Our graduate students are integral to the research we conduct, and they also are dedicated to making a difference in communities. Read news of interest to or featuring our graduate students below.
Rock permeability, microquakes link may be a boon for geothermal energy
Using machine learning, researchers at Penn State have tied low-magnitude microearthquakes to the permeability of subsurface rocks beneath the Earth, a discovery that could have implications for improving geothermal energy transfer.
Penn State team wins national competition on use of AI in the energy industry
A team of five graduate students from the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences won first place in the 2024 Chevron National Engineering Competition. The annual competition challenges teams to present novel ideas about contemporary subjects in the petroleum and energy industry, with this year’s topic focused on use cases for implementing artificial intelligence (AI).
Ming Ma receives the international Nico van Wingen Memorial Graduate Fellowship
Ming Ma, a doctoral degree candidate in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) at Penn State, received the international Nico van Wingen Memorial Graduate Fellowship from the Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE). The fellowship is given to exceptional doctoral students seeking a career in academia.
Energy and mineral engineering doctoral candidate awarded fellowship grant
Younes Shekarian, a doctoral degree candidate in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, received the SME Ph.D. Fellowship grant from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME). The award helps support exceptional doctoral students who are seeking a career in academia.
Student chapter wins Society of Petroleum Engineers Presidential Award
The Penn State Society of Petroleum Engineers student chapter won the 2023 Presidential Award for Outstanding Student Chapter, as recognition for going above and beyond the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) mission to engage the industry, serve local members and the community, and participate in social outreach. The award is the highest honor the society bestows college chapters, with only three U.S. universities receiving the distinction. The award marks a growing recognition for the chapter, which previously won the Student Chapter Excellence Awards in 2022 and 2020.
Mineral engineering doctoral student selected for NSF-sponsored summer school
Amir Eskanlou, a graduate student in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME), has been invited to participate in the Platform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, and Discovery of Interface Materials (PARADIM) summer school at Cornell University. Eskanlou plans to further his investigations on coal dust with the goal of reducing the negative health impacts during the National Science Foundation-sponsored program.
Energy and mineral engineering graduate student awarded fellowship grant
Elham Rahimi, a graduate student in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, received the SME Ph.D. Fellowship grant from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME).
G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture to focus on the future of energy
Charles Zebula, president of energy supply for American Electric Power (AEP) will give the 2019 G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture in Mineral Engineering at Penn State. His talk, “Resources that will power our future,” will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, April 15, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
Penn State to host conference focused on geomodeling food, energy, water nexus
The Annual Conference of the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences (IAMG) will be hosted Aug. 10-16, 2019 on the University Park campus.