Dr. Serafin Garcia Fernandez brings a diverse engineering background and experience in underground storage using solution-mined salt caverns. Dr. Garcia Fernandez has performed cavern design and solution mining simulations, hydraulic calculations, thermal modeling, geomechanical evaluations, and led projects involving Plug and Abandonment (P&A) of Salt Caverns.

Previously, Dr. Garcia Fernandez served as a Research Assistant at the University of New Mexico, contributing to various projects in the Geomechanics Lab. His work encompassed studying resin repair materials for wellbore applications, analyzing gas flow through cement-casing microannuli, and investigating the effect of intermediate stress on wellbore cement failure. He developed experimental systems, conducted true-triaxial experiments, and performed and analyzed gas permeability measurements. Additionally, he conducted unsaturated flow modeling in mine tailings, performed slope stability analysis, and was a teaching assistant for soil mechanics, guiding undergraduate students through theoretical concepts and practical soil testing methodologies.