Draft:Iraj Ershaghi
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Iraj Ershaghi is an Iranian-American petroleum engineer, researcher, and academic, serving as the Omar B. Milligan Chair and Director of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). A faculty member at USC since 1972, he is known for his contributions to reservoir engineering, well testing, and enhanced oil recovery, as well as his work on unconventional energy resources and sustainable energy technologies. Ershaghi has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and recognized with multiple awards, including the AIME Honorary Membership, OCEC Engineer of the Year, and USC Distinguished Service awards. In his honor, USC established the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition and the Ershaghi Faculty Mentorship Award.
Early life and education
[edit]Ershaghi earned his B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tehran, followed by an M.S. and Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Southern California.
Career
[edit]Ershaghi joined the faculty of USC in 1972. He has held leadership roles within the Viterbi School including Director of Petroleum Engineering. He has served as Executive Director of the Chevron-sponsored Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies (CiSoft) at USC.
In 2022, a major gift from Gary Buntmann and his wife Mary established the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (ECET) at USC, named in his honor.[1] The centre focuses on research and innovation in sustainable energy and the transition to low-carbon technologies.[2]
In 2024, USC Viterbi established the Iraj Ershaghi Faculty Mentorship Award in recognition of his decades of leadership and mentorship within the School of Engineering.[3] In 2025, the award was again highlighted among USC Viterbi Faculty & Staff Awards.[4]
Ershaghi has provided expert commentary on major industry issues; for example, he was interviewed by CNN in October 2021 regarding the California oil spill and society’s dependence on fossil fuels.[5][6]
His work on repurposing oil and gas wells for renewable energy storage has been featured in *Engineering.com*.[7]
Honors and recognition
[edit]Ershaghi was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2014 for “advancing the understanding of naturally fractured reservoirs and developing programs to support petroleum engineering education.”[8]
His awards and honors include:
- U.S. Colonel Edwin L. Drake Oilman Award (2022)
- AIME Legion of Honor (2017)
- USC Senior Research Award (2017)
- AIME Honorary Membership (2012)[9]
- SPE Honorary Member (2012)
- SPE John Franklin Carll Award (2010)
- USC School of Engineering Distinguished Service Award (2010, 1996)
- SPE North America Western Region Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award (2007)
- Elected to the Board of Directors, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) (2009)
- SPE Distinguished Lecturer (2006–2007)
- USC Award for Service (2004)
- **OCEC James E. Ballinger Engineer of the Year Award (2018)**[10]
- SPE Distinguished Service Award (2000)
- Technology Transfer Award for Development of the Smart Oilfield Technology Curriculum (2006)
- Fellow, Institute for Advancement of Engineering (2002)
- SPE Distinguished Faculty Award (1983)
- SPE Distinguished Member Award (1983)
Selected publications
[edit]Ershaghi has authored or co-authored over 100 technical papers. Selected examples include:
- Zhao, X., Popa, A.S., Ershaghi, I., Aminzadeh, F., Li, Y., Cassidy, S.D. (2020). “Reservoir Geostatistical Estimates of Imprecise Information Using Fuzzy-Kriging Approach.” SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 23(01): 001–012.
- Khoshnevis, B., Yoozbashizadeh, M., & Ershaghi, I. (2019). “Water Unloading of Gas Wells Using the Concurrent-Water-Collection Method.” SPE Production & Operations 34(03): 473–484.
- Qi, Q. & Ershaghi, I. (2019). “Persistency in Fracture Tendency of Subsurface Biogenic Siliceous Rocks.” Aspects in Mining and Mineral Science Journal.
- Lee, K.-H., Ortega, A., Nejad, A.M., & Ershaghi, I. (2011). “An Active Method for Characterization of Flow Units Between Injection/Production Wells.” SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 14(4).
- Abdassah, D., & Ershaghi, I. (1986). “Triple Porosity System for Representing Naturally Fractured Reservoirs.” SPE Formation Evaluation Journal.
Books
[edit]- Ershaghi, I. (2023). Solved Problems in Well Testing. Springer. ISBN 978-3031472992.
Book chapters
[edit]- Ershaghi, I., & Ghaemian, S. (1982). “Estimation of Qv Profile in a Sedimentary Type Geothermal Reservoir.” In Geothermal Log Interpretation Handbook. SPWLA.
- Al-Qahtani, M.Y. & Ershaghi, I. (1999). “Characterization and Estimation of Permeability Correlation Structure from Performance Data.” In AAPG Memoir 71.
- Ershaghi, I. (2019). “Ethical Issues Facing Engineers in Oil and Gas Operations.” In Next Generation Ethics. Cambridge University Press.
Media coverage
[edit]Ershaghi has provided expert analysis on oil industry and energy transition issues. Notable coverage includes:
- CNN interviews in October 2021 about the California oil spill and fossil fuel dependence.[11][12]
- Featured in *Engineering.com* (2023) for research on repurposing oil and gas wells for underground sustainable energy storage.[13]
Personal life
[edit]Ershaghi is married to Mitra Ershaghi. They have three adult children and eight grandchildren.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]- USC Faculty Profile – Iraj Ershaghi
- Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies (CiSoft)
- Google Scholar – Iraj Ershaghi
- Tech Briefs articles mentioning Ershaghi
References
[edit]Category:Living people Category:University of Southern California faculty Category:Petroleum engineers Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:University of Tehran alumni Category:Iranian engineers Category:American engineers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
- ^ "Ershaghi Center on Energy Transition launches". USC Viterbi News. April 2022. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Reimagining Energy: Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition". USC Viterbi News. June 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Heather Culbertson and Marco Paolieri Receive Viterbi Faculty Awards". USC Viterbi News. May 2024. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Spotlight on Extraordinary Achievements". USC Viterbi News. April 30, 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Oil spill raises questions about fossil-fuel dependence". CNN. October 4, 2021. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "California oil-spill live news". CNN. October 4, 2021. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Repurposed Oil and Gas Wells Can Be Used to Store Sustainable Energy Underground". Engineering.com. October 2023. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Dr. Iraj Ershaghi". National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Iraj Ershaghi – AIME Honorary Membership". AIME. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "USC Viterbi Faculty Win Big at OCEC Awards". USC Viterbi News. April 19, 2018. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Oil spill raises questions about fossil-fuel dependence". CNN. October 4, 2021. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "California oil-spill live news". CNN. October 4, 2021. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Repurposed Oil and Gas Wells Can Be Used to Store Sustainable Energy Underground". Engineering.com. October 2023. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Ershaghi Center on Energy Transition launches". USC Viterbi News. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Reimagining Energy: Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition". USC Viterbi News. 2025-06-01. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Heather Culbertson and Marco Paolieri Receive Viterbi Faculty Awards". USC Viterbi News. 2024-05-01. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Spotlight on Extraordinary Achievements". USC Viterbi News. 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Oil spill raises questions about fossil-fuel dependence". CNN. 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "California oil-spill live news". CNN. 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Repurposed Oil and Gas Wells Can Be Used to Store Sustainable Energy Underground". Engineering.com. 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Dr. Iraj Ershaghi". National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Iraj Ershaghi – AIME Honorary Membership". AIME. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "USC Viterbi Faculty Win Big at OCEC Awards". USC Viterbi News. 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2025-11-06.