It's an exciting time to be a part of Penn State's Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Not since the 1970s have graduates with energy-related degrees found themselves in such high demand across the globe.
From mineral recovery to its use, EME plays a major role in the "power of life." Through education, research, and service our mission is to help supply society with an affordable supply of energy and minerals; work to ensure human health and safety; and protect and maintain the quality of the environment.
Our interdisciplinary department produces petroleum engineers, mining engineers, energy and geo-environmental engineers, environmental systems engineers, industrial health and safety professionals, fuel scientists, and energy and business professionals. We offer a wide range of degree programs, all of which address the effective production, conversion, use and management of energy and mineral resources.
Vision
We solve the world’s energy problems through high-quality, innovative teaching, research, and service.
Mission
We are an interdisciplinary, diverse department dedicated to the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible recovery, processing, and utilization of earth resources.
Goals
- Inspire and motivate students to develop a lifelong attachment to the disciplines in EME.
- Promote learning and discovery in energy and minerals engineering.
- Create a caring community that inspires faculty, staff, students and alumni.
How to Find Us
The EME Department is located in Hosler Building, at the intersection of Pollock Road and Burrowes Road on the University Park campus. ( view .pdf map )
Our mailing address is:
The Pennsylvania State University
Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering
110 Hosler Building
University Park, PA 16802
Facilities
EME students have access to excellent experimental and computational laboratories, including state-of-the-art analytical facilities at the EMS Energy Institute and the Materials Research Institute.
Some of our teaching and research facilities include:
Mineral Preparation Laboratories
The mineral preparation laboratories are primarily reserved for mineral processing and geo-environmental engineering experiments and research. The laboratories are equipped with characterization equipment used for determining physical, surface, and colloid properties of powders and research and pilot scale equipment used for crushing and grinding, density-based separations, froth and column flotation, and solid-liquid separations.
Surface Mining Laboratory
This laboratory educates students in computer aided surface mine design, calculation and selection of appropriate surface mining systems. The professional surface mining software includes SURPAC (geological modeling and mine design), TALPAC (loader - trucks simulation), DragSim (dragline simulation), and XPAC (mine planning and scheduling). Students also have access to a rock mechanics laboratory and ventilation laboratory.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Laboratories
The petroluem and natural gas engineering facilities include production, rock, and fluid properties and cement laboratories and a drilling rig simulator. We also have several research laboratories that include multi-phase fluid flow systems, a medical x-ray computerized tomography system, and a high resolution industrial CT scanner.
Hydrology Laboratory and Fluids Laboratory
The hydrology laboratory is used for research on permeability testing of rock and soil samples and strength testing of granular materials. The fluids laboratory is used for fluid flow and flame demonstration experiments.
Fuel Cell and Electrochemical Laboratory
This laboratory is used primarily for demonstrating fuel cell and hydrogen technology. Using three electrochemical systems, students can study Faraday's laws of electrolysis, learn the Nernst equation in detail, and produce electrical energy.
Industrial Health and Safety Laboratory
This laboratory is predominantly used for research that is related to developing instrumentation for evaluating the effectiveness of respiratory protection, and development of surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor systems for measuring organic vapors in breath and air. Equipment includes gas chromatographs, a digital fluorometer, respirator fit-testing equipment, a test atmosphere generation system and chamber, and electronic test equipment.
In addition, we have state-of-the-art computer facilities that include:
- a UNIX-based SUN Microsystems laboratory that provides access to software packages such as Eclipse, Fluent, and Wave.
- a PC-based laboratory available to students on a 24-hour basis.