Professor Abbas Firoozabadi is a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a Research Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University, and the Director of the Reservoir Engineering Research Institute (RERI) in Palo Alto, California. His research focuses on the efficient development of subsurface conventional/unconventional oil and gas reservoirs and related environmental management. His work encompasses advanced numerical modeling of subsurface flow, bulk thermodynamics, interfacial thermodynamics, and irreversible thermodynamics. By developing continuum-scale and molecular simulation methods, he explores novel and improved technologies for hydrocarbon recovery and shale reservoir development. His current research priorities include molecular engineering using trace functional molecules to enhance the efficiency of oil and gas energy production and enable environmental remediation. Recently, his research scope has extended to fracturing technologies. He has authored or co-authored approximately 270 papers in international journals and written two books on the thermodynamics of hydrocarbon energy production, published by McGraw-Hill. He has received four major awards from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), including the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, in recognition of his outstanding achievements in improving petroleum exploration and production technology and practice through his work on hydrocarbon reservoir and production thermodynamics, multiphase flow in fractured porous media, and hydrocarbon reservoir performance.