Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

09/10/2026

Officials from the Department of Energy recently visited Penn State to discuss efforts to solve a labor shortage in mining engineers. Our program ranks second in the nation, sixth globally, so it was a perfect fit.

Our mining engineering students and others interested in critical minerals recovery and materials recycling had a chance to chat with Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson, who herself has a career in petroleum and natural gas engineering.

The DOE announced efforts to spent up to $100 million to increase experts in mining engineering, critical minerals, resource recovery and recycling.

Kat Hogan, a senior majoring in energy engineering, wants to make an impact on sustainable energy. She was one of about a dozen students attending a roundtable discussion with DOE.

“It is greatly affirming to know that there are members of our federal government who are invested in supporting the procurement of critical minerals for the security and longevity of our energy industry,” Kat said. “I hope to work with renewable energy innovation and policy in my career.”

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy for Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Audrey Robertson toured facilities and met with Penn State students during her Aug. 18 visit to University Park.

09/08/2026

Kyle Paris made the most of his first year at Penn State. The meteorology and atmospheric science major is already involved in undergraduate research. Here are some scenes from his summer experience chasing lightning storms with Dr. Bill Brune’s lab.

The team of researchers there discovered a phenomenon known as corona discharge happening at the tops of trees during lightning storms. It’s a chemical process that cleans the lower atmosphere and we know very little about it. Scientists have known about corona discharges for decades but Brune’s lab, in 2024, was the first to capture it in the field.

Kyle soldered circuit boards and wires for the Radiosondes, took to the field to capture corona, and headed back to the lab to investigate corona’s impact on trees.

Kyle found out about the research opportunity simply by asking a professor.

“It has been an amazing experience so far,” he said. “I have learned valuable life lessons and skills. It has enhanced my education by being in the field and having professors by me to answer any of my questions.”

09/08/2026

09/08/2026

09/06/2026

Darren Pagan, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State, has received a five-year, $626,683 NSF CAREER Award to investigate why metal alloys fail in high-stress applications and the process of deformation as they begin to fail.

Pagan and his team will use advanced synchrotron X-ray sources to observe nanoscale defects as they develop inside alloys used in aviation, power generation and space travel. By understanding how these defects influence strength, fracture toughness and fatigue life, the research could help engineers design more durable materials and prevent catastrophic failure.

The project also includes training and outreach efforts to make advanced X-ray techniques more accessible to researchers and industry.

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When a piece of glass is compromised, the signs of strain can be unmistakable. But understanding that process of deformation before failure in metals is a different matter and a longstanding scientific question that Darren Pagan, the Norris B. McFarlane Faculty Career Development Professorship in th...

09/04/2026

What can a historic flood teach us about housing markets and flood risk?

Jingzhou Wang, a doctoral candidate in energy, environmental and food economics at Penn State, will present “Flood Risk and Housing Markets without Flood Insurance: Evidence from 1930s Pittsburgh” at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 9, in 157 Hosler Building at University Park.

Wang will examine the impact of Pittsburgh’s devastating 1936 St. Patrick’s Day Flood on housing values for homeowners and renters. The research offers insight into how communities respond to flood hazards and how environmental risks shape housing markets.

The talk is part of the fall seminar series hosted by the Initiative for Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy. It is free and open to the public.

Jingzhou Wang, a graduate student in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at Penn State, will give the talk “Flood Risk and Housing Markets without Flood Insurance: Evidence from 1930s Pittsburgh,” at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 9, in 157 Hosler Building on Penn State's...

09/03/2026

Join Penn State postdoctoral scholar Rebecca Bussard for “Mitigating Atmospheric Noise in InSAR Time-series Over Volcanic Targets Using a Convolutional Neural Network” at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, in 117 Earth and Engineering Sciences Building or via Zoom.

Bussard will discuss how machine learning can help reduce atmospheric noise in satellite data, making it easier to detect changes linked to volcanic activity and improve volcano monitoring.

The talk is free and open to the public.

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Rebecca Bussard, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Geosciences at Penn State, will give the talk “Mitigating Atmospheric Noise in InSAR Time-series Over Volcanic Targets Using a Convolutional Neural Network,” at 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, in 117 Earth and Engineering Sciences Building on...

09/02/2026

What a great honor for Dr. Joel N. Myers, the founder and executive chair of AccuWeather, to be honored for his pioneering career. The weather forecasting icon will be inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame this month.

Considered the father of modern commercial meteorology, Myers will be honored at a gala ceremony on Sept. 29 in New York alongside figures such as Bravo’s Andy Cohen, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Food Network’s Bobby Flay and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

Myers founded AccuWeather as a Penn State meteorology graduate student in 1962 and served as its CEO for more than 60 years, building the company into a global leader in weather data, forecasting and warnings.

Myers continues to mentor our meteorology and atmospheric science students who frequent the Joel N. Myers Weather Center on the University Park campus. Congrats on this honor.

Joel Myers, the founder and executive chair of State College-based AccuWeather, will be honored for his pioneering career when he is inducted into the

09/02/2026

Liz Hajek, professor of geosciences and associate head for diversity, equity, and inclusion, is among the Penn State faculty members to receive the Fulbright Scholarship Award.

Hajek uses sedimentary geology to reconstruct ancient landscape conditions, understand the sensitivity and resilience of Earth’s surface environments, and analyze how to best manage buried water, energy, and mineral resources.

This award will allow her to collaborate with colleagues at University College Cork to reconstruct and compare Paleozoic landscapes in the Eastern United States and Ireland to assess historical and future approaches to energy and mineral resource development in both regions.

Congrats!