Six institutes, three consortia, and a number of centers and programs make up the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.
Institutes
Earth and Environmental Systems Institute
The Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI) is the nation’s leading institute that brings together scientists studying environmental science that crosses human to geologic timescales and transcends from fundamental to applied science.
Energy Institute
The Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) Energy Institute at Penn State is a leading research and development organization focused on energy science and engineering. From solving challenges related to fossil fuels to exploring new technologies for alternative energy, the EMS Energy Institute is involved in almost every aspect of energy research.
Ecology Institute
The Penn State Ecology Institute addresses the most defining challenges in contemporary ecology by bringing together interdisciplinary faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, and stakeholders to drive innovation in ecology-based research and training.
Engineering Energy & Environmental Institute
Engineers with the Engineering Energy & Environmental Institute (E3I) work on environmental topics such as water purification, thermoacoustics, using benign gases for cooling, analysis of indoor environments to provide safe living spaces, and the development of remote sensing platforms for studying the environment.
Rock Ethics Institute
The Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State promotes engaged ethics research and ethical leadership while addressing topics such as sustainability, technology, health, gender and sexuality, race, and global issues.
Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science
The Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES) establishes a novel environment for accelerating solutions to persistently "wicked" landscape-level challenges centered on agriculture, food, and the environment.
Consortia
Consortium for Integrated Energy Systems
The Consortium for Integrated Energy Systems (CIES) is a collection of Penn State researchers working toward an energy future that is sustainable, equitable, and able to keep up with the ever-changing energy infrastructure.
Climate Consortium (in development)
Climate change will push societies and natural systems in unprecedented ways, challenging community, ecosystem, and infrastructural resilience. The Penn State Climate Consortium promotes excellence in interdisciplinary climate change research and education and improves community resilience through transdisciplinary partnerships.
Water Consortium (in development)
The Penn State Water Consortium brings together faculty, staff, and students from across the University, building upon long-standing strengths in engineering, natural, and social sciences, while expanding engagement with the health sciences, law and policy, emerging technologies, arts and the humanities, and other disciplines.
Centers
Battery and Energy Storage Technology Center
The Battery and Energy Storage Technology Center (BEST) brings together the campus-wide expertise in energy storage, from materials to cells to systems.
Center for BioRenewables
The Center for BioRenewables brings together Penn State’s broad expertise in plant biology, genomics, microbiology, chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, bioengineering, and other related fields to make the discoveries that will enable plants to meet the current and future needs of human society, sustainably.
Center for Energy, Law, and Policy
Center for Energy, Law, and Policy (CELP) provides an innovative national model for how a major public research university can contribute to important energy law and policy issues through research, education, and stakeholder engagement.
Center for Environmental Informatics
Center for Environmental Informatics (CEI) develops technology solutions that leverage environmental information for decision making, resource management, and broader applied use.
Center for Lignocellulose Structure & Formation
The Center for Lignocellulose Structure & Formation (CLSF) is a DOE Energy Frontiers Research Center focused on developing a detailed understanding of lignocellulose, the main structural material in plants to advance sustainable energy and materials.
Center for Marine Science and Technology
The Center for Marine Science and Technology (CMAST) promotes interdisciplinary research and training that spans the gamut from the coastal zone including shallow-‐water tropical ecosystems of coral reefs, tropical and temperate lakes, and sinkholes to the deepest reaches of the sea.
Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis
The Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis (CMTC) provides a structure for the development of multi-investigator projects in the area of environmental toxicology across the university and to understand toxic effects of compounds at the molecular and biochemical level.
Center for Security Research and Education
The Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE) at Penn State promotes research and education to protect people, infrastructure, and institutions from the broad range of hazards confronting society today.
Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center
The Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center (PAWRRC) is one of the nation’s 54 water resources research centers and institutes that emphasizes the role of university research, education, and outreach in advancing problems related to water quality and quantity.
Education
The Institute of Energy and the Environment supports a number of educational programs, including undergraduate and graduate academic programs.
Programs
Data Commons
The Data Commons serves as a data discovery tool and a data archive for research data, providing a resource for data sharing, discovery, and archiving for the Penn State research and teaching community.
Energy 2100
Energy 2100 aims to better integrate renewable energy technologies into Penn State's research, education, and outreach activities, and to promote and better advertise our work in helping to transform our energy infrastructure.
Pennsylvania Sea Grant
Pennsylvania Sea Grant promotes the sustainability of Pennsylvania’s ecological and economic coastal and watershed resources through science-based research, education, and outreach.
Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access
Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) is Pennsylvania's official public access open geospatial data portal.