All News

New acid mine drainage treatment turns waste into valuable critical minerals
08/13/2020

A new way to treat acid mine drainage (AMD) could help transform the environmental pollution problem into an important domestic source of the critical rare earth elements needed to produce technology ranging from smart phones to fighter jets, according to Penn State scientists.


Interdisciplinary team wins Department of Energy Optimization Challenge
06/10/2020

A team of Penn State researchers is part of the first round of winners for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Optimization (GO) Competition. Presented by the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E), the selective competition presents challenges for the development of optimization algorithms for a crucial set of operational problems faced by the United States’ power grid.


Song to step down as director of the EMS Energy Institute
05/20/2020

Chunshan Song has announced that he will step down as director of the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) Energy Institute (EI) and will be leaving Penn State, effective June 30.


Reducing greenhouse gas emissions using microwave plasma technology
04/29/2020

A multi-disciplinary collaborative relationship, developed between Penn State EMS Energy Institute researchers and a Pittsburgh-based start-up company, may hold the answer to reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while also paving the way to disrupt the chemical and material industries.


EI celebrates 2020 Wilson Awards winners
04/28/2020

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ annual celebration of accomplishments was hosted virtually on Sunday, April 26, 2020.


Two faculty members join the Institutes of Energy and the Environment
04/22/2020

Two researchers have become cofunded faculty members in the Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE): Hee Jeung Oh, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering, and Hilal Ezgi Toraman, an assistant professor in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences with a joint appointment in the College of Engineering.


Zuleima Karpyn appointed associate dean in College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
04/15/2020

Zuleima Karpyn, professor of petroleum and natural gas, has been appointed associate dean of graduate education and research in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Karpyn will start in her new role effective July 1. 


University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research Announces Round 6 RFP
04/15/2020

On April 15, 2020, UCFER released its sixth request for proposals (RFP) to the member Coalition. The RFP will close on June 10, 2020 at 5 p.m. EST. The proposals received will be reviewed by the Technical Advisory Council, Core Competency Board, external reviewers, and the Executive Council.


Shedding light on the rules that govern the U.S. power grid
02/11/2020

A Penn State researcher is a part of a multi-university team that received a $513,000 grant to study the decision-making process that governs how people in the U.S. receive electricity. Seth Blumsack, professor in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy, is co-leading an interdisciplinary team investigating how the rules for the power grid are made and how they affect the real world.


Energy, chemical engineering professor receives fellowship
02/03/2020

Hilal Ezgi Toraman, Penn State assistant professor of energy engineering and chemical engineering, has been named the Virginia S. and Philip L. Walker Jr. Faculty Fellow in Materials Science and Engineering and Fuel Science Program. The fellowship was awarded to Toraman for her contributions to teaching, research and service in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering.


EI Communications