Mohammad Rezaee, assistant professor of mining engineering in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State, has been named a 2021-22 Henry Krumb Lecturer by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME).

The topic-specific workshops were designed to introduce early-career faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers to the broader science communication community and teach them to use social media, storytelling, and a web presence to network with other scientists and engage with diverse audiences. 

The vast majority of critical minerals and rare earth elements that help power electric vehicles and wind turbines come from mining operations overseas. But a new initiative spearheaded by the US Department of Energy is looking for ways to extract them from fossil fuel waste.

Increases in lung diseases have been related to respirable coal mine dust. Penn State has been awarded $327,849 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to fund research targeting ways to reduce or eliminate the toxicity of respirable coal mine dust.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Penn State (PSU) and University of Arizona (UA) researchers are partnering with industry collaborator Western Rare Earths (WRE), U.S. subsidiary of American Rare Earths Limited, to use a naturally occurring protein to extract and purify rare earth elements (REEs) from abundant, domestic ore-based feedstocks and waste materials without harming the environment. It could offer a new avenue toward a more diversified and sustainable REE sector for the United States.

Shimin Liu, associate professor of energy and mineral engineering at Penn State, is one of 29 researchers recognized as a rising star by Energy & Fuel, an international scholarly journal focused on fundamental and applied research within the energy and fuels fields, for his significant contributions in the field of energy research.