Dr. Robert K. Podgorney is the Director of the Critical and Strategic Minerals and Materials Initiative at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he organizes and plans internal infrastructure and research investments in critical minerals. He also leads the modeling and simulation team for the U.S. DOE Geothermal Technology Office Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) program, coordinating efforts for EERE’s flagship geothermal energy research laboratory.

With over 25 years of experience in geothermal research, computational fluid dynamics, and computational science, Dr. Podgorney possesses expertise in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), fluid flow, heat transport, mechanics in fractures, and the development of massively parallel simulators. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Idaho, an M.S. in Hydrogeology from Wright State University, and a B.S. in Geology from the University of Pittsburgh. He has held significant leadership positions such as Chief Computational Scientist at INL and Director of the Snake River Geothermal Consortium.

Before his current role, Dr. Podgorney was the Chief Computational Scientist at INL, where he established the Nuclear Computational Resource Center and created strategic research plans supporting INL-wide modeling and simulation. He has been recognized with several honors, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Alice Haynes Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduate Student. His work includes numerous peer-reviewed publications, patents, and contributions to the development of advanced geothermal technologies.

Dr. Podgorney holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Idaho. He has authored over 40 scientific publications, delivered numerous invited talks, contributed to several book chapters, and holds multiple U.S. patents.

Critical minerals
geothermal energy
heat and mass transfer
fractured rocks
groundwater
thermal energy
energy storage