Shannon Eichmann

Meet Aramco innovator Shannon Eichmann, who translates images into datasets for subsurface characterization.

Shannon Eichmann, a Petroleum Engineer in the Reservoir Engineering Technology Team at the Aramco Research Center-Houston, works on finding new ways to translate images of rocks into datasets that can be used to improve characterization of underground reservoirs.

Eichmann and her colleagues spend much of their time evaluating different methods of converting images to data, with the hope of finding ever more efficient translation techniques.”

“There is a lot of information that you can get from images of rocks, and our team looks at different ways to take an image and convert it into quantitative data,” said Eichmann. “Currently, we've been comparing more traditional methods of image segmentation and quantification to newer methods that utilize machine learning, improving the speed and accuracy of the process.”

Eichmann says her love for math and science started a young age.

"I've always loved math. My mom worked at a school when I was a child.  She brought home an algebra book. I must have been about eight, and I remember looking through it and thinking that it was cool.  There were equations with letters mixed in with the numbers. I had no clue what it meant, but, even then, I knew I really loved math.”

Eichmann received her bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M, and her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Eichmann joined Aramco in 2013 as one of the earliest hires to start the Aramco Research Center-Boston. She explains, “I was doing my post-doctoral work at Rice University and working with Aramco's EXPEC ARC in Dhahran. I was thinking about what I was going to do after my post-doc when Aramco approached me about their vision for the research centers.  At the time, the vision was focused on providing long-term fundamental research, which fit well into my wheelhouse.  I also had experience setting up labs during my Ph.D. and my post-doc which is useful for starting new labs.”

After working at the research center in Boston for four years, Eichmann moved back to Texas to work at the research center in Houston where she continues to be an active member of the scientific community.

A constant learner, she is a member of several scientific organizations, including: The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), The Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysists (SPWLA), The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and The American Chemical Society (ACS).

In 2021, Eichmann received the Regional Service Award for North America at the SPE Gulf Coast Section banquet, an award that recognizes industry professionals for their excellent service to the society.

As she advances her research, Eichmann continues to serve the society and the greater scientific community. She has published 30 papers, participated in 60 conference talks and posters, and she has been involved in 12 granted patents, with several others still in the patenting process.