A visual look back at the Institute of Energy and the Environment
Blog
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As we celebrate the start of our 63rd year this month, we’re taking a look back, literally, at the Institute of Energy and the Environment—its history, its evolution, and how its work has changed over time. From early research efforts to today’s interdisciplinary approach to energy and environmental challenges, the institute continues to adapt and grow.
Leadership, faculty, and staff
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In 1963, John Frey was the inaugural director of the Institute, which “served as a point of contact for agencies, organizations and individuals seeking assistance from the University and provided an institutional framework for the conduct of intercollege research programs.” The Institute started with 31 affiliated faculty and staff.
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Bruce Logan became the director of IEE in 2022 and brought a renewed emphasis on creating community around IEE’s research themes, while continuing to support interdisciplinary research at Penn State. Today, the Institute includes over 100 faculty and staff, and over 1000 affiliated researchers from around the University.
Facilities
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Built between 1971 and 1972 at a cost of approximately $1.2 million, the 21,000-square-foot Land and Water Research Building opened in May 1972 as the home of the Institute for Research on Land and Water Resources—now known as the Institute of Energy and the Environment—bringing together, for the first time, the various centers that had previously operated in separate buildings. Prior to the move, the Institute was headquartered in Research Building C, also located on Hastings Road.
In the 1960s, Penn State and Institute researchers launched The Living Filter and began irrigating fields and forests with treated wastewater. This long-running experiment demonstrated how soil and vegetation could act as natural filters removing nutrients, replenishing groundwater, and supporting sustainable water management.
In 1987, then-Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Thomas Litzinger led a study investigating how alternative and synthetic fuels perform in diesel engines. Motivated by the 1979 fuel crisis, the research aimed to explore potential substitutes for petroleum-based fuels and understand how they affect engine performance and emissions. Two graduate students who worked with Litzinger are shown here in a photo from the Summer 1987 Institute newsletter.
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Today, with the help of an IEE seed grant, Penn State researcher Jacqueline O’Connor (a close collaborator of Thomas Litzinger) leads an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional team working to convert food and agricultural waste into high-energy, carbon-negative biofuels. In these images, cellulose biomass is burned under controlled conditions to study the ignition properties of solid fuels. At right, a green laser illuminates the emitted particles for tracking and analysis.
Visualizing flood risks
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Throughout the 1980s, Institute researchers like Arthur C. Miller (left) used large-scale physical models like the one shown here, as well as field testing,to study stream flows, erosion, flooding, and other hydraulic behaviors.
Today, with the help of an IEE seed grant, a research team including Kaleigh Yost, Peter Stempel, and Cibin Raj are creating realistic 3D flood visualizations to better show communities the dangers of future flooding and failing levees due to climate change. Shown here is a brief preview of a preliminary 3D city model of Kingston and Forty Fort, Pennsylvania that will be used to communicate the impact of flooding under different scenarios.
Communications
Newsletters
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A 1983 print newsletter (left) celebrates the Institute’s 20th anniversary, while a 2025 email edition (right) highlights water research at Penn State in recognition of World Water Day. First published in June 1970, the original newsletter aimed “to communicate in understandable language research findings from all of the Institute’s centers”—a goal that remains today.
Websites
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Two screenshots of the Environmental Resources Research Institute (ERRI) website, from 1996 (left) and 1998 (right).
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The Penn State Institutes of the Environment (PSIE) website in 2007 (top left), the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE) website in 2010 (top right), and the Institutes of Energy and the Environment website in 2017 (bottom).
Resources
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The research library in the Land and Water Research Building once housed approximately 800 books, 20,000 techincal reports, 90 journal subscriptions, and more. Today, this room functions as a meeting space, while research resources and reports are typically accessed digitally.
To learn more about the Institute of Energy and the Environment and its history, please visit:
