The HOPE Group
The Future is Now – HydrOgen Production from the Earth’s subsurface (HOPE)
The HOPE Group · Our people
Meet our team
Lead Principal Investigator
Dr. Qingwang Yuan
Dr. Yuan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State University and the Co-Founder and President of the Association of Geological Hydrogen (AGH). He holds the Quentin E. and Louise L. Wood University Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering (08/2026 – Present).
He aims to accelerate and secure energy transition by transforming the petroleum industry to a hydrogen supplier that will open a new pathway to significantly reduce clean hydrogen cost, eliminate carbon emission from the source, and reshape the future of both petroleum and hydrogen industries.
His research areas include carbon-zero in-situ HydrOgen production from PEtroleum reservoirs (HOPE), carbon-free natural and stimulated HydrOgen Production from the Earth’s subsurface (HOPE), carbon-negative geologic hydrogen production with CO2 mineralization, CO2 geological storage, and enhanced geothermal recovery.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Principal Investigator in GeoH₂
Dr. Omar Maiga is a pioneering geologist in natural hydrogen and the world’s first doctoral graduate specializing in natural hydrogen reservoir systems. Internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work on the Bourakebougou hydrogen field in Mali — the only confirmed natural hydrogen accumulation to date, with the most dataset available — he earned his PhD with distinction from Sorbonne University and IFP School (IFPEN), in partnership with Hydroma.
He is working on (1) characterizing geologic hydrogen systems, and (2) stimulated GeoH₂ production. He is a member of AGH Board of Directors.
Current PhD Students
Yiling Du
08/2025 – Present
Yiling received her Bachelor degree in Geological Engineering from Jilin University where she was nominated for the Top Ten College Students Award in 2025. She is currently working on pore-scale reactive transport in GeoH2 production.
Mahmoud Heshmat
08/2024 – Present
Mahmoud received his Bachelor degree in Petroleum Engineering in 2022 from Suez University, Egypt. He is currently working on enhanced geothermal recovery and stimulated geological hydrogen production.
Md Aliur Rahman
08/2024 – Present
Aliur received his Master degree in Petroleum Engineering (2022) from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Bachelor degree in Petroleum and Mining Engineering (2015) from Jashore University of Science and Technology. He is currently working on numerical modeling of carbon-zero hydrogen production from petroleum reservoirs.
Md Tauhidur Rahman
08/2024 – Present
Tauhidur received Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering (2021) from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia and Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum and Mining Engineering (2018) from Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh. He is currently working on experimental studies of carbon-zero hydrogen production from petroleum reservoirs.
Current Master’s Students
Adkham Izbassar
01/2025 – Present
Adkham is working on research of penetration depth of electromagnetic waves into reservoir rocks and in-situ clean hydrogen generation from petroleum reservoirs.
Omar Abdelhak Mohamed Mohamed
08/2024 – Present
Omar received his bachelor’s degree with honors in Petroleum and Chemical Engineering from Suez University (2023). He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, focusing on carbon-negative geologic hydrogen production.
Alumni · Postdocs
Dr. Huan Yang
10/2024 – 08/2026
Research topic: stimulated geological hydrogen production.
Alumni · PhD Graduates
Chibuzo Cosmas Nwanwe
Posthumous Ph.D. (2026)
Research Topic: Geochemical Modeling of Natural Hydrogen Generation during Serpentinization of Iron-Rich Rocks
Baizheng An
Ph.D. (2026)
Dissertation Title: Deciphering Thermal-Catalytic Enhancement of In-Situ Hydrogen Generation in Shale Reservoirs Using Electromagnetic-Assisted Catalytic Heating
Position after Graduation: Austin Elements Inc.
Ping Song
Ph.D. (2026)
Dissertation Title: Simulation of Hydrogen Generation via In-situ Combustion Gasification of Heavy Oil
Mohamed Amine Ifticene
Ph.D. (2025)
Dissertation Title: In-situ Hydrogen Production from Heavy Oil and Bitumen Reservoirs via In-situ Combustion Gasification: Kinetics, Modeling, and Techno-Economic Analysis
Position after Graduation: Production Engineer at Oxy
Keju Yan
Ph.D. (2025)
Dissertation Title: In-situ Hydrogen Production from Petroleum Reservoirs using Electromagnetic Heating
Position after Graduation: Postdoctoral Researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Alumni · Master’s Graduates
Gabriel Castaneda
08/2025 – 05/2026
Research Topic: Assessment of Geology and Geological Hydrogen in Mexico.
Baizheng An
02/2020 – 12/2021
Research Topic: Experimental studies of viscous fingering in a confined Hele-Shaw cell.
Position after Graduation: PhD student in The Hope Group.
Michael Angelo Kyei
04/2024 – 08/2025
Research Topic: Electromagnetic wave penetration into reservoir rocks.
Position after Graduation: PhD student in The Hope Group.
Alumni · Undergraduates
Adkham Izbassar
04/2024 – 12/2024
Adkham is an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering. He is working on research of penetration depth of electromagnetic waves into reservoir rocks.
Daniel Solorzano
01/2020 – 05/2023
Daniel joined the Texas Tech in September 2019 and worked on experimental studies of viscous fingering dynamics in miscible displacements in porous media. He was awarded McNair Scholar in June 2020.
Anton Kaiser
11/2020 – 08/2022
Anton worked on numerical simulations of in-situ combustion gasification for hydrogen generation directly from heavy oil reservoirs, funded by the Transformative Undergraduate Experiences (TrUE) Scholars Program.