Dr. Manhal Sirat holds a PhD in Structural Geology from Uppsala University (1999) and has more than 42 years of multidisciplinary experience spanning academia, energy, geomechanics, and applied earth sciences.

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Throughout his academic career, Dr. Sirat held teaching and research positions at several international institutions, including Uppsala University, University of Hawaiʻi, RWTH Aachen University, the Petroleum Institute, and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (currently part of Khalifa University). He later served as Professor of Geology at Nazarbayev University.

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In industry, Dr. Sirat worked as an Engineering Geologist, Senior Geomechanics Engineer at Schlumberger, and Structural Geology & Geomechanics Expert at ADNOC Onshore. He subsequently joined Vattenfall AB in Sweden as Geomechanics and Geotechnical Expert within the R&D Strategic Planning / Civil Engineering section, where he initiated and completed projects related to hydropower, offshore wind, geothermal energy, and dam safety.

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Dr. Sirat is also co-inventor of a U.S. patent involving smart micro-sensor applications for mapping hydrofractures within stimulated reservoirs.

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Following his retirement from Vattenfall in 2018, he founded GeoSolutions Consulting, providing consulting services and specialized industry courses in geomechanics, structural geology, geotechnical engineering, renewable energy, and petroleum-related applications.

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His research and professional interests include:

• Offshore wind foundation scour and seabed stability

• Reservoir geomechanics and fractured reservoir characterization

• Geotechnical engineering and dam safety

• Geothermal energy systems

• Structural geology and fracture analysis

• Geostatistics and neural-network applications in geosciences

• Smart micro-sensor technologies and subsurface monitoring

 

Dr. Sirat has authored more than 100 scientific publications in international journals, conferences, and industry forums.