Adam Garland
Dr. Adam Garland earned his BS in chemistry from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin.
Garland joined the Water Lens team in Austin in 2014 as an application scientist, taking on the challenge of developing chemical water analysis tests capable of characterizing water samples with high total dissolved solids (TDS).
His goal was not only to develop a precise and reliable testing method but to provide an alternative to operators that otherwise were forced to rely on costly outside laboratories and complicated and error-prone field kits. The objective was to provide a way to monitor water quality for the entire life cycle of a well to reduce risks for every step of the process, from drilling and cementing, through fracturing, to production.
Being able to establish the quality of the water used in each step of the E&P process would allow companies to capture savings from improper cementing, avoid corrosion and scaling that result in damaged tubing and equipment and suboptimal production, and improve produced water recycling efficiency.
Garland’s vision was to deliver a way to use better quality water without stressing local freshwater reserves by improving produced water recycling efficiency
Accomplishments: Garland is a tenacious problem-solver who loves the challenge of finding answers to difficult questions. When he runs into a roadblock during the R&D process, he is not content until he finds a way around it. He is not boxed in by the limitations encountered by others in the chemistry field and is adept at applying both lateral and divergent thinking to develop novel solutions. Some of the tests Garland has introduced at Water Lens have never been done before.
Garland finds satisfaction in developing chemical and biological assays, and his determination has led to unique solutions to extremely complex challenges. One of these is a novel system for testing water quality in the field.
Using a combination of advanced chemistry and machine-learning algorithms he developed, Garland created an extremely innovative system that can be used anywhere in the world by someone with very little technical skill to deliver precise results. The system currently is being used by major oil companies and service companies around the world to optimize and control their operations in hydraulic fracturing, production chemicals and other water-related process. This is minimizing problems that slow production and already is saving companies millions of dollars in costs.
Perspective: “Making one thing that works is challenging enough. Making a million of them that all work the same is on another level.”