Energy 'crisis' provides engineering students leadership experience
The subpoena arrived at 9:45 p.m. on Friday, ordering the fictitious Wolfhelm Mining Ltd. executive team to appear in court. Their presence was requested to testify on an unfolding crisis that began a few hours earlier when a dam containing mining waste was breached on a remote Asian-Pacific island, flooding several villages, claiming the lives of hundreds and contaminating the region's drinking water supply. It wasn't until 11 p.m. that the students got any good news — that a Penn State research team rumored to be in the area had been found unharmed.
Professor Emeritus Raja Ramani inducted into National Mining Hall of Fame
Raja V. Ramani, professor emeritus of mining and geo-environmental engineering, will be inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame (NMHF) on Oct. 23 at the annual National Mining Hall of Fame Induction Banquet. Ramani’s selection into the NMHF is in “recognition of a lifelong commitment to education and research that has influenced a generation of mining industry leaders.”
Mining engineering professor selected as honorary member of AIME
Barbara Arnold, professor of practice in mining engineering at Penn State, has been awarded honorary membership in American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). AIME honorary membership is one of the highest honors that the institute can bestow on an individual.
Honorary membership is awarded in appreciation of outstanding service to the institute or in recognition of distinguished scientific or engineering achievement in the fields embracing the activities of AIME and its member societies.
Arnold was recognized for “her dedication and perseverance in developing a strong and more vibrant Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME) Foundation continuing through exemplary service as SME president.” She will be recognized virtually at the 2021 SME Annual Conference & Expo scheduled March 1–5.
In a moment of crisis, engineering students rise to new 'Challenge'
Through a series of emails delivered during several hours to four teams, a natural gas explosion scenario played out for students competing in Penn State’s first Energy Crisis Leadership Challenge, held remotely via Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The challenge bookended a course held spring semester in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) in which undergraduate seniors spent the semester learning about crisis management in the energy sector from leading energy firms such as BP, Exxon and Enron.
EME department holds virtual version of annual awards banquet
Come join us at the Virtual Awards Banquet to see who this year's winners might be. We are happy to present our annual awards, but we are proud of each and every one of you working through this challenging time! Join us in a “HIP, HIP, HOORAY” for the entire EME Family!
Researchers look at novel methods to enhance battery performance
Researchers at Penn State are looking at innovative ways to improve energy storage in an effort to better utilize renewable energy technologies.
“One of the primary obstacles stopping us from relying heavily on renewable energy systems is that we can't regulate when they provide us power,” said Derek Hall, assistant professor of energy engineering at Penn State. “Ideally, we want to find some sort of energy storage technology that can complement renewables to help us transition to a more sustainable energy infrastructure.”
CDC grant to focus on effects of nano-coal dust on lung disease in coal miners
Penn State researchers in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering received a $400,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to research coal dust in underground mines and its effect on lung disease in miners.
Andrew Kleit receives USAEE Senior Fellow Award
Andrew Kleit, professor of energy and environmental economics at Penn State recently received a United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE) Senior Fellow Award at the USAEE annual conference in Denver, held in November.
Energy and mineral engineering researchers receive best paper award from SPE
Hamid Emami-Meybodi and Michael Cronin were recently awarded the 2019 Cedric K. Ferguson Medal, and Russell Johns was awarded the 2019 Cedric K. Ferguson Certificate from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) for the best paper published in 2018 in a SPE journal. They were presented with the international awards at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in Calgary, Canada.
Fengyuan Zhang receives 2019 Nico van Wingen Memorial Graduate Fellowship
Penn State doctoral student Fengyuan Zhang was awarded the Nico van Wingen Memorial Graduate Fellowship in petroleum engineering at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (SPE) annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in Calgary, Canada.