Robert Walsh was born in Ireland, and moved to Canada’s Yukon Territory at a young age. He completed his engineering education at the University of Albera, and eventually went on to complete a PhD at the University of Tübingen in Germany, studying coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical processes in fractured rock, with a primary application in geothermal energy. In 2008, Robert joined the numerical modeling team at Geofirma Engineering, specializing in multiphase numerical modelling including projects involving hydrogeology, hydromechanical processes, thermal transport, gas-flow simulation and other coupled processes.
Through his work at Geofirma, he has solved diverse problems, especially in the field of radioactive waste management, midstream oil and gas, and carbon sequestration. This work has included field characterization and geomechanical modeling to support safely increasing maximum operating pressure for gas storage in depleted natural-gas reservoirs, coupled geomechanical and two-phase flow modeling of excavation damage and associated gas transport from a nuclear repository, and feasibility modeling for potential carbon sequestration projects. He has significant experience in the planning, coordination and analysis of geomechanical and petrophysical tests for geological CO2 storage.
Currently, he leads the dynamic modeling team developing a carbon storage atlas for the eastern Canada’s offshore Scotian basin, and he is the Lead Engineer for Geofirma’s geological CO2 storage operations in SW Ontario, working with industrial partners towards the first megatonne-scale CO2 storage hub in Eastern Canada.
