Alumni

Postdocs

Dr. Ankit

PetroLab member: 2022.

Project:  Biomarker extraction from a lacustrine formation in the northern Levantine Corridor (link).

Present position: Associate researcher at the Faculty of Geosciences and Geography, University of Gottingen, Germany (link).

Dr. Emmanuel Guillerm

PetroLab member: 2021-2022.

Project:  Reconstructing lake levels of the Dead Sea using fluid inclusions in halites (link).

Present position: Postdoctoral researcher at Helmholtz-Zentrum  GFZ, Germany, and visiting scholar at Binghamton University, NY, USA (link).

Dr. Christine Hall

PetroLab member: 2021-2022.

Project:  Using sedimentology and paleontology to reconstruct Pliocene paleo-environmental conditions in the Levantine Corridor (link).

Present position: Assistant professor at the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Lafayette College, USA (link).

Dr. Andrea Price

PetroLab member: 2017-2021.

Project:  Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene enhanced humidity in the Levantine corridor: insights from marine and lacustrine records (link).

Present position: Senior lab manager, University of Missouri, USA.

Dr. William Daniels

PetroLab member: 2019-2020.

Project:  The Lake Hill, St. Paul Island project (link).

Present position: Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota Duluth, USA (link).

Dr. Mariana Olivo

PetroLab member: 2018-2019.

Project:  Compartmentalization of siliciclastic systems (link).

Present position: Associated Researcher at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (link).

Dr. Or Bialik

PetroLab member: 2014-2019.

Project:  Two-step closure of the Miocene Indian Ocean Gateway to the Mediterranean (link).

Present position: Marie Curie Postdoc at the University of Münster, Germany (link).

Dr. Aaron Melijson

PetroLab member: 2017-2019.

Project:  Cyclo-stratigraphy and biomarkers of Messinian evaporites in the deep Eastern Mediterranean (link).

Present position: Independent Geology Consultant, Israel.

Dr. Yin Lu

PetroLab member: 2015-2017.

Project: Dead Sea paleoseismicity (ICDP-Dead Sea core) (link).

Present position: Associated professor at Tongji University, China (link).

Graduated visiting PhD students

Dr. Nehemiah Dominick  

Graduated from University of Western Cape (South Africa) in 2023.

Thesis: 3103301 Sandstone reservoirs from the central Bredasdorp Basin, offshore South Africa (link).

Present position: Petroleum Geologist, Total, France.

Dr. Moses Magoba 

Graduated from University of Western Cape (South Africa) in 2020.

Thesis: Fluid flow systems in the central Bredasdorp Basin, offshore South Africa (link).

Present position: Assistant Professor, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa.

PhD students

Dr. Aihemaiti Maitituerdi

Graduated from PetroLab in 2023.

Thesis: Depositional history of the Chala crater basin (Mt. Kilimanjaro, equatorial East Africa): insights from a high-resolution ~250 kyr paleoenvironmental archive (link).

Present position: Postdoc at the University of Haifa, Israel (link).

Dr. Lawal Muhedeen Ajibola

Graduated from PetroLab in 2023.

Thesis: Seafloor gas seepage features, potential gas accumulations and migration pathways: Implications for resource exploration and geohazards, SE Levant Basin (link).

Present position: Postdoc at Ohio State University, USA (link).

Dr. Emmanuel Ovie Eruteya 

Graduated from PetroLab in 2017.

Thesis: 3D seismic analysis of fluid-flow and mass wasting along the Levant and mid-Norwegian margins (link).

Present position: Postdoc at the University of Geneva, Switzerland (link).

Dr. Gilad Shtienberg 

Graduated from PetroLab in 2017.

Thesis: Late Pleistocene evolution of the continental shelf of central Israel (link).

Present position: Postdoc at University California San Diego/Scripps Institute of Oceanography, USA (link).

visiting PhD students

Paschal Amaechi 

University of Western Cape (South Africa).

Thesis: Understanding the controlling mechanisms behind Mass Transport Deposits in the Orange Basin, South Africa (link).

Present position: PhD student, University of Western Cape, South Africa.

MSc students

Abdel-Aziz Yassine 

Graduated in 2022.

Thesis: Paleo-environmental reconstruction of the northern Levantine corridor for the time period since the LGM: insights from Lake Hula (link).

Present position: PhD student at the Bar Ilan University, Israel.

Winnie Bett

Graduated in 2022.

Thesis: Evaluation of Mesozoic source rocks and their potential to support petroleum systems offshore Israel (link).

Present position: PhD student at the University of Haifa, Israel.

John Greenlee

Graduated in 2022.

Thesis: Reconstructing Pliocene environmental conditions in the Levantine Corridor (Near East) with a multi-proxy study on a lacustrine record (link).

Present position: PhD student at the University of Syracuse, USA.

Hilit Kranenburg

Graduated in 2022.

Thesis: Late Quaternary evolution of the Yesha Valley (Naftali Mountains): a paleo-environmental study (link).

Present position: Independent tourist guide.

Olajide Oladipo

Graduated from PetroLab in 2021.

Thesis: Insights into recent environmental variability in Sumatra (Indonesia) from lacustrine sub-bottom profiles and sediment cores (link).

Present position: PhD student at the University of Georgia, USA.

Avinesh Kumar

Graduated from PetroLab in 2021.

Thesis: Postglacial environmental reconstruction of northwestern USA from lacustrine record: Bells Lake, northern Idaho (link).

Present position: PhD student at the IUI/Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Ido Tkacz

Graduated from PetroLab in 2019.

Thesis: Petrophysical properties of unconsolidated sand units in the southern Shfela region.

Present position: Rafael Ltd. / PhD student at PetroLab.

Omer Bar-Ziv

Graduated from PetroLab in 2019.

Thesis: The suitability of the Zohar structure (Arad area) for geological CO2 storage (link).

Present position: Independent consulting, Israel.

Ravit Bennaim

Graduated from PetroLab in 2019.

Thesis: Petrophysical properties of the sedimentary overburden overlying a shallow gas reservoir: insights from Haifa Bay (link). 

Present position: Environmental consulting company, Israel. 

Yakufu Niyazi


Graduated from PetroLab in 2018.

Thesis: High resolution interpretation of the Pliocene overburden in the Levant Basin (link). 

Present position: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia (link).

Lior Ben-David 

Graduated from PetroLab in 2017.

Thesis: Exhumation rates of the Fagnano glacier, Tierra del Fuego (link).

Present position: AquaMelah, Inc. Israel.

Peleg Haruzi  

Graduated from PetroLab in 2017.

Thesis: Micro-scale analysis of fluid flow processes in porous media (link)

Present position: PhD student at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Jülich, Germany (link).

Mor Arnon


Graduated from PetroLab in 2017.

Thesis: Geomorphological insights into the evolution of the Israeli continental shelf (link).

Present position: Geologist at Blank Lehrer - Geotechnical Engineering, Israel.

Lee Stern 

Graduated from PetroLab in 2016.

Thesis: Limnological reconstruction of Lake Chad during the Holocene based on shallow subsurface imaging and sediment coring (link).

Present position: Geologist at GeoStern - Geology and Rock Engineering, Israel.

Dagan Schalev 

Graduated from PetroLab in 2015.

Thesis:  Geological mechanisms shaping fluid flow systems on the continental shelf off-central Israel (link).

Present position: OSC Operator and OSRP Coordinator, Noble Energy Mediterranean Ltd. Israel.

Elitsa Hadzhiivanova

Graduated from PetroLab in 2014.

Thesis: Sedimentological insights into depositional events in the Dead Sea (link).

Present position: PPC Account Manager at WMG, Ingenuity Digital | Leeds, UK.

Yosi Ben Simon

Graduated from PetroLab in 2014.

Thesis: Anatomy of a mass wasting event in the Dead Sea (link).

Present position: Independent consultant, Israel.