Penn State is poised to solidify its role as a cutting-edge leader among universities in driving the world’s conversation about the future of energy, President Eric Barron told the University’s Board of Trustees on Nov. 20. 2015. Barron highlighted a new initiative to marshal the University’s vast expertise in a wide range of disciplines with the goal of tackling the world’s energy challenges, improving national energy security and independence, and further strengthening Pennsylvania’s status as a national leader in energy production and innovation. The John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering plays a critical role in achieving Barron's goal of making Penn State the "Energy University."
Through a comprehensive, institution-wide approach, additional investment, and deeper collaboration with industry, Barron plans to position Penn State as the energy university -- the “go to” institution for any aspect of energy.
“Humanity is facing tremendous challenges, change and opportunity when it comes to the ways in which we create, understand and interact with energy in the 21st century. Penn State is uniquely positioned to take the lead as society tackles these issues,” Barron said. “We are at the very upper echelon of universities in the energy arena. Penn State produces top-notch workforce leaders, who along with groundbreaking research and scholarship are prepared to shape our energy future.”
In the next 25 years alone, the world’s energy requirements are projected to increase by 50 percent, Barron said. At the same time, world leaders continue their work to find ways to advance efficiency and effectiveness, and to move national economies toward renewable power. There is a pressing need, he said, to increase global energy security through development of safe, clean, abundant and affordable energy.
Penn State already is among the top five universities in the nation in scholarly output in five key energy categories. These include:
- Energy policy, economics and law including incentives, geopolitics, laws and regulations at all levels of government, and the processes, values, and ethics shaping the laws.
- Fossil fuels: maximizing efficiency including extraction, conversion, combustion, transportation, carbon capture and sequestration;
- Renewable energy (including photovoltaics, wind, hydro, biofuels and conversion of waste to energy) and nuclear energy;
- Systems/Technology (smart city, smart systems): grid technology, vehicle and building efficiency, energy storage and management; and
- Environmental impact: energy-water-food nexus, carbon footprint, climate change and land use.
Penn State is the only university that appears in the top five in each category, with more than 320 investigators conducting research in these areas. In order to raise Penn State’s profile as the energy university, Barron’s goal is to advance efforts in all five categories.
“Penn State brings critical resources and thought leadership to our evolving relationship with energy,” Barron said. “When people are seeking knowledge about any aspect of energy, when industry needs an answer to a major challenge, when potential donors are hoping to help the world toward solutions for these issues, we want them to think of Penn State as the place to come for answers.”