J. Carlos Santamarina graduated from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and completed graduate studies at the U. Maryland and Purdue U. He taught at NYU-Polytechnic, U. Waterloo and Georgia Tech. His team explores the foundations of hydro-chemical-thermo-mechanical coupled processes with applications in energy geo-engineering. Two books and 300 publications summarize salient concepts and research results. His former students are faculty members at more than thirty universities, researchers at national laboratories, or practicing engineers at leading organizations worldwide. Dr. Santamarina is a frequent keynote speaker at international events, a member of both Argentinean National Academies, the recipient of Hogentogler Awards; he was the 2012 British Geotechnical Association Touring Lecturer, and delivered the 50th Terzaghi Lecture in 2014.