IEE faculty, staff, and projects in the news
Engineering researcher awarded IEE 'Person of the Year' for 2023
| psu.edu
Li Li, the Barry and Shirley Isett Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State, is the 2023 recipient of the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s Person of the Year Award.
Mentions
Why is breaking down plant material for biofuels so slow?
| psu.edu
New research led by Penn State investigators has revealed how several molecular roadblocks slow the breakdown of cellulose for biofuel production. This process, if accelerated, could avoid concerns around using a food source like corn for biofuels while taking advantage of abundant plant materials that might otherwise go to waste.
Mentions
TikTok's raw milk influencers are going to give us all bird flu
| motherjones.com
Influencers love unpasteurized milk—and so does the H5N1 virus. This article quotes Jessica Myrick, professor of health communications.
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Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance
| psu.edu
How well bees tolerate temperature extremes could determine their ability to persist in a changing climate. But heat tolerance varies between and within populations, so a research team led by Penn State entomologists examined bee physical traits — such as sex differences in body mass — to understand how these traits interact with environmental conditions, pathogens and other factors.
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Margarita López-Uribe
Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor and Associate Professor, Entomology -
Rudolf Schilder
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Douglas A. Miller
'Growing Impact' podcast explores a thawing Arctic and its impacts
| psu.edu
The latest episode of the Growing Impact podcast discusses how thawing Arctic permafrost, a result of rising global temperatures due to climate change, is affecting rivers, landscapes and communities, according to a Penn State research team.
Mentions
Seed Grant Projects
Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills
| psu.edu
In three recent papers, Penn State researchers outline new uses for cold sintering— the process of combining powder-based materials into dense forms at low temperatures through applied pressure using solvents — that allows materials to be recycled again and again.
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Enrique Gomez
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Bryan Vogt
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Hongtao Sun
Assistant Professor, John and Willie Leone Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering (EME) -
Clive Randall
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Amir Sheikhi
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Rui Shi
Growing Impact: Investigating thawing permafrost
Once a frozen haven, climate-driven rising temperatures are rapidly thawing the Arctic permafrost, posing a major threat to communities and infrastructure. Researchers are investigating how these changes will transform rivers, with potential consequences for erosion, sediment transport, and the entire Arctic landscape. Additionally, their project incorporates art to communicate these critical findings in an engaging way.
Guests
Seed Grant Projects
Award-winning photographer, conservationist to headline climate symposium
| psu.edu
Paul Nicklen, the award-winning nature photographer and conservationist, will be the keynote speaker for Penn State’s Climate Solutions Symposium. His presentation is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14, at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
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Designing and assessing market designs to improve electrical grid reliability
| psu.edu
A project co-led by two Penn State professors has been selected to receive up to $815,959 from the Grid Deployment Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The team will evaluate prospective market design changes to efficiently integrate batteries and other unconventional resources into wholesale electricity markets, with the aim of improving electrical grid reliability.
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Uday V. Shanbhag
Gary and Sheila Bello Chair Professor, Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering -
Mort Webster
College of Ag Sciences faculty, extension leader engage in leadership program
| psu.edu
Two Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences faculty members and an assistant director with Penn State Extension recently furthered their knowledge of leadership principles by completing the LEAD21 leadership development program, a national yearlong program to develop leaders in land-grant institutions and their strategic partners who link research, academics and extension and can navigate an increasingly complex environment to lead more effectively in their current or future leadership positions.
Mentions
Kissing bugs, vector for Chagas disease, successfully gene edited for first time
| psu.edu
New research from an international team, including a Penn State researcher, demonstrates — for the first time — the use of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in kissing bugs and opens the door to research on applied strategies for Chagas disease control.
Mentions
Six Penn State faculty elected to 2023 cohort of AAAS Fellows
| psu.edu
Six Penn State faculty members in areas ranging from neuropharmacology to computer architecture have been elected to the 2023 cohort of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. This year, AAAS recognized a total of 502 scientists, engineers and innovators with this lifetime honor, bestowed by their peers, for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.
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Vijay Narayanan
Vijay Narayanan -
Christopher Scott
Associate Director & Thematic Area Lead, Water Sustainability, Institute of Energy and the Environment -
Blair Siegfried
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, College of Agricultural Sciences -
Douglas Werner
