Dramatic improvements have been made to the process of converting carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, to methanol, a fuel and building block for a wide range of everyday materials, according to Penn State researchers.
The third annual Energy Days conference will be held this year on May 30 and 31 at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. Energy Days was created in an effort to convene the energy expertise of Penn State and develop partnerships to help improve the affordability, sustainability and security of energy in the future. The conference is open to the public and is free for Penn State students, faculty and staff.
For both Zuleima Karpyn and Luis Ayala, leaving their home country of Venezuela for a Penn State education seemed like a daunting task. After all, they never could have imagined that it would lead to advancing their education, developing their careers as faculty members or meeting each other, resulting in a marriage that’s produced three children.
Chunshan Song, distinguished professor of fuel science in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) and director of the EMS Energy Institute, was named an honorary professor by Tianjin University in China. He also was selected as a Global Alumni Fellow by Osaka University in Japan.
Members of the Penn State – Dalian Joint Center for Energy Research (JCER), a partnership between Penn State and Dalian University of Technology (DUT), one of the top research universities in China in energy and chemical engineering, met on campus recently to discuss ongoing research and collaboration initiatives and progress made in advancing clean energy research.
As part of the Energy Innovation Leadership Experience program, students from Penn State, San Jose State, Texas A&M, the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova were provided with hands-on learning experiences and internship opportunities with leaders in the sustainability industry.
Xiaoxing Wang, an associate research professor in Penn State’s Earth and Mineral Sciences Energy Institute, received the Outstanding Young Researcher Award at the 15th International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization, held July 17-21 in Shanghai, China.
The 2017 GEMS Industry Forum, “Balancing our Energy Future,” will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 in 114 Steidle Building on the University Park campus. There will be a reception held before the forum at 6 p.m. in the Steidle Building lobby.
As rows of tents dotted the countryside, the Grange Fair offered a chance to get back to more simple times. But for members of the group WE ARE for Science, it was a chance to shape the future of science policy, education and public outreach. About 40 members of the group recently spent a day at the fair fielding questions from kids and parents alike, in areas such as astronomy, entomology and geosciences at their “Ask a Scientist” event.
Tim Robinson said he joined the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the technology field at an exciting time, and his decades-long career at Penn State reflects the rapid pace of the budding technology's impact on education. He's even expanded his role in the college, teaching classes related to energy and sustainability. Robinson is retiring on June 30.