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Penn State’s highly ranked mining engineering program is slated to be among the recipients of a proposed $100 million investment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.

Connor Casewell, a junior mining engineering major, spent this summer with Robindale Energy Services, traveling between job sites to conduct water and soil sampling and to learn the ropes in data management and recordkeeping. 

Hamad Hussain will represent both the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences as college marshal at the University’s summer 2026 commencement ceremony on Aug. 15 at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Kaleah Moran, who earned an undergraduate degree in environmental systems engineering, has been spending the summer working at Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Copper Mine in Utah, learning how industries mitigate the byproduct selenium, which poses risks to aquatic ecosystems.

Zain Mohammed Alabbad, a senior majoring in petroleum and natural gas engineering, spent his summer as an intern with Aramco Americas in the research and development upstream technical support department.

Fuad Deen, a senior majoring in mining engineering, is interning at University Park with Barbara Arnold. 

Thirty-six Penn State graduate students have received scholarships of up to $10,000 from the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Endowment, established by Jeff and Ann Marie Fox’s $20 million naming gift to Penn State’s J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School.

Penn State researchers have successfully converted waste polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, into highly ordered synthetic graphite, a crystalline form of carbon, which has the potential to one day help power an electric vehicle, smartphone, or renewable energy storage system with recycled water bottles.

Twelve research projects have been selected for the 2026 Penn State Commercialization GAP Fund. Awarded projects receive $75,000 in funding and other support to develop promising proof-of-concept research into commercial-ready technology.

Penn State’s Alliance for Education, Science, Engineering, and Design with Africa will host a joint symposium, “Building Sustainable Doctoral Training, Research and Innovative Ecosystems to Develop Transformative Technologies,” with the African-led Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology from noon to 2 p.m. on July 1, in 114 Steidle Building at Penn State University Park. The event is free and open to the Penn State community.