Read the latest news about research conducted by investigators in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our faculty and students are continually advancing technology, creating solutions and expanding knowledge with new and innovative research.
Fighting fire with societal norms
04/17/2018
04/17/2018
There are a few statistics about women firefighters that stand out to Penn State researcher Lorraine Dowler. Women account for about 7 percent of firefighters nationwide. Men and women firefighters have the same average age, but women are paid $10,000 less, on average, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
One-fifth of carbon entering coastal waters of eastern North America is buried
04/11/2018
04/11/2018
Coastal waters play an important role in the carbon cycle by transferring carbon to the open ocean or burying it in wetland soils and ocean sediments, a new study shows.
New sodium-ion electrolyte may find use in solid-state batteries
04/10/2018
04/10/2018
A newly discovered structure of a sodium-based material allows the materials to be used as an electrolyte in solid-state batteries, according to researchers from Penn State and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The team is fine-tuning the material using an iterative design approach that they hope will shave years off the time from research to everyday use.
Earth and mineral sciences grad students lauded at annual research exhibition
04/06/2018
04/06/2018
Batteries, earthquakes, Earth science modeling, water flow and natural gas leakage -- these are the research topics of the five graduate students in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences who received honors in Penn State's 33rd annual Research Exhibition.
Wider coverage of satellite data better detects magma supply to volcanoes
03/28/2018
03/28/2018
Using satellite imaging, Penn State researchers for the first time identified a major magma supply into a reservoir extending almost 2 miles from the crater of a volcano in Nicaragua.
41 graduate students earn awards at 33rd annual Graduate Exhibition
03/27/2018
03/27/2018
Forty-one graduate students received awards for their research and creative scholarship in the 33rd annual Graduate Exhibition, held March 23 and 25 on Penn State's University Park campus. A complete list of winners is available below.
Designing a new material for improved ultrasound
03/22/2018
03/22/2018
Development of a theoretical basis for ultrahigh piezoelectricity in ferroelectric materials led to a new material with twice the piezo response of any existing commercial ferroelectric ceramics, according to an international team of researchers from Penn State, China and Australia.
Researchers create tool to better geographic projections in atmospheric modeling
03/16/2018
03/16/2018
Open-source code developed by a Penn State graduate could improve weather forecasting and a range of other research endeavors that rely on pairing atmospheric models with satellite imagery.
Ferroelectrics expert keynote speaker at Taylor lecture
03/15/2018
03/15/2018
Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Purnendu Chatterjee Endowed Chair in Energy Technologies in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, will discuss "Electric Field Control of Magnetism" during the 2018 Nelson W. Taylor Lecture Series in Materials Science and Engineering, held on Thursday, April 5.
$2.5M grant funds real-time monitoring of underground carbon sequestration
03/14/2018
03/14/2018
Researchers from Penn State, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Texas at Austin are partnering on a new $2.5-million project to illuminate what happens to carbon dioxide during underground sequestration.