Dandina RaoDandina Rao

Emmett C. Wells Jr.
Distinguished Professor

Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering
Louisiana State University
3209W Patrick F. Taylor Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Phone: 225-578-6037 / Fax: 225-578-8433

dnrao@lsu.edu

Google Scholar

 

  • Ph.D., Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, The University of Calgary, June 1983. Thesis: Development of a Novel Direct Contact Heat Transfer System for Carrying Out Combustion in a Flowing Stream of Water.
  • M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, May 1977. Thesis: Utilization of Fly-Ash and Chlorination Stage Effluent in the Treatment of the Caustic Extraction Effluent of Pulp Mill Bleach Plant.
  • B.Tech (Honors with Distinction), Chemical Engineering, Osmania University, India, 1974. Project: Design of a 1000 Tons/Day Urea Plant based on the Stamicarbon Stripping Process.

 

  • August 2008 - Present: Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803-6417 USA.
  • January 2005 – Present: Emmett C. Wells Jr. Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803-6417 USA.
  • August 2004 – August 2008: Associate Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803-6417 USA.
  • January 1999 - August 2004: Assistant Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803-6417 USA.
  • January 1998 to December 1998: Principal Petroleum Engineer, TRW/BDM Petroleum Technologies, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA.
  • April 1997 to December 1997: Staff Engineer, HydroFlame Engineering Consultants, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • June 1986 to March 1997: Research Engineer, Senior Research Engineer, Staff Research Engineer, Petroleum Recovery Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • January 1986 - June 1986: Research Engineer, Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • April 1984 - December 1985: Senior Engineer, Budra Research Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • April 1983 - March 1984: AOSTRA Post-Doctoral Fellow, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
  • September 1978 - April 1984: Instructor, Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary.
  • September 1977 - March 1983: Research & Teaching Assistant, University of Calgary.
  • January 1975 - August 1977: Research & Teaching Assistant, Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
  • 1973 - 1974: Production Engineer, Aruna Chemicals, Bangalore, India.
  • 1972 (summer): Trainee Engineer, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, India.
  1. Rao, D.N., Saikia, B.D. (2024). HydroFlame and Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage: Two Technologies That Enable Environmental Sustainability in the Oil & Gas Industry. In: Walker, T., Barabanov, S., Michaeli, M., Kelly, V. (eds) Sustainability in the Oil and Gas Sector. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51586-6_8
  2. Rao, D.N., Saikia, B.D., “Single-well gas-assisted gravity draining process for oil recovery enhancement”, USA Patent 10, 704,370, issued July 7, 2020.
  3. Watheq J. Al-Mudhafar, Dandina N. Rao, and Ali K. AlMaliki, (2017), “Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Enhanced Oil Recovery: A Comprehensive Review and Field Applications”, paper SPE-186215-MS presented at the SPE/IATMI Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition held in Bali, Indonesia, 17–19 October 2017.
  1. Rao, D.N., “Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage Process for Improved Oil Recovery”, United States patent 8,215,392 B2, July 2012.
  2. Ayirala, S.C. and Rao, D.N.: “Comparative Evaluation of a New Gas-Oil Miscibility Determination
  3. Technique,” Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, 2011.
  4. Saini, D., and Rao, D.N., “Line-Tension-Based Modification of Young’s Equation for Rock/Oil/Brine Systems”, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, pp. 702-712, October 2009.
  5. Rao, D.N., and Ayirala, S.C.: “Comments on “An Analysis of the Vanishing Interfacial Tension Technique for Determination of Minimum Miscibility Pressure” by F.M. Orr and Jessen, Fluid Phase Equilibria, 255 (2007) 99-109,” Fluid Phase Equilibria, 259 (2007) 235-237.
  6. Rao, D.N., and Busireddy, C., “Development of a model for thin-film stability and spreading in solid-liquid-liquid systems", Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, in press, January 2007.
  7. Ayirala, S.C., and Rao, D.N., “A New Mechanistic Parachor Model to Predict Dynamic Interfacial Tension and Miscibility in Multicomponent Hydrocarbon Systems”, Journal of Colloids and Interface Science, Vol. 299, pp. 321-331, 2006.
  8. Ayirala, S.C. and Rao, D.N.: “Surfactant-Induced Modifications in Interfacial and Surface Forces and Multiphase Flow Dynamics in Porous Media,” Contact Angle, Wettability and Adhesion, Vol.4, Ed. K.L. Mittal, VSP International Science Publishers, 2006.
  9. Ayirala, S.C., and Rao, D.N., "Miscibility Determination from Gas-Oil Interfacial Tension and P-R Equation of State", Manuscript Accepted for Publication in The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2006.
  10. Rao, D.N., “The Concept, Characterization, Concerns and Consequences of Contact Angles in Solid-Liquid-Liquid Systems”, in “Contact Angle, Wettability and Adhesion”, Vol. 3 (Ed. K.L. Mittal), pp. 191-210, VSP International Science Publishers, 2003.
  11. Rao, D. N., “Measurement of Dynamic Contact Angles in Solid-Liquid-Liquid Systems at Elevated Pressures and Temperatures”, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, Vol.206, Nos. 1-3, pp. 203-216, Jul 2002.
  1. Rao, D.N., "Gas Injection EOR- A New Meaning in the New Millennium" Invited Article for the Distinguished Author Series, Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 40, No.2, pp. 11-18, February 2001.
  2. Rao, D.N., “Wettability Effects in Thermal Recovery Operations”, SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, 2 (5), pp. 420-430, October 1999.
  3. Rao, D.N., "A New Technique of Vanishing Interfacial Tension for Miscibility Determination", Fluids Phase Equilibria, An International Journal, 139, pp. 311-324, 1997.
  4. Rao, D.N. and Girard, M.G., "A New Technique for Reservoir Wettability Characterization", Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, pp. 31-39, January 1996.

 

  • Elected as Senior Member of U.S. National Academy of Inventors, January 2019.
  • Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Petroleum Science and Technology, 2019-2022
  • LSU Rain Maker Award in 2008, given to faculty who are nationally and internationally recognized for innovative research and creative scholarship, compete for external funding at the highest levels and attract and mentor exceptional graduate students.
  • Invitation to be Technical Editor of SPE Journal (1998-2005), and J. of Canadian Pet. Tech. (1992-1999),
  • Reviewer for National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Reviewer for Qatar National Research Council.
  • Recognized, in 2021 Stanford University study, as one of the top 159,684 scholars in the world (representing the top 2 percent globally) for his scholarly research and reviewed journal publications.