Georg Stockinger's dissertation addresses the processes of fracture initiation and propagation in the vicinity of the geothermal well in Geretsried, southern Germany. Focusing on the fracture mechanical characteristics of the geothermal reservoir rock, the thesis evaluates the stability of deep boreholes. The research also deals with reducing the exploration risk: thus, the productivity of extracting geothermal energy from great depths (> 4km) can be increased.
Georg Stockinger completed his dissertation at the Chair of Engineering Geology in May 2021. His supervisor Prof. Dr. Kurosch Thuro gave the laudation at the congress award ceremony. The prize was handed over by Miklos Antics, new President of the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), and Dr. Erwin Knapek, former President of the Bundesverband Geothermie, e.V.
Since August 2022, Georg Stockinger is post-doctoral researcher at the Chair of Landslide Research (Prof. Michael Krautblatter). In this new position, he focuses on the study of slope stability as well as rock fracture initiation and propagation in high alpine permafrost areas with a newly constructed climate-controlled rock mechanical laboratory and advanced 3D numerical modeling methods.