International Symposium on Wettability and Porous Media – Past, Present, and the Future

Abstract

Classic work of capillarity in porous media was first reported by soil scientists and hydrologists over 100 years ago. Since then, the discipline has expanded significantly and includes diverse applications. Producing and optimizing subsurface petroleum reservoirs are one such application that have been the focus of much research and discovery for the past century while geological storage of carbon and hydrogen are emerging applications. The Wettability Symposium is a premier international meeting that has gathered a community of scientists and engineers interested in the affinity of fluids for surfaces in porous media. With a few exceptions, the Wettability Symposium has been held every two years since 1990. Even though the meeting has traditionally focused on petroleum systems, there is awareness in the community of the significance of wettability in various applications, including subsurface systems for carbon and energy storage contributing to the transition to low carbon intensity and net-zero energy systems of the future. This paper provides a brief history of the meeting, held October 2023 in Laramie, Wyoming, along with a summary of the discussions, identified gaps, and future perspectives.