Louis NormanTeru DeCordova has been selected to represent Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences as the student marshal for the college’s fall 2023 commencement on Saturday, Dec. 16, on the University Park campus. He selected Brandi Robinson, associate teaching professor in the John and Willie Leone Family of Energy and Mineral Engineering, as his faculty marshal.
Renee Obringer, assistant professor of energy and mineral engineering at Penn State, led an international team of researchers that used utilities data and climate analogs — contemporary cities with climates close to what other cities are predicted to experience in the future — to assess how climate change may impact residential water and electricity use across 46 cities in the United States. Their computationally efficient model projected strong regional differences for future water and electricity demand, with some cities possibly experiencing increases in summer water and electricity demand of up to 15% and 20%, respectively, because of climate change.
Penn State tied for No. 4 among 210 ranked universities in the United States in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability for 2024, released Dec. 5. Internationally, the University ranked No. 37 out of 1,403 participating institutions worldwide.
Shimin Liu, professor of energy and mineral engineering and the Thomas V. and Jean C. Falkie Mining Engineering Faculty Fellow at Penn State, and co-author Guijie Sang, who recently earned his doctorate in energy and mineral engineering from Penn State, received the Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial award from the Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE) and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) for the best paper published in AIME's fields. The paper, “Carbonate Caprock–Brine–Carbon Dioxide Interaction: Alteration of Hydromechanical Properties and Implications on Carbon Dioxide Leakage,” focuses on the long-term integrity of carbon caprock, which is used to secure, seal and trap CO2 in subsurface formations as part of geological carbon sequestration for carbon management.
The Society of Petroleum of Engineers (SPE) has recognized three faculty members of the John and Willie Leone Family of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) for their exceptional service and leadership, as well as their significant professional contributions within their technical disciplines at the regional level.
Next-generation solar materials are cheaper and more sustainable to produce than traditional silicon solar cells, but hurdles remain in making the devices durable enough to withstand real-world conditions. A new technique developed by a team of international scientists could simplify the development of efficient and stable perovskite solar cells, named for their unique crystalline structure that excels at absorbing visible light
Younes Shekarian, a doctoral degree candidate in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, received the SME Ph.D. Fellowship grant from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME). The award helps support exceptional doctoral students who are seeking a career in academia.
Jerry Berkebile, president of Augustin Exploration LLC, in Midland, Texas, is the 2023 recipient of the Colleen Swetland Alumni Achievement Award given by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) Graduates of EMS (GEMS) Board of Directors.
Russell Johns, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering at Penn State, was selected to receive the 2023 SPE/AIME Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal from the International Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) for technical leadership. The medal is SPE’s highest international technical award. Johns will receive the award at the 2023 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition scheduled for Oct. 16 – 18 in San Antonio, Texas
Behzad Vaziri Hassas received the 2023 Rong Yu Wan Ph.D. Dissertation Award in Metallurgical Engineering from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME). Hassas, who earned his doctorate in energy and mineral engineering from Penn State earlier this year, was recognized for his dissertation, “Process development for selective separation of critical elements from secondary resources."