On April 22-24, 2024, the institute was evaluated by an external panel of experts as part of a mandatory eight-year review cycle. This review’s objective was to evaluate the institute within an international and national context of education and service and to provide constructive feedback on institute plans. This could include examining the institute’s short-term and long-term goals, the educational experience of graduate and undergraduate students, research accomplishments, service requirements, organization, facilities, and resource allocation decisions.
Our external visiting panel consisted of four experts:
During their visit, Lee Kump, the John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Sanjay Srinivasan, institute director, welcomed the external visiting panel. They were presented with a focused self-study prepared by the institute, and, during the review, the external visiting panel had meaningful interactions with faculty, staff, and graduate students. Some of these were in the form of individual meetings and some were in the form of judiciously selected groups. The panel also toured the institute’s facilities. On the final day, the panel members prepared a report from the visit with commendations and recommendations.
External reviews are essential elements in improving the overall quality of education, research productivity and connectivity, and faculty service at the University, and the institute would like to thank the reviewers for their time and thoughtful advice to best advance our goals and mission.
Edward C. Dowling Jr.
Credit: Provided
Edward C. Dowling Jr., president and chief executive officer and board of directors’ member at Compass Minerals, gave the 2024 G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture in Mineral Engineering at Penn State. His talk, “Challenges and Opportunities of the Critical Minerals Revolution,” was held on April 19, in the Hub-Robeson Center’s Freeman Auditorium and online via Zoom. A reception followed in Alumni Hall.
The lecture focused on the realities of climate change and how the global need to transition to non-carbon-emitting energy generation, distribution, and utilization creates fundamental national security implications. The transition also drives an order of magnitude demand increase for various critical and essential minerals. Dowling discussed how significant increases in critical and essential mineral production are strategically vital to achieving the desired green energy transition. His lecture presented the scale of critical and essential mineral requirements and focused on the many technical, human resource, jurisdictional, financial, environmental social, and governance challenges and opportunities that the mining industry faces.
Credit: Pixabay
A workshop focusing on the rise of cross-border electricity interconnections—and the high-stake challenges they introduce—was held on April 15, in 603 Barron Innovation Hub. The workshop was also available online via Zoom.
Moderated by Chiara Lo Prete, associate professor of energy economics at Penn State, the workshop, “The Geopolitics of Cross-border Electricity Grids” featured a twelve-person panel of policy and academic experts who discussed the implications of increased international electricity trade implications in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as the impact on research.
Tour of labs during the EMS Energy Institute open house.
Credit: Jennifer Matthews
The Penn State EMS Energy Institute hosted an open house from 4-7 p.m. on September 27, 2023, on the Penn State University Park campus to introduce faculty, staff, and students to new director Sanjay Srinivasan and to discuss the path of the institute.
The event began with a presentation led by Srinivasan and Bruce Miller, associate director of the institute. Miller presented an overview of the institute with a historical timeline and an overview of the types of fundamental and applied research performed, strategic program areas, and a breakdown of personnel and funding.
Srinivasan highlighted the benefits of being affiliated with the institute and his plans for the institute’s future, which include fostering collaboration, identifying and supporting niche areas, and leveraging resources to better support researchers. He hopes to build a vibrant student community, promote professional development opportunities, and advance students’ research writing and presentation abilities. In addition, he wants to build a stronger infrastructure that better supports collaboration with industry, national laboratories, and other research organizations.
Participants were also led on a tour of several laboratories to get a better look at facilities and research being conducted at the institute. The labs highlighted included some used for critical minerals research, shared analytical labs, and pilot-scale facilities.
https://www.energy.psu.edu/ei-open-house-2023
Energy Exchange is a seminar series hosted by the EMS Energy Institute as part of its outreach mission. The seminars focus on highly relevant energy topics. Energy topics discussed include new innovations in carbon dioxide utilization, clean coal, petroleum and natural gas, fuel cells, and more. Speakers include Penn State faculty as well as government and industry professionals. The Energy Exchange Seminar Series will return in the fall. Please check our website often for updates: energy.psu.edu
This year’s speakers were:
Eugene Morgan “CO2-SMART: A New Industry-University Collaborative Research center for CO2 Storage Modeling, Monitoring, Analytics, and Risk Reduction Technologies” February 8, 2024 | Erica Smithwick “Penn State's Climate Consortium: Partnerships for People and the Planet” March 14, 2024 Sarma Pisupati “Mineral Security Challenges in Meeting the Goal of Net-Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050” March 28, 2024 | Thandazile Moyo “Integrating Sustainability in Minerals and Energy Resource Extraction Education” April 18, 2024 Joshua Robinson “Silicon Carbide: The Critical Semiconductor for the Energy Transition” May 9, 2024 |