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FracMan Technology Group/Seattle

Dr. William Dershowitz, Principal

B.S., Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977
M.S, Civil Engineering (Rock Mechanics), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979
Ph.D., Civil Engineering (Rock Mechanics), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984

Dr. Dershowitz is the Technical Director of the FracMan Technology Group, and is a Principal of Golder Associates Inc.. He has been developing and applying discrete fracture data analysis, integration, and modeling approaches since 1977. Dr. Dershowitz delivered the keynote address on Environmental Applications of Discrete Fracture Methods at the European Rock Mechanics Symposium, EUROCK'96, and the keynote address on Petroleum Applications of Discrete Fracture Approaches at the 1994 North American Rock Mechanics Symposium. Dr. Dershowitz is active in the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM), is an editor of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, and served as a member of the ISRM commission of computer technology for rock mechanics. Dr. Dershowitz has been the principal investigator for the FracMan code since 1985, and has developed geostatistical, fractal, and geological models for fractured and heterogeneous rocks. Dr. Dershowitz has completed more than 20 major discrete fracture modeling projects in the US, Asia, and Europe, and has published over 30 papers on discrete fracture flow research.

Dr. Dershowitz' fields of expertise include:

  • Fractured rock data analysis (orientation, size, spatial structure, and flow/transport properties)
  • FracMan discrete feature network (DFN) modeling and visualization
  • Continuum and DFN flow/transport and geomechanical modeling
  • Rock slope stability
  • Probabilistic methods
  • In situ vitrification technology

Recent projects which Dr. Dershowitz has carried out include development of compartmentalization analysis technologies for oil reservoirs, analysis of in situ leaching by DFN methods, radioactive waste disposal facility site characterization and safety assessment, and underground cavern inflow prediction.

Typical Project Experience

Project Responsibility
DOE/National Institute for Petroleum Energy Research, Fractured Reservoir Discrete Feature Network Technologies, 1996-1998 Principal Investigator, research on compartmentalization, flow, and discrete feature data analysis for fractured and heterogeneous oil reservoirs
Hong Kong Tue Mon Road Rock Slope Analysis, 1997-1998 Rock slope stability analysis using FracMan technologies
Enresa (Spain) Geological HLW Disposal Project, 1996-1998 FracMan modeling for generic granite repository pathways analysis and safety assessment
Battelle Pacific Northwest Lab, Geotechnical Support for In Situ Vitrification, 1994-1995 Continuum mechanics and modeling in support of in situ vitrification
Wake County, North Carolina Low Level Radioactive Waste Project, 1994-1998 3D continuum and DFN flow and transport modeling in support of a proposed LLW disposal facility
SKB Aspo Research Mine, 1988-1998 FracMan modeling and data analysis for flow and transport experiments
PNC (Japan) Geological Isolation Section, 1990-1998 FracMan modeling and technical support for high-level radioactive waste repository siting and licensing
Marathon Oil, Confidential Oil Companies, 1989-1998 FracMan modeling in support of oil and gas reservoir development
SKB Geological HLW Disposal Project, 1990-1998 FracMan data analysis, modeling and technical support for high-level radioactive waste repository siting and licensing
OECD/NEA Stripa Site Characterization Project, 1986-1990 In situ stress analysis, packer testing, and fractional dimension type curve analysis
US Army Topographic Engineering Section, 1994-1998 Technical support for FracMan modeling and data analysis related to military facilities

Selected Publications

For a complete list of publications, click here.

Dershowitz, W., and T. Doe, 1997. Analysis of Heterogeneously Connected Rock Masses by Forward Modeling of Fractional Dimension Flow Behavior. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. Vol. 34, no. 3/4, p. 652.

Dershowitz, W., 1996. Rock Mechanics Approaches for Understanding Flow and Transport Pathways (Invited Keynote) in EUROCK ‘96 Special Lectures Proceedings of the 1996 ISRM International Symposium on Prediction and Performance in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, Torino, Italy, September 2-5, 1996, 61-82. Servizi Grafici Editoriali, Padova, Italy.

Dershowitz, W, and I. Miller, 1995. Dual Porosity Fracture Flow and Transport. Geophysical Research Letters.

Yechieli, Y., D. Ronen, A. Hadad, W. Dershowitz, and B. Berkowitz, 1995. Aquifer Characteristics Derived From the Interaction Between Water Levels of a Terminal Lake (Dead Sea) and an Adjacent Aquifer. Water Resources Research (in press).

Dershowitz, W., and P. La Pointe, 1994. Discrete Fracture Approaches for Oil and Gas Applications. Proceeding, First North American Rock Mechanics Symposium, Austin. (Invited Keynote)

La Pointe, P.R., P.C. Wallmann, and W.S. Dershowitz, 1993. Stochastic Estimation of Fracture Size Through Simulated Sampling. International Journal of Rock Mechanics, Mining Sciences, and Geomechanics Abstracts.

Dershowitz, W., N. Hurley, and K. Been, 1992. Stochastic Discrete Fracture Modeling of Heterogeneous and Fractured Reservoirs. Proceedings, Third European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery, Delft.

Dershowitz, W., W. Roberds, and J. Black, 1991. Application of Discrete Fracture Analysis to Site Characterization. Proceedings, 1991 Geotechnical Engineering Congress, Boulder. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

Herda, H. H. W., H.H. Einstein, and W.S. Dershowitz, 1991. Problems with Representation of Rock-Fracture Clusters. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, v. 117, n. 11, p. 1754-1771.

Einstein, H.H., and W.S. Dershowitz, 1990. Tensile and Shear Fracturing in Predominantly Compressive Stress Fields - A Review. Engineering Geology v. 29, n. 2, July, p. 149-172.

Dershowitz, W. S., and H.H. Einstein, 1988. Characterizing Rock Joint Geometry with Joint System Models. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering v. 1, n. 1, p. 21-51.

White L.A., D.L. Pentz, W.S. Dershowitz, and W.J. Roberds, 1982. Decision Analysis for Geologic Repository Development and Licensing. Proceedings, International Conference on Radioactive Waste Management, Winnipeg. Canadian Nuclear Society, Toronto. p. 157-161.

Dershowitz, W.S., and I. Miller, 1981. Practicality and Sophistication in Subsidence Modeling for Geothermal Systems. Proceedings, 22nd U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics, Rock Mechanics from Research to Application, Cambridge, MA. p. 137-142.