UW Alumnus Peng Li to Speak at School of Energy Resources

Peng Li, a University of Wyoming alumnus and a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, will be the next speaker in the School of Energy Resources' (SER) Distinguished Speaker Series Wednesday, April 1.

Li will speak from noon-1 p.m. in the UW Energy Innovation Center's Encana Auditorium. The free lunch presentation is open to all students, members of the campus community and the public.

Li's presentation will focus on decision-making strategies for optical critical mineral exploration planning.

During his tenure at UW, Li was a foundational member of the Rock Physics and Reservoir Modeling Group, where he studied under the mentorship of Dario Grana, a UW professor of geology and geophysics and Wyoming Excellence Chair.

While pursuing his Ph.D., Li contributed significantly to the university's flagship research initiatives, most notably the Wyoming CarbonSAFE Project in collaboration with SER's Center for Economic Geology Research. Under Grana's guidance, Li developed a specialized expertise in Bayesian inversion and seismic reservoir characterization, highly technical skill sets that have made him a vital asset to his current team in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford.

At Stanford, Li's work focuses on stochastic geophysical inversion and ambient noise tomography. Recognized for his collaborative approach, he frequently partners with faculty and industry experts to address complex challenges in resource recovery and materials science.

"We are thrilled to welcome Peng back to campus to share his expertise," says Fred McLaughlin, director of the Center for Economic Geology Research. "His trajectory from an SER-funded graduate student to a researcher at Stanford is a testament to the high-caliber training and professional opportunities available within the University of Wyoming's energy research ecosystem."

A livestream of the presentation can be viewed at https://uwyo.zoom.us/j/92151326200.

For more information, email Christine Reed, SER's director of outreach, at [email protected].