Webinar to explore sustainability, carbon emissions of buildings
| news.psu.edu
The Global Building Network will hold a webinar on sustainable buildings, titled “Operational Carbon vs. Embodied Carbon in Buildings,” from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, April 19. The speaker, Rahman Azari, is an associate professor of architecture in the College of Arts and Architecture and a co-funded faculty member of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.
Wind Energy Club prepares to compete in Collegiate Wind Competition
| news.psu.edu
The award-winning Wind Energy Club, a group of 22 Penn State undergraduates, is preparing to compete in the United States Department of Energy's Collegiate Wind Competition in June. This year, the team is researching, designing and building a wind turbine for deployment in “highly uncertain times, with a large degree of unknown risks and delays,” matching the competition's theme of adaptability.
EarthTalks: Sir Dieter Helm to discuss carbon pricing as tool to reach net zero
| news.psu.edu
Sir Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow in economics at New College, Oxford, will discuss the need for a carbon price as a means of lowering emissions, at a talk on April 19 via Zoom.
Graduate student excellence celebrated at virtual awards ceremony
| psu.edu
Graduate student award recipients were celebrated during the annual Graduate Student Recognition Ceremony where 10 awards to more than 30 graduate students in recognition of outstanding achievement.
Virtual symposium to reflect on past and future of polymer science
| news.psu.edu
A two-day virtual symposium featuring speakers from academia and industry will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. on April 14 and 15, and will discuss the past and future of polymer sciences. The symposium is free and open to the public via Zoom.
EarthTalks: Head of nuclear engineering looks to stars for clean energy
| news.psu.edu
Jean Paul Allain, professor of nuclear engineering and head of the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering at Penn State, will discuss the recent progress made in nuclear fusion, emerging technologies and the remaining challenges to realizing energy generation from a star here on Earth at 4 p.m. Monday, April 12.
Propulsion expert joins aerospace engineering faculty
| psu.edu
David Hall joined the College of Engineering’s Department of Aerospace Engineering as an assistant professor in January.
What’s the hype about 5.8%? I’m worried about the other 94.2%
| by Erica Smithwick
A recent analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that annual carbon emissions declined by 5.8% in 2020 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. From a historical perspective, a 5.8% reduction is huge—nothing like it has occurred in our lifetimes. But from a COVID-19 perspective, how can it be so small?
Webinar: 'Who Decides on Resilience for Energy Systems?'
| news.psu.edu
February’s energy supply interruptions in Texas and other parts of the southeastern U.S. have raised a number of questions about the resiliency of the nation's energy systems. A panel of energy experts from Penn State and industry will discuss energy resiliency at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, via Zoom.
EarthTalks series examines design of buildings, cities to avoid global hothouse
| news.psu.edu
Lisa Iulo, associate professor of architecture and director of the Hamer Center for Community Design at Penn State, will discuss strategies for designing the built environment across scales and systems to avoid a global hothouse at 4 p.m. Monday, March 22.
CESU workshop to highlight opportunities to work with federal agencies
| news.psu.edu
Researchers whose work addresses natural and cultural resource management topics can learn about partnering opportunities with federal agencies at the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Program Workshop on March 30.
Addressing the energy, environmental complexities of urban areas
| news.psu.edu
Because cities are such complex human-created systems, the Institutes of Energy and the Environment created a new research theme, Urban Systems, which will address the essential and urgent needs for sustainable, healthy and affordable solutions for urban areas.