I am a Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Iceland. My research interest is structural materials; materials for energy, specifically geothermal energy; and corrosion and oxidation of materials. The focus of my research has been on the performance of materials in extreme environments, such as the oxidation behavior of ceramic composites in the air at ultra-high temperatures and corrosion of metals in the geothermal environment, including superheated geothermal steam. I was the leading scientist and organizer of the material testing on-site at IDDP-1, the first well in the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) and the hottest geothermal well in the world (450°C). I have been active in research on scaling and corrosion in geothermal environments, including material testing in extreme conditions such as in superheated geothermal steam in-situ and in a simulated environment. This includes analyzing material performance and corrosion resistance using microstructural and chemical composition analysis (SEM, EDS, EPMA), phase identification of crystalline material (XRD), and mechanical testing. My recent involvement in projects in national and international collaboration includes corrosion studies of cladding materials and coatings in high-temperature geothermal environment and research on corrosion behavior of corrosion resistant alloys in simulated high temperature deep geothermal environment.
