Institute renamed to reflect holistic approach to energy, environmental research

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023, the newly renamed Institute of Energy and the Environment — formerly the Institutes of Energy and the Environment — continues to advance energy and environmental research at Penn State by connecting and supporting interdisciplinary teams of researchers. The institute updated its name to more accurately communicate its administrative structure and operations.

“IEE has evolved into a single energy and environmental research institute, rather than operating as multiple institutes. Although the name has changed slightly, the focus is still the same: a holistic approach to identifying and implementing solutions for today’s energy and environmental challenges,” said Bruce Logan, Institute of Energy and the Environment director. “Our interdisciplinary researchers understand that energy and the environment are inextricably linked and that we must be attentive to this complex relationship.”

No other place does that complex relationship show up more clearly than in IEE’s five research themes: climate and ecosystem change; health and the environment; integrated energy systems; urban systems; and water and biogeochemical cycles. These research themes routinely overlap, further revealing the intermingled nature of the topics.

“The idea that research can be done in a silo is no longer applicable,” said Erica Smithwick, associate director of IEE. “For instance, climate research is connected to every one of the other themes, be it health issues, energy production, emissions from buildings and vehicles, water quality and quantity. The list goes on. Dropping the ‘s’ allows us to advance these research directions holistically.”

Additionally, the interdisciplinary nature of these complex relationships requires IEE to support fundamental and applied research across scientific fields. That is reflected in IEE’s faculty members, who have their academic homes in more than 30 departments across the University.

History

Since its inception on March 1, 1963 — in addition to changing names multiple times — the institute has transformed into what society needed it to be. In its early days, the focus was on conservation and involved subjects like highway impact studies and spray irrigation. As society’s needs changed, so did the research. In the ’80s, research focused on challenges such as acid rain and toxic waste. In the 2000s, there was an expanded effort on environmental topics, including biodiversity and ecosystems; coastal and marine environments; climate change; industrial ecology and green engineering; and natural disaster impact reduction. In 2007, energy was added to the portfolio.

The 1963 iteration of the institute was called the Institute for Research on Land and Water Resources. It was an early effort that, as the unit’s 1974 annual report put it, “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.” 

In 1964, Gov. William W. Scranton designated Penn State as the official educational institution in the commonwealth to carry out the provisions of the Water Resources Act of 1964. The Institute for Research on Land and Water Resources was then named to coordinate water research activities in Pennsylvania. Research included pollution control, renovation of wastewater, management of watersheds to increase water yields, control of plant growth in streams, and hydrologic and hydrogeologic studies.

In a 1982 newsletter, John Frey, the founding director of the Institute for Research on Land and Water Resources, said that the idea for the institute originated with a College of Agriculture (now the College of Agricultural Sciences) study of agricultural adjustment problems.

“It was initially planned as a land resources institute under the College of Agriculture,” said Frey in 1982, “but when we talked to the vice president for research, he called attention to some legislation that was being introduced for water programs and suggested making the organization an institute for land and water. He also suggested making the program an intercollege research program to encourage the participation of other colleges."

By 1983, the Institute for Research on Land and Water Resources had grown from 31 staff and affiliates to nearly 200.

“I've seen the institute change from an organization primarily of sociologists and economists to one that is truly interdisciplinary,” said Raymond Eyerly, the assistant to the director, in a 1983 newsletter. “It now involves 26 disciplines."

In 1987, the Institute for Research on Land and Water Resources merged with the Center for Air Environment Studies, which “was established in 1963 to coordinate research and instruction concerning the interaction of man and his air environment.” The merger created the Environmental Resources Research Institute (ERRI). Its mission was the discovery and transfer of knowledge in the use and management of environmental resources. The institute was dedicated to research, information dissemination and public education and the training of graduate students. ERRI had eight centers associated with it: Pennsylvania Center for Water Resources Research; Center for Air Environment Studies; National Mine Land Reclamation Center; Emissions Reduction Research Center; Center for Bioremediation and Detoxification; Center for BioDiversity; Office for Remote Sensing of Earth Resources; and Office of Hazardous and Toxic Waste Management.

In 2000, the Environmental Consortium was created, taking the place of ERRI. It aimed to “encourage spirited interdisciplinary cooperation” and was “envisioned to be a dynamic, tightly coupled, intercampus network of expertise and infrastructure recognized worldwide as a seedbed of knowledge and ingenuity needed to deal with environmental challenges along a continuum from improving national security to achieving long-term sustainability.”

A 2001 change in institute leadership brought about an organizational change in 2002. The institute updated its structure and modeled itself after the National Institutes of Health, where a central institute oversaw a network of related institutes. In July 2002, the Penn State Institutes of the Environment was created. Additionally, this began the concept of co-funded faculty for the institute, which meant faculty were financially supported by both their home college and the institute. Thirty faculty members were a part of the original hiring.

In 2007, energy was added to the portfolio, and the name changed to Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, and 24 additional faculty members who were focused on energy research joined the institute.

In 2017, “Penn State” was dropped from the official name, creating the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.

Today 

IEE continues to lead interdisciplinary energy and environmental research, but the structure created in 2002 has changed.

“In 2023, we recognized that IEE does not ‘oversee’ other energy and environmental institutes at Penn State,” said Logan. “Instead, we are close collaborators and supporters of Penn State researchers who work on interdisciplinary energy and environmental projects no matter where at Penn State they are associated, including other institutes, colleges and campuses. Our charge of finding solutions for the world’s energy and environmental challenges remains, and we are committed to meeting that charge.”

IEE currently has more than 70 faculty members and nearly 1,000 affiliated researchers.

Some of the concrete ways IEE supports researchers include the IEE Seed Grant Program, Climate Solutions Symposium and the Science Communication Program. Additionally, IEE has laboratories open to Penn State researchers and students as well as outside academic and research institutions and business and industry professionals. The services available include radiocarbon dating, environmental contaminants analysis, high-resolution 3D x-ray scanning, and atmospheric measurement. The labs are operated by dedicated lab personnel who provide training, research method development and data analysis. 

Additionally, IEE supports research through extensive news and communication support on its website, social media and its weekly newsletters, The Connection and the Energy and Environment Weekly Event Guide. IEE also creates a monthly podcast titled Growing Impact, and publishes blog posts that are written by Penn State researchers and that cover relevant energy and environmental topics.