In the past year, the faculty, research staff and students at the EMS Energy Institute have worked on a wide range of externally funded projects that dealt with various aspects of energy resources, conversion, utilization, energy systems, and environmental protection as well as alternative energy. Much like the ripple effect created when a pebble is dropped into a body of water, their research has implications far beyond Penn State, potentially shaping the future of energy worldwide.
Since becoming the director of the EMS Energy Institute in May 2007, I have witnessed the Institute continue to expand its reach each year. One measure of our impact is made obvious by the increase in refereed publications originating from Institute faculty as well as the large increase in Institute publications listed in the science citation index. I am pleased to report that annual science citations reached an all time high this past year of about 1,700 counts.
In addition to continuing our work with government agencies and industries in the United States and expanding the impact of our research, the Institute has been working on strengthening collaborative research efforts and enhancing international cooperation for faculty and students. With today’s global energy challenges and environmental concerns, international cooperation is critical to solving many of the world’s energy problems.
One such effort has been the development of the Joint Center for Energy Research (JCER), a research endeavor between Penn State and Dalian University of Technology (DUT) in China. This collaboration is part of the university-wide Global Engagement Node at Penn State. In March 2012, the third PSU-DUT Joint Energy Workshop was held in Dalian for faculty members from Penn State and DUT to share ongoing research and discuss future collaborations. Penn State President Rodney Erickson and Vice Provost Michael Adewumi participated in this event. Also this year the JCER released a report highlighting the Center’s many accomplishments, including twenty-five refereed journal publications.
Looking to 2013, the Institute is excited to be the hosting organization for two major international conferences, the International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization (ICCDU) in June and the International Conference on Coal Science and Technology (ICCST) in October. These conferences will have presentations from active researchers worldwide in clean alternative energy, and carbon dioxide conversion and utilization as well as sustainable development research.
As our faculty continue to bring in research grant awards and contracts, the Institute’s funding has remained healthy even without congressionally-directed funds or stimulus funds. Additionally, the Institute staff deserves recognition. They are working as hard as ever, putting in extra time in support of the faculty and student research, including proposal submissions, research project management, as well as the Institute newsletter and website. I hope you will find the contents of this issue interesting. Please let us know if you have any suggestions or comments.
Dr. Chunshan Song
Director, EMS Energy Institute
Associate Director, PSIEE
Distinguished Professor of Fuel Science and Chemical Engineering