The EMS Energy Institute welcomes the following new members who have joined the Institute since our last publication. Detailed profiles can be found at energy.psu.edu.
Faculty
Thandazile Moyo
Assistant Professor
Moyo is an assistant professor in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering and a co-funded faculty in the Materials Research Institute. She is experienced in the hydrometallurgical processing of gold and base metals. Her research interests are developing flowsheets and testing green technology for metal recovery from primary and secondary resources. Some of her research uses electrochemistry and electroanalytical tools to study surface reactions in mineral dissolution. Beyond the purely technical, Moyo is passionate about the sustainable development of mineral resources and researches the long-term impacts of mineral extraction. She researches artisanal and small-scale mining, looking at the technological challenges and the sector’s contributions to sustainable development. Before she joined Penn State, Moyo completed her doctoral degree in chemical engineering at the University of Cape Town. She worked as a researcher, focused on flowsheet development and testing for metal recovery from waste polychlorinated biphenyls, and co-developed and taught courses on sustainability in minerals extraction at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Olumide Samuel Ogunmodimu
Assistant Professor
Ogunmodimu is an assistant professor in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, with roles in the EMS Energy Institute, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, and the Materials Research Institute. With an academic foundation in physics and solar, advanced degrees in energy studies, and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, his expertise lies in comminution and classification in mineral processing. Before joining Penn State, he gained experience as a research fellow at the University of Cape Town and the University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre. His research spans the full spectrum of mineral processing, particularly emphasizing the detailed study of granular flow modeling to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability within the mineral processing value chain. Utilizing cutting-edge techniques like positron emission particle tracking and advanced mathematical and computational models, Ogunmodimu is dedicated to advancing mineral processing and materials science, aiming for more sustainable and efficient methodologies.
Staff
Jeralyn Brewer
Multimedia Specialist
Brewer joined the EMS Energy Institute in January 2024. She has experience in various areas of graphic and digital design. She currently creates print and digital materials, including flyers, posters, brochures, slides, and more. Prior to joining the institute, Brewer worked in the news media business. She has a bachelor of science degree in geography.
Aime Jones
Administrative Assistant
Jones joined the institute in November 2023. Before starting in her current role, she worked beginning in April 2023 in the College of Information Sciences and Technology. She studied labor and human resources at Penn State.
Colin Minnick
Research Assistant
Minnick joined the institute as a research assistant in December 2023. He holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering technology from Penn State.
Researchers
Faras Al Balushi
Post-doctoral Scholar
Al Balushi joined Penn State as a postdoctoral scholar in the Arash Dahi Taleghani research group in January 2024. He received his bachelor of science, master of science, and doctorate degrees, all in petroleum and natural gas engineering, from Penn State. His research interests include multiscale—pore-, particle-, and field-scale—modeling of subsurface systems for applications in oil and gas and geothermal reservoirs. His doctoral research focused on finding an innovative solution for thermal breakthrough in enhanced geothermal systems and performing sensitivity and feasibility analyses to determine the effectiveness of the developed approach.
Livio Yang Santos
Post-doctoral Scholar
Yang Santos joined Penn State as a postdoctoral scholar in the Arash Dahi Taleghani research group. His research interests include expandable proppants for hydraulic fracturing.