As we navigate the profound shift towards sustainable energy sources, countless forthcoming technologies will rely, in some form, on the responsible and secure utilization of subterranean resources for both long- term and periodic storage. In Dr. Gonzalo Zambrano Narvaez’s capacity as an Assistant Professor specializing in Geotechnical Engineering, with a specific emphasis on Subsurface Energy, his research focuses on ensuring the reliability of various subsurface energy resources, such as H2, geothermal energy, and the deep borehole disposal (DBD) of small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear waste. Additionally, Dr. Zambrano - the Subsurface Energy Research Group [SERG] - and Dr. Rick Chalaturnyk - the Reservoir Geomechanical Research Group [RG]2 is committed to cultivating a new generation of engineers equipped to tackle contemporary challenges of the energy landscape as part of the DeepSAFE research initiative. DBD is under consideration for SMR waste management, particularly for intermediate level waste (ILW). The initial phase of this study is supported by Future Energy Systems at University of Alberta.