MIFPM Author

Author Profile - Dr. Arthur T. Corey

Dr. Arthur T. Corey, Professor Emeritus from Colorado State University, received his academic training in civil engineering, soil physics, and applied mathematics. Before entering the academic profession, he held the position of research physicist in the petroleum industry for the Gulf Research and Development Company. At that time he was engaged in research dealing with the flow of immiscible fluids in porous rocks, and developed semi-empirical equations for the permeability of oil, gas and brine as functions of fluid content. His equations gained wide acceptance and have since been used extensively for making calculations pertaining to petroleum reservoir behavior.

Since becoming an educator, Dr. Corey has continued his research on flow of immiscible fluids, with mainly different applications being considered, e.g., groundwater hydrology and soil physics. He has had the help of many outstanding graduate students who are now leaders in education and research on subjects related to the mechanics of immiscible fluids. Research conducted personally by Dr. Corey and his graduate students have contributed much to the material presented in the textbook. Studies conducted by Dr. Corey and his students have greatly extended the theories developed by him before he became a professor. Equations developed since that time are widely used by hydrologists concerned with processes taking place within the vadose zone, as well as by petroleum engineers concerned with reservoir behavior. The Brooks-Corey relationships are particularly well known, and are used throughout the world in numerical models involving immiscible fluid flow.

Although now officially retired from his position as Professor at Colorado State University, Dr. Corey continues to be active as a graduate student advisor, consultant, and as a visiting professor in his field of interest. He has taught courses for graduate students in four different universities in the USA, and in four other universities in countries outside the USA. In recent years, most of his students have been concerned with the analysis and remediation of polluted groundwater aquifers. Consequently, the latter application of the mechanics of immiscible fluids has received more specific treatment in this edition than in earlier editions.