasileira de Petróleo Ltda – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
16-month long internship in Supply and Distribution:
Jan 2001 – Apr 2002
− Experience in operations, transport and safety at fuel storage and distribution terminal
− Supervision of quality assurance tests for gasoline, diesel and alcohol fuels
− Assistant manager of operations of 27 fuel distribution terminals across Brazil
Roche Bioscience - Palo Alto, CA
Summer Internship in Research Laboratory:
Jun – Aug 2000
− Experimental studies on solubility and stability of pharmaceutical compounds by HPLC and
spectroscopy techniques
Awards, Scholarships and Fellowships
Yale University
2008 Harding Bliss Prize for “exceptional achievement in research in Engineering and Applied Science”
Society of Petroleum Engineers – PhD Student Paper Competition
− First place for Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent and Eastern regions
− Third place international award at the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, CA
Yale University
− Yale University Fellowship
− Faculty of Engineering Fellowship
2003 – 2008
Aug 2003 – July 2004
Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP)
− First place in scholarship competition for final year project
May 2002 – May 2003
Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development
− Undergraduate scholarship for research on natural polymers
Mar 1998 – Aug 1999
Research Experience
Yale University – New Haven, CT
Sept 2003 – date
− Development and construction of equipment for determination of diffusion coefficients
− Complete laboratory set-up
Université de Mons-Hainaut – Mons, Belgium
May – Aug 2004
− Summer research in Prof. Jean Platten’s group; work included novel measurements of molecular and
thermal diffusion coefficients in ternary hydrocarbon mixtures.
Michigan State University – East Lansing, MI
Oct 1999 – Feb 2000
− Extrusion and determination of mechanical properties of biodegradable polymers
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Research project sponsored by the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency:
May 2002 – May 2003
− Simulation of water-oil separation on off-shore platforms, using computational fluid dynamics, to obtain
best performance hydrocyclone for oil-water separation
Instituto de Macromoleculas Prof. Eloisa Mano – UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Research project sponsored by the Brazilian Scientific Development Agency:
Mar 1998 – Aug 1999
− Reaction and characterization of hydrosoluble natural polymers
Teaching Experience
Chemical Engineering Dept.– Yale University
Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
Sept –- Dec 2007
− Weekly lectures and help sessions, grading of homework and exams
Chemical Engineering and Process Modeling
Sep – Dec 2005
− Weekly lectures and tutorials, assistance during laboratory sessions, grading of homework
Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design
− Lectures and tutorials for students, grading of homework
Mar – May 2004
Yale College – Yale University
Tutor for Residential College Math and Science Tutoring Program
Jan –- Dec 2007
− Weekly one-on-one and group sessions in various math, physics, chemistry and engineering topics
Graduate Coordinator: Science, Technology & Research Scholars Program
Sep 2006 – May 2007
− Supervision of undergraduate tutors and weekly lectures and help sessions for students
Mechanical Engineering Dept. – Yale University
Mechanical Engineering IV: Fluid and Thermal Energy Science
Jan – May 2006
− Weekly lectures and help sessions, grading of homework and exams
Chemical Engineering Dept. – UFRJ, Brazil
Chemical Engineering Unit Operations:
Sep 2002 – May 2003
− Preparation of homework assignments, lectures, assignment assistance
Institute of Chemistry – UFRJ, Brazil
Organic Chemistry Laboratory:
Mar – Aug 1998
− Grading of exams and lab reports, coordination of 20 students during experiments
Peer Reviewed Publications
“New Thermal Diffusion Coefficient Measurements for Hydrocarbon Binary Mixtures: Viscosity and
Composition Dependency”, A. Leahy-Dios, L. Zhuo, A. Firoozabadi, J. Physical Chemistry B, 112, 6442
(2008).
“Unified model for non-ideal multicomponent molecular diffusion coefficients”, A. Leahy-Dios and A.
Firoozabadi, AIChE, 53, 2932 (2007).
“Effect of Molecular Shape and Size on Molecular and Thermal Diffusion Coefficients of Binary Mixtures”, A.
Leahy-Dios and A. Firoozabadi, J. Physical Chemistry B., 111, 191 (2006).
“Measurements of Molecular and Thermal Diffusion Coefficient in Ternary Mixtures”, A. Leahy-Dios, M. M.
Bou-Ali, P. Platten and A. Firoozabadi, J. Chemical Physics, 122, 234502 (2005).
“Revising the Solubility Concept of Pharmaceutical Compounds”, A. Blasko, A. Leahy-Dios, W. Nelson, S.
Austin, R. Killion, G. Visor and I. Massey, Monatshefte fuer Chemie, 132-7, 789-798 (2001).
Conferences
2007 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, CA, Nov 2007: “A Unified Model for
Prediction of Molecular Diffusion Coefficients in Non-ideal Petroleum Fluids”, A. Leahy-Dios and A.
Firoozabadi (SPE 113021-STU)
Robert M. Langer Chemical Engineering Symposium, Yale University, Dec 2007: “A Unified Model for
Prediction of Molecular Diffusion Coefficients in Non-Ideal Multicomponent Fluids ”, A. Leahy-Dios and A.
Firoozabadi.
2006 AIChE Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, Nov 2006: “Molecular and Thermal Diffusion
Coefficients of Binary Hydrocarbon Mixtures: Effect of Size and Shape of Molecules”, A. Leahy-Dios and A.
Firoozabadi
7th International Meeting on Thermodiffusion, San Sebastian, Spain, Jun 2006: “Molecular and thermal
diffusion coefficients of binary hydrocarbon mixtures - Effect of Size and Shape of Molecules”, A. Leahy-Dios
and A. Firoozabadi.
Robert M. Langer Chemical Engineering Symposium, Yale University, Dec 2004: “Molecular and thermal
diffusion coefficient measurements of binary and ternary hydrocarbon mixtures”, A. Leahy-Dios and A.
Firoozabadi.
2º Brazilian Conference in Petroleum and Natural Gas R&D, Jul 2003, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; “Numerical
simulations of water-oil separations in hydrocyclones”, A. Leahy-Dios and R. A. Medronho.
24º Conference for Scientific Research at UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov 2002: “Numerical simulations of
hydrocyclones for water-oil separations”, A. Leahy-Dios and R. A. Medronho.
21º Conference for Scientific Research at UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct 1999: “Gelatin-dextrin gel
properties”, C. T. Andrade, A. Leahy-Dios, B. N. Pires and R. C. R. S. Rosa.
3º Regional Polymer Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct 1999: “Mechanical properties of dextrin-gelatin
gels”, A. Leahy-Dios, R. C. R. S. Rosa and C. T. Andrade.
Language Skills
English: Fluent
Portuguese: Native Speaker
Spanish: Good written and spoken knowledge
French: Basic technical knowledge
Computational Skills
Matlab, Visual Basic, Reservoir Simulators, Office tools: experienced user
CFX (computational fluid dynamics), Fortran: good knowledge