Led by Professor Grant Wach, our research team applies industry standard technology to research problems in basin analysis, reservoir prediction, characterization and modelling.
Grant Wach, Ph.D.
Professor Grant Wach, Ph.D.
Role: Director at Basin & Reservoir Lab
Phone: 902-484-8019
Email: grant.wach@dal.ca
[pdf - 0.6M] (updated January 2026)
Research Interests
- Petroleum geoscience
- Basin and field analysis and stratigraphy
- Reservoir characterization and provenance studies
- Outcrop analogs, core studies, geologic and reservoir modelling
- Sustainable energy, Carbon capture & Storage, Geothermal Energy
Lauren Wheaton
Role: Lab Manager
Email: lauren.wheaton@dal.ca
Lauren has been working in the lab since graduating in 2019, starting as a Research Assistant before taking on her current role as Lab Manager. She has contributed to a number of different projects including those focusing on geological carbon storage, geothermal , geoforensics, petroleum and energy systems, geohazards, and geophysical surveys. Her current role comprises project and lab administration, course development, and research, education, & communication.
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Sana Salehi
Role: Research Assistant
Email: sana.salehi@dal.ca
Sana Salehi is an environmental geoscientist and her work bridges geoscience, the energy transition, and policy through roles across government, academia, and NGOs, including serving on the Nova Scotia Youth Climate Council. Her current role comprises working on the carbon capture storage regulatory framework and acts as a communication lead across different projects in the Basin Lab
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Hailin Wang
Role: Research Assistant
Email: hl733406@dal.ca
Hailin graduated in 2025 with a BSc in Earth Sciences from AV整氈窒 and is currently working as a Research Assistant in the Basin and Reservoir Lab. He primarily focuses on WellCAD plotting and WellCAD, supporting projects that characterize Atlantic Canadian basins for geological carbon storage potential. He is currently involved in compiling and presenting data for ongoing work on the Fundy Basin.
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Forrest C. Lecsek (they/them/forrest)
Role: Research Assistant
Email: Forrest.Lecsek@dal.ca
Forrest began their university career studying Physical Geography & History at the University of Ottawa in 2021 before later transferring to AV整氈窒's Earth Science program in 2023. Formerly a student of the arts, they are working towards a career that matches aptitudes for the mixed-media and communication with a love for the environment and the geologic world around us.
Their interests in earth systems, while rooted in geohazard characterization and mitigation, spans from slope evolution and paleoenvironmental characterization to surficial mapping and geological exploration.
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Past research stuff
Undergraduate students
Emma Wehbe
Role: Research Assistant
Email: emma.wehbe@dal.ca
Research Interests
- Energy Systems
- Sedimentary Rocks
- Exploration
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Coady Roach
Role: Research Assistant
Email: coady.roach@dal.ca
Coady graduated in 2025 with a BSc in Earth Science and immediately started as a Research Assistant in the Basin and Reservoir Lab. In that year he has worked on our most recent projects researching and characterizing Atlantic Canadian Basins for geological carbon storage potential. Coady spent the 2025 field season collecting data from the Mesozoic outcrop along the coast of the Bay of Fundy, and is now working on compiling data to finalize the work completed on the Fundy Basin.
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Emily Theben
Role: Research Assistant
Email: emily.theben@dal.ca
Research Interests
- Mineral Exploration
- Structural Mapping
- Global Geodynamics
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