JOHN AND WILLIE LEONE FAMILY DEPARTMENT OF
Summer 2013
Newsletter
Inside: Meet the new department head
Society of Energy Engineers sparks interest with solar workshop
From the Department Head
Research in Motion............ 5 EME @ Your Service.......... 6 EME Education................... 8 Faculty News.....................10 Professional Societies.....12 Student Voice....................13 2013 Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2013 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center 900 Convention Center Blvd. New Orleans, LA EME Alumni Reception September 30, 2013 5:30pm - 7:00pm Hilton New Orleans Riverside 2 Poydras Street New Orleans, LA Connection is a publication of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. Editorial Director: Turgay Ertekin Editor: Anna Morrison CONTACT: 110 Hosler Building Penn State University University Park, PA 16802-5000 URL: www.eme.psu.edu Phone: 814-865-3437 E-mail to: eme@ems.psu.edu U.Ed. EMS 13-71 This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.
Contact us
Turgay Ertekin
Alumni and Friends............4
save the date
It is my honor to write this short note as the new head of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. And, also, please let me add that I am proud and humbled to lead one of the world’s best collection of resource related academic programs under one roof. Before I continue with my remarks, I wish to express my most sincere gratitude to our Interim Department Head Mark Klima for his hard and dedicated work in ensuring the department functioned in a seamless manner during the times when we have faced an unprecedented enrollment increase. Throughout my tenure at Penn State, the amazing scholastic record of our faculty, robust work ethics of our staff, and level of enthusiasm and dedication of our students to learn have overwhelmed me. Equally impressive has been the amazing generosity of our alumni and industrial affiliates. This is why I view EME as a sound platform from which EME rises as a leader in educating, creating, and graduating today’s and tomorrow’s finest engineers and business technologists. This vision includes investing in the intellectual and human capital of each individual student, focusing on both breadth and depth of knowledge, multidisciplinary and integrated education, and meeting and exceeding current and future challenges in Energy and Mineral Engineering. Within this framework I would like to describe what I envisage for the EME Department under three principal clusters: • the EME Department should commit its talents and resources towards becoming internationally recognized for research at the intersections of knowledge domains within the programmatic areas of Energy and Mineral Engineering and other disciplines, especially where such research can empower the human potential in service to science and society. Accordingly, we
In the Spotlight................... 3
In This Issue
Dear EME Alumni and Friends,
should strive to reinforce, extend, and diversify our strengths in interdisciplinary innovation and collaboration while striving to become recognized for addressing critical, scientifically important problems; • from the aforementioned platform, the EME Department should provide a unique environment that fosters educational, research, technological, economic, cultural and social enrichment worldwide; • collectively, the EME Department should be the home of the pioneers who understand educational challenges and market demands, and respond by creating top quality successful and sustainable programs and curricula for our students. In order to realize the vision outlined above, the EME Department as a whole must expend utmost effort: • to create an environment that inspires creativity, enables pursuit of opportunities and engages all of the stakeholders; • to create a support infrastructure that provides the resources and the human capital required to function as a team; • to ensure that students (and their education/research/careers) are always the first priority of the department. I believe that the efforts that I summarized above will help us in becoming a destination department and inquiry driven community increasingly more distinctive for its technical commitment and at the same time growing into a hub of positive transformation. By being committed to basic research and the ideals of academic freedom, we can effectively play our role in the larger energy picture that has been unfolding on our campus. The strength of that commitment will determine how well we maintain our identity as a department with its diverse academic curricula. I am confident that because of the talent of the faculty, the skills of the staff, and the caliber of our students, it will be easy to meet with enthusiasm the challenges that are associated with research funding, industrial partnerships, and grad/faculty recruiting. When you read this letter the Arts Festival days in State College will be upon us. Please let us know if you are planning to be in the area for this event. We hope that many of you will stop by to pay us a visit. Happy summer trails to all of you.
In the Spotlight
Turgay Ertekin named new department head
Turgay Ertekin has been named the new head of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) at Penn State, effective July 1. Ertekin is a professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering and holds the George E. Trimble Chair in Earth and Mineral Sciences. He also serves as a co-director of the newly formed Penn State Institute for Natural Gas Research. “Turgay is well-known across the University and throughout his profession, and is a recognized expert by industry scientists and engineers,” said William E. Easterling, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. “Not only is he an esteemed scholar, he also is a distinguished teacher known and respected by nearly every graduate of energy and mineral engineering.” Ertekin has had extensive experience with the development and application of fluid flow models in porous media. He has been deeply involved in the mathematical modeling of flow problems using various techniques for more than 35 years. Ertekin’s current research deals with the flow of gases in unconventional gas reservoirs, coal seam degasification process, well test analysis for composite reservoirs, enhanced oil recovery techniques, artificial neural network applications in petroleum and natural gas engineering, and reservoir characterization. Over the course of years, he has developed several multiphase, compositional, multidimensional isothermal and nonisothermal numerical flow models that simulate the performance and applicability of some thermal and nonthermal recovery techniques in petroleum reservoirs. Ertekin received his bachelor of science and master of science in petroleum engineering from the Middle East Technical University. He earned his doctorate in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State before joining the Penn State faculty in 1978. Ertekin holds memberships in the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the American Society for Engineering Education. He has served on the Society of Petroleum Engineers Editorial Board holding various positions including a two-year term as the executive editor of the Formation Evaluation Journal and currently is an editor-in-chief of the Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Technology.
Angela Lueking completes Marie Curie Fellowship by Shea Winton, EMS Energy Institute
Last year Professor Angela Lueking was awarded a highly competitive Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship to partner with researchers at the University of Crete to study basics of hydrogen adsorption and diffusion on surfaces. The Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship is open to top non-European researchers to work on projects in Europe. The fellowship provided Lueking with funding for one year to work and live in Crete. Her work at the University of Crete has focused on synthesizing catalyzed nanoporous materials that have superior hydrogen uptake and moderate pressures using the hydrogen spillover mechanism. Hydrogen spillover involves the addition of a catalyst to a highsurface area microporous support, such that the catalyst acts as a source for atomic hydrogen, the atomic hydrogen diffuses from the catalyst to the support, and ideally, the support provides a high number of tailored surface binding sites to maximize the number of atomic hydrogens interacting with the surface. Lueking has been working alongside George Froudakis from the University of Crete, whose theoretical calculations (with George Psofogiannakis, a current Marie Curie fellow) provided the first multi-scale modeling of the hydrogen spillover mechanism. Lueking recently presented a seminar at the University of Crete to summarize her findings as her fellowship draws to a close. She presented a combined approach of in situ spectroscopic techniques and theoretical multi-scale modeling calculations that are being used to resolve the hydrogen spillover mechanism and illuminate the nature of the exact surface sites and structures responsible for the high uptake in select materials. Her seminar discussed the first direct spectroscopic evidence of a reversible room temperature carbon-hydrogen wag mode, and how this experimental data was used to modify model chemistry in density functional calculations. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to not only resolve the hydrogen spillover controversy, but to use the findings to design new materials for hydrogen storage and catalytic hydrogenation as well as explore an extended collaboration to combine the work of Lueking and Froudakis. The EME department is one of the few places in the United States that houses integrated engineering and business programs related to energy and mineral resources under one academic roof. As department head, Ertekin will oversee six undergraduate programs and one graduate program with five specialty options. “Turgay understands the multifaceted mission of EME and is the right person to promote balanced growth and development of all the department’s programs,” Easterling said. Connection
3
Alumni and Friends 2
Celebrating Outstanding Accomplishments On April 26, the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering held its annual awards banquet for alumni, students, faculty, and staff of the department. The event highlighted the many outstanding accomplishments of the EME community this past year. This year, Robert W. Watson (‘65, ‘76, ‘87 B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering) was presented with the C. Drew Stahl Distinguished Achievement Award. Watson is an associate professor emeritus of petroleum and natural gas engineering and geo-environmental engineering. In addition, George W. Luxbacher (‘73, ‘77, ‘80 B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering) received the Robert Stefanko Distinguished Achievement Award. Luxbacher currently is the senior vice president of operations at Glenn Springs Holdings.
1
3
4
5
6
7
Dean William E. Easterling (left) with Rodney Taylor (right). Rodney Taylor (’82 Ph.D. Fuel Science) was the recipient of the 2013 Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Charles L. Hosler Alumni Scholar Medal. The award is designed to recognize the achievements of alumni who have made outstanding contributions to the development of science through research, teaching, or administrative leadership. While on the University Park campus in April, Taylor also was recognized as the inaugural Penn State Lattman Visiting Scholar of Science and Society. In this role, he held a “science chat” to help initiate a forum discussion on scientific issues with undergraduate students from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Taylor is currently the vice president of process development for Orion Engineered Carbons GmbH in Cologne, Germany. He previously held positions as vice president of carbon development at Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. and as vice president of research and development with the Columbian Chemical Company. 4
www.eme.psu.edu
Photos: (1) Robert W. Watson (right) with Turgay Ertekin (left); (2) George W. Luxbacher (right) with Larry Grayson (left); (3) Environmental Systems Engineering undergraduate student Julianne Ganter with her parents; (4) Sarma Pisupati presents Energy Engineering undergraduate student Alexa Bonk with her scholarship certificate; (5) EME Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Lucie Barj (right) with Luis Ayala; (6) Left to Right: Turgay Ertekin, Barbara Stahl and Filiz Ertekin; (7) Mike McLanahan presents the Old Timers Award to Mining Engineering undergraduate student Brian Persinski.
Research in Motion
Penn State’s new natural gas center to keep Pennsylvania at forefront of industry Originally Published on Penn State Live
B
ringing together one of the largest contingents of natural gas experts in the United States, Penn State has established an Institute for Natural Gas Research (INGaR), which is expected to provide much-needed study into this important form of energy. Working closely with industry, and state and federal government partners, members of INGaR will conduct independent and rigorous scientific research in the broad area of natural gas. Through the institute, researchers and students will develop interdisciplinary approaches to study the complex processes involved in natural gas exploration, production, transmission, storage, processing, combustion, infrastructure and water transport, usage, and impact. A major goal of the institute is to support the ongoing development of a natural gas-based economy that will allow the country to eventually consume a predominantly domestic supply of gas for many years to come. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects U.S. natural gas production will increase 44 percent by 2040. INGaR is a collaborative effort between two of Penn State’s colleges: Earth and Mineral Sciences and Engineering. Currently, more than 50 faculty members in various departments at Penn State have significant research interests and active research programs in natural gas and related areas. Over the next four years, 12 new faculty members will be hired to further strengthen key areas and produce the needed joint information and knowledge that will solve some of the complex challenges related to the exploration and use of natural gas. While the prospects for shale gas production are promising, particularly in Pennsylvania, there remains considerable uncertainty regarding various aspects of this resource and its overall impact, including environmental concerns. Through INGaR, Penn State can lead the nation in world-class expertise in natural gas that can help Pennsylvania retain a strong competitive advantage in natural gas for decades to come. This will translate into more high-paying jobs and a stronger state economy. It also provides novel solutions to environmental management and water resources challenges in mining shale gas. Penn State has a long history of providing strong scientific service to Pennsylvania on myriad matters of economic importance, including natural gas science and engineering. In fact, in 2010 Penn State established the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR) to specifically look at
unconventional gas plays and their impacts. MCOR will continue to play a crucial role for Penn State by informing stakeholders on important matters concerning the Marcellus Shale play. MCOR will partner with INGaR to provide the most comprehensive body of expertise on natural gas, especially the Marcellus play, in any university. In areas across the University, Penn State energy researchers are supported by various agencies interested in natural gas. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Pennsylvania is supporting the development of smart proppant materials used in fracking to keep gas flowing through shale fractures. The U.S. Department of Energy is funding research that characterizes rock mechanics, including induced seismicity, in gas reservoirs under stimulation. Quantum Reservoir Impact, a Houston-based company, is supporting research on the design and implementation of advanced well structures to investigate the possibility of producing natural gas and liquids from unconventional reservoirs without hydraulic fracturing. In a recent study for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the feasibility and possible locations of liquefied natural gas fueling stations were examined for longhaul commercial vehicles. Those are just a few of the many sponsored research projects that will continue under INGaR. Several companies in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have pledged support for INGaR, with gifts for laboratory renovations totaling $2 million to date, with more expected. “INGaR will have the depth and breadth of expertise to tackle comprehensive problems encountered in the exploration, drilling, transport, and use of natural gas, including the environmental challenges of extraction,” said William E. Easterling, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. INGaR will be co-directed by Turgay Ertekin, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering, and Andrew Zydney, professor of chemical engineering, during an international search for a permanent director. INGaR will be overseen by an external advisory board consisting of academic, government, and industry experts who will help guide INGaR research toward topics that provide maximum benefit to companies; promote scientific excellence; and help educate the public on the facts of natural gas.
Connection
5
EME @ Your Service
CQI hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day workshops In April, the EMS Energy Institute’s Center for Quantitative X-Ray Imaging (CQI) played host to a series of workshops for young school-aged children as part of the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day events at Penn State. The purpose of the workshops was to expose younger students to imaging technologies and the career fields that utilize imaging research, including oil and gas engineering, anthropology, soil sciences, civil engineering, and geosciences. Accompanied by their adult mentors, the 30 participants were given a first-hand look at the high resolution x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner housed at the Center. CQI research staff members Katya Bazilevskaya and Tim Stecko also provided presentations on how x-ray technology works, what materials are scanned, and how researchers work with those scanned images. Dennis Arun Alexis and Xinqian Li, graduate students in the petroleum and natural gas engineering option, followed by highlighting how x-ray technology is used in oil and gas engineering research. Specifically, Alexis demonstrated
how CT scans are used to simulate fluid transport through porous and fractured rocks to help the oil and natural gas industry improve gas flow rates at well sites. Li then explained how CT scans are being used to identify how carbon dioxide can be securely stored underground. Participants finished their sessions by viewing 3-D image samples of scanned materials, including animal bones, rocks, baseballs and candy. They also participated in a unique hands-on learning activity in which they were asked to examine pretzel M&Ms and sketch an image of how they thought the internal structure of the candy would appear in a CT scan. They then were able to compare their findings to actual CT scanned images. Penn State’s Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is part of a nationwide effort to help children learn about different career options. The event, which is open to University employees and youth participants, allows children to choose three sites from across the University Park campus to visit and explore occupational opportunities.
Associate Professor Zuleima Karpyn shows material samples to a young participant of the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day workshop while graduate students Dennis Arun Alexis and Xinqian Li look on at the Center for Quantitative X-Ray Imaging.
6
www.eme.psu.edu
EME hosts Michael Klein for Peter H. Given Lectureship Series in Coal Science From February 18 - 22 the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering hosted Michael T. Klein for the 2013 Peter H. Given Lectureship in Coal Science. Klein is currently the Dan Rich Chair of Energy and Energy Institute Director at the University of Delaware. He delivered two lectures focused on his work in developing chemical models of complex reaction systems that assist with the upgrading and conversion of coal and biomass to liquid fuels. Klein’s first lecture, titled “Software Tools for the Construction of Detailed Kinetic Models,” explored the use of molecular-based models that map the chemistry of carbonbased resources, including unconventional feedstocks, as they are upgraded and converted for use with petroleum in the existing refining and transportation infrastructures. His second lecture, titled “Chemical Modeling of Direct Coal Liquefaction,” looked at how mathematical models of the reaction chemistry of coal liquefaction will assist in the development of direct coal liquefaction, a process for upgrading primary coal resource
for use in blends with petroleum. Klein earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware in 1977 and doctorate from MIT in 1981, both in chemical engineering. The author of over 200 technical papers and the lead author of the text Molecular Modeling in Heavy Hydrocarbon Conversions, he is active in research in the area of chemical reaction engineering, with special emphasis on the kinetics of complex systems. Klein is the editor-in-chief of the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Energy and Fuels. He has been the recipient of several honors throughout his career, including the R. H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Young Investigators Award, and the ACS Delaware Valley Section Award. In 2011, he was named an ACS Fellow. The Given Lectureship brings a nationally or internationally known researcher in coal science to Penn State to give a short series of open lectures on current research issues in the area of coal science. The lectureship was
established in 1989 by faculty of Penn State’s former fuel science program in memory of Dr. Peter H. Given, professor emeritus and first program chair of fuel science.
Shoemaker Lecture explores benefits of Marcellus Shale development William Fustos (’79 B.S. Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering), the former chief operating officer at East Resources, delivered the 21st G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture in Mineral Engineering at the Penn State University Park campus on April 26. Speaking to an audience of Penn State students, faculty, and members of the general public, Fustos’ lecture, “The Marcellus Shale: Economic Boom for PA, Energy Security for the U.S.,” explored the evolution of the Marcellus shale industry from 2004 through today. Fustos also outlined the industry’s current economic benefits to Pennsylvania. “Since 2008, the Marcellus shale industry has created an economic boom for PennsylPage 6 Photography Top Left: CQI research staff member Tim Stecko gives participants a tour of the CT scanning equipment. Top Middle: Three young students examine a pretzel M&M and draw a sketch of how they think its internal structure will be displayed by a CT scan. Top Right: Graduate student Xinqian Li gives a lecture about the use of CT scans in oil and gas research.
vania and several neighboring states,” Fustos said. “Numerous oil and gas companies have moved into Pennsylvania providing jobs, revenues, and opportunities for our citizens that few imagined would have existed five years ago.” According to Fustos, those opportunities include new oil and gas royalties for landowners and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as a strong incentive for businesses to relocate or expand operations within the state. “Because of Pennsylvania’s fortunate geology and the existence of the Marcellus and Utica shales, our state is well positioned to be one of our nation’s energy leaders for the next century.” Fustos graduated from Penn State in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering. He joined East Resources in 1998 as vice president of operations. In 2002, he became East’s chief operating officer. In 2006, East began a Marcellus shale exploration effort in northeast Pennsylvania. Ultimately, the company held in excess of 650,000 acres of Marcellus Shale rights in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia. After the formation of a successful private equity partnership with the firm of Kohlberg, Kravis, and Roberts in 2009, the company was sold to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010.
William Fustos (right) receives the 2013 G. Albert Shoemaker Lecturer plaque from Assoicate Professor Mark Klima at the 2013 EME Awards Banquet.
The G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture Series in Mineral Engineering was established in 1992 by Mercedes G. Shoemaker to honor the memory of her husband, a Pittsburgh civic and industrial leader dedicated to the support of higher education. Connection
7
EME Education
Energy Business and Finance students participate in commodity trading challenge T
wo teams of Penn State undergraduate students placed among the top ten percent of finalists at the international CME Group Commodity Trading Challenge. The month-long competition offers graduate and undergraduate students a unique chance to electronically trade crude oil, gold and corn futures in a simulated, real-time professional trading environment. Over 320 teams from 180 universities entered this year’s contest, which ended March 15. The Penn State white team finished in tenth place, while the Penn State blue team came in 27th. This was the first year that Penn State participated in the challenge, giving students a first-hand look at the fastpaced, high-stakes world of commodities trading. “You can take every class involving trading and read up on books about trading, but the experience from this trading challenge is invaluable,” said Grant Martin, an undergraduate student in energy business and finance (EBF). “It really gave me a grasp on how fast you can lose money and how hard it can be to make it.” Joining Martin on the Penn State white team were fellow EBF majors Michael McCormick and Qianwen Ma, and Robert Blalock, an undergraduate student in business administration. Members of the Penn State blue team included EBF majors Diego Villegas Sierra, Linzhe Cai, and Xiaolong Ou, as well as Landon Hollenshead, an undergraduate student in agricultural sciences. “The teams put a tremendous amount of work into the competition, and their enthusiasm and dedication to the project was infectious,” said James Falvey, a Penn State instructor and faculty adviser for both Penn State teams. “They all became excellent traders. I’m very proud of their effort, their excellent results and the way they represented Penn State.” Sponsored by the CME Group in Chicago, the challenge opened in February with a two-week preliminary round in which teams are given an account balance of $100,000 to conduct trades on commodity futures. The teams with the highest returns then move on to the championship round for another two
8
www.eme.psu.edu
weeks of trading, this time with a starting balance of $250,000. Although the money being traded is not real, the trades are conducted in real-time on a professional trading platform provided by CQG, Inc. The experience complements Penn State’s Global Finance for the Earth, Energy, and Materials Industry course by giving students the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in class to a real-life commodities market. For Linzhe Cai and his Penn State blue team members, the contest proved to be both fun and challenging. “We got to experience what it was like to be a professional trader.” Added team member Diego Villegas Sierra: “We were constantly watching the markets and keeping up-to-date with market moving events. It was very exciting to trade in real market time.” Michael McCormick used the competition as a training ground for a future career in finance. “I hope to get a job in the financial services industry, more specifically with commodity trading, either for a speculative organization or for a company with exposure to commodities.” As two of the top performing teams to advance to the championship round, members of both Penn State teams attended the CME Group’s Day of Market Education in April. Held in Chicago, the event is a one-day conference that provides students with a behind-thescenes look at the financial industry. Top: Members of the Penn State blue team at the CME Group’s Day of Market Education in Chicago (left to right): Diego Villegas Sierra, Linzhe Cai, Xiaolong Ou, and Landon Hollenshead. Middle: Penn State students competing in the CME Group Commodity Trading Challenge. Bottom: Penn State students at the CME Group’s Day of Market Education in Chicago.
Luis Ayala appointed EME Associate Department Head for Graduate Education Luis F. Ayala H. has been appointed to succeed Larry Grayson as the graduate program officer in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME). “Dr. Ayala is a well-respected educator who is fast becoming a leading scholar in natural gas engineering,” said Mark Klima, interim EME department head. “He is a great choice to continue the excellent job that Dr. Grayson has done in leading our graduate program these last six years.” Ayala, an associate professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering, joined the faculty in 2004 after receiving his master’s degree and doctorate from Penn State. He has taught a variety of courses related to production engineering, natural gas engineering, and reservoir engineering. In 2012, he became the co-director of the new Unconventional Natural Resources Consortium, a research effort between industry and academia to analyze natural gas and oil reservoirs and production in unconventional plays. His research interests include the area of natural gas engineering with emphasis on numerical modeling of unconventional natural gas, long-term performance analysis of gas shale reservoirs, hydrocarbon phase behavior and its interplay with reservoir flow systems,
multiphase flow analysis in pipe networks, and artificial intelligence applications. Ayala also is actively engaged in academic and professional service. He currently is an associate editor of SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering and the Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering. He is a member of the SPE Reservoir Description and Dynamics Committee, and has been a member of the Reservoir Engineering Program Subcommittee for every SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition since 2009. He serves as an adviser to the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ The Way Ahead magazine and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Chemical Society and the National Association of Engineers of Venezuela. In addition, Ayala also served as the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ representative to the University Graduate Council from 2009 to 2011, where he chaired the Penn State Graduate Council Committee on Research. In 2008, he received the Wilson Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. He also has served as an on-site peer evaluator for the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET, Washington DC). The EME graduate degree program comprises five areas of specialization, including energy management and policy, environmental health and safety engineering, fuel science, mining and mineral process engineering and petroleum and natural gas engineering, though students do not have to specialize. The curriculum’s focus on the safe, sustainable and efficient utilization of energy and minerals is unique to both Penn State and the United States. Currently, there are nearly 175 students enrolled in the program.
Energy Business and Finance major offers new option in energy and land management Beginning in the fall of 2013, the Penn State John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) will be offering a new energy and land management option as part of the bachelor of science degree in energy business and finance (EBF). Designed in consultation with the American Association of Professional Landmen, this new option will provide expertise in the acquisition of sub-surface exploration rights and enable Penn State students to seek challenging careers as exploration landmen. “Since the emergence of the Marcellus and more recently the Utica exploration plays in the Appalachian Basin, it has become apparent that professionally trained landmen are needed to sustain oil and natural gas exploration and development,” said Andrew Kleit, professor of energy and environmental economics and energy business and finance program officer. “The curriculum of our new energy land management option is built to meet that need.” Undergraduate students in the EBF major who choose the energy and land management option will follow the standard EBF academic plan with emphasis in energy, business, and finance during the first two years of study. The second two years of the degree program then will provide a rigorous focus on land management expertise including courses in real estate fundamentals, energy law, geographic information sciences, petroleum engineering and petroleum geology. Sophomores currently in the EBF major have the opportunity to select the energy land management option in time for the fall 2013 semester, setting the stage for the EME
department to graduate its first land management professionals within two years. As the majority of today’s professionally trained landmen hail from the more traditional oil and gas oriented regions, the Penn State energy and land management option is poised to fill the void in the oil and gas industry’s ability to recruit and retain qualified candidates in the Appalachian Basin. “The energy and land management option demonstrates Penn State’s commitment to partnering with industry to educate a qualified workforce interested in fulfilling their career goals in this geographic region,” Kleit explained. “We believe that a Penn State graduate who grew up in this region and chooses this career path will see tremendous success having known the area and people so well.” Penn State’s Landman option is “business based” in one of the top Earth Science Colleges in the country. The study of the earth has been a part of the Penn State curriculum since 1859. The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is internationally recognized for research in engineering, energy, materials, and earth sciences. The EBF major combines training in business, economics, finance, and the physical sciences with a core of courses that focus on energy and related industries. For more information on the new energy and land management option in the EBF major, please contact Andrew Kleit at 814865-0711 or ank1@psu.edu. Connection
9
Faculty News R. Larry Grayson retires after 38-year career in mining engineering R. Larry Grayson, professor of energy and mineral engineering and George H. Jr. and Anne B. Deike Chair in Mining Engineering, has retired from Penn State after a 38-year career in mining engineering. Joining the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) in 2007, Grayson served as the head of EME’s graduate program and as the undergraduate program officer of mining engineering. In 2012 he also took over as director of the Penn State Miner Training Program. “I appreciate the huge footprint Larry has left on our mining engineering program,” said William E. Easterling, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. “The progress we’ve made in the past six years has been remarkable and I ascribe that success to Larry and his mining engineering colleagues.” During his six-year tenure at Penn State, Grayson also was instrumental in establishing several new educational and professional networking activities for mining engineering students. This includes the formation of the first Penn State mine rescue team, the startup of a new student chapter of the International Society of Explosives Engineers, and participation in the annual International Mining (Mucking) Games. “It is a pleasure to have been associated with Dr. Grayson over the last several years,” said Edward Zeglen Jr. of Alpha Natural Resources. “His dedication to the student mine rescue members helped them and myself create a highly successful team.” Grayson came to Penn State from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR), where he served as the chair of the Department of Mining and Nuclear Engineering from 2000 – 2006. During that time he also was the director of the Western Mining Safety and Health Training and Translation Center. Prior to joining UMR, Grayson spent three years as the first permanent associate director of the Office for Mine Safety and Health Research at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) from 1997 – 2000. At the forefront of mining engineering research for over 30 years, Grayson has made significant contributions to the areas of mine health and safety, sustainable mining development, and mine operations management. Following the spate of mine tragedies in 2006, including the Sago mine disaster, Grayson chaired the Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission, which was established by the National Mining Association to do an independent study on current and future approaches to improve mine safety in the United States. Since then he has given testimony in both the U.S. House of Repre-
R. Larry Grayson with his wife, Maxine and daughter, Jennifer.
sentatives and the U.S. Senate as an expert in mine health and safety. “If I were trapped in a mine and could only talk to one person on the outside I would want it to be him,” said Joseph Flick, manager of the Penn State Miner Training Program. “I will always admire the way he has kept mine safety at the forefront of his work. I am a better professional because of him and know that many others are as well.” Grayson is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania and West Virginia as well as a certified mine foreman and mine examiner in Pennsylvania. After joining the Pennsylvania coal mining industry in early 1975, he worked for nine years as a United Mine Workers of America laborer and in various engineering and management positions, including as chief mining engineer and superintendent of a 500-employee underground coal mine and surface facilities. From there he began his academic career at West Virginia University in 1984. Grayson is a Distinguished Member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME) and the recipient of numerous professional and teaching awards including the 2000 Old Timers Club Faculty Award and the 2001 Stephen McCann Award for Excellence in Education. In 2013, he received the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Wilson Award for Outstanding Service.
EME welcomes new faculty member to the department In January 2013, Shimin Liu joined the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering as an assistant professor of energy and mineral engineering. Liu came to Penn State directly after completing his doctorate in engineering science at Southern Illinois University. He holds a master’s degree in mineral process engineering and a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the China University of Mining and Technology. 10
www.eme.psu.edu
Liu’s research expertise centers on gas storage and transport mechanism in coalbed methane reservoirs and carbon sequestration in geological formations, especially in the areas of laboratory characterization of gas-coal interaction, analytical modeling of gas transportation under in situ conditions for carbonaceous rocks, volumetric behaviors of coal with gas adsorption/desorption, CO2 sequestration in coal seams, and enhanced gas production. He is a member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, and a reviewer for several journals, including Energy and Fuels, International Journal of Rock Mechanics, and Mining Sciences and Fuel.
Zuleima Karpyn named interim director of the EMS Energy Institute Zuleima Karpyn, associate professor and Quentin E. and Louise L. Wood Faculty Fellow in petroleum and natural gas engineering, will serve as the interim director of the EMS Energy Institute for one year while Director Chunshan Song is on sabbatical leave. Her appointment begins July 1. Karpyn has been active with the EMS Energy Institute for many years and is currently its petroleum and natural gas program director. In addition, she is co-director for the Center for Quantitative X-Ray Imaging (CQI), located in the institute. Dr. Karpyn is an expert on multiphase flow and transport phenomena in porous media, as well as digital rock physics, including applications in reservoir engineering, unconventional resources characterization, underground hydrology, and environmental remediation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Central de Venezuela, and a R. Larry Grayson was awarded the 2013 Wilson Award for Outstanding Service from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The award is given in recognition of meritorious service by a faculty member. Shimin Liu received the 2013 Wilson Research Initiation Grant from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The grant assists with research of a new tenure track faculty member. Antonio Nieto was awarded a $200,000 General Electric grant to assess a new battery technology in underground mining electric vehicles.
Jamal Rostami is now the chair of the Professional Exam Committee of the Society of Mining Engineers and also has been appointed as an associate editor of the Mining Engineering magazine of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration. Rostami also is offering a short course on mechanical excavation and mining as part of the World Mining Congress in August 2013 in Montreal, Canada.
master’s degree and Ph.D. in petroleum and natural gas engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. Karpyn is a recipient of the 2005 Penn State Wilson Research Initiation Grant, 2008 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award granted by the National Science Foundation and the 2010 Wilson Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is also associate editor for the Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, and an active member of the Society of Core Analysts and the American Geophysical Union.
Semih Eser recently celebrated 25 years of service as a Penn State faculty member. Eser received an engraved plaque and chair in recogition of his 25th anniversary.
Randy Vander Wal has been invited to be a 2013 Tour Speaker for the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS). Tour Speaker prospects visit all SAS local sections, with each section listing their speaker choices. Vander Wal’s first presentation, “Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy Applied to Aircraft ( Jet) PM: What Are We Breathing?”, was presented to the Cleveland section of the SAS this spring.
John Yilin Wang has been named editor-in-chief of the new Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources. The journal is set to launch later in 2013 with the objective “to provide worldclass scientific coverage of recent advances in knowledge and practices in the area of evaluation, development and management of unconventional resources for researchers and practicing engineers.”
On November 1, 2012, Kwadwo Osseo-Asare participated in the inaugural activities of The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha, Tanzania, by presenting one of three inaugural public lectures. His talk was titled “Plenty of Room at the Bottom: Science, Technology, and Innovation in African Development” [Kuna Mengi ya Chumba Chini: Sayansi, Teknolojia Na Ubunifu Katika Afrika], a reference to Richard Feynman’s 1959 lecture “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom. An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics.” In addition, Osseo-Asare was joint-adviser for the Ph.D. research of Daniel Majuste, whose thesis was selected by the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil as the best Ph.D. thesis in the fields of Metallurgical, Materials and Mining Engineering in 2012. Majuste spent a year at Penn State conducting part of his research with Osseo-Asare.
Chunshan Song delivered an invited keynote lecture at the 16th National Conference on Catalysis in China, held in Shenyang, China, from October 15-19, 2012. His lecture was titled, “Recent Advances in Catalysis and Adsorption Approaches for Ultra Clean Fuels.” In addition, two of Song’s refereed journal publications in Catalysis Today have been cited over 500 times each, according to the Science Citation Index in Web of Science. Both papers have remained among the “Top 25 Hottest Articles” for over 10 years and both are in the “Top 5 Most Cited Articles” among the over 5,500 articles published in the journal during 2002-2012. The article titles are: “An overview of new approaches to deep desulfurization for ultra-clean gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel” and “Fuel processing for lowtemperature and high-temperature fuel cells Challenges, and opportunities for sustainable development in the 21st century.” Connection
11
Professional Societies
Society of Energy Engineers hosts hands-on solar workshop
by Vera Cole, Program Officer, Senior Lecturer, Energy and Sustainability Policy
Students jumped at an opportunity to spend a weekend gaining hands-on experience with solar technology. Left to Right: Dylan Parrish, Charles Dulik, Stephen Dziura, Bill Hennessy, Dustin Walls, Michael Bufalini, Chris Hill, Luke Dickerson, Anthony Talarico, Zachary Kramer, Dr. Vera Cole, Dr. Jeffrey Brownson, Michael Morgan, Alex Scott, Hannah Estrich, Diego Sabio, Joshua Carey, Fernando Fuentes, Matt VanHefter, and Su Zhang.
In April, 18 Penn State students (and one faculty member) participated in a unique two-day hands-on solar workshop, building from the ground up two full-scale 1-kW photovoltaic systems, one off-grid with battery backup and one grid-interactive. The event, arranged by Society of Energy Engineers (SEE) student leaders Ian Wolfe and Dylan Parrish, gave students valuable and highly sought after handson experience with photovoltaic components, system design, assembly, and wiring. Students said this hands-on experience not only helped them learn about photovoltaic (PV) system technology, but also helped their understanding of “basic electrical engineering fundamentals (wire stripping, wire connections, hot, neutral, ground)”, AC vs DC, and more advanced concepts, such as AC coupling. This event was the first offering of a unique “Transportable PV Workshop,” designed and delivered by the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association (MAREA). In the summer of 2012, several Penn State students traveled to participate in an off-campus Solar Boot Camp. Empowered by the experience, go-getters Wolfe and Parrish approached the Boot Camp instructors and asked what it would take to bring this kind of experience to State College. In nine months it happened—a full-scale, hands-on PV workshop that could travel to the students.
12
www.eme.psu.edu
The newly-designed “Transportable PV Workshop” arrived in the back of a Ford pickup, carrying eight Sharp 240-watt PV modules, inverters, batteries, structural components, rolls of wire, tools, and all manner of gear. Students dove in! Over the course of two days, enthusiastic students built two full-scale 1-kW systems—one grid interactive (“Sunny”), using a PV Powered 120v inverter, and another off-grid (“Share”), with a Magnum PAE series inverter, Midnite Solar Charge Controller and Deka AGM batteries. With the guidance of instructors, students installed code-compliant wiring and learned to test AC and DC writing using multimeters. Calculations and measurements taught in the classroom came alive in the field—VOC, ISC, voltage/current in series, and PV operational response to conditions (temperature, insolation, tilt, and shading). The “Transportable PV Workshop” was designed and delivered by Dr. Vera Cole, president of MAREA and program officer of the online Energy and Sustainability Policy degree program, and Bill Hennessy, also with MAREA and NABCAP-certified president of Berks Solar. The workshop design and setup was featured at the 2013 American Solar Energy Society National Conference in Baltimore. The workshop was sponsored by Penn State’s student chapter of the Society of Energy Engineers (SEE), the first of its kind. For this workshop, SEE student officers raised funds, managed registrations, made site arrangements, and handled all communications. The workshop took place in the parking lot and a classroom of the Earth-Engineering Sciences Building just weeks before the end of the semester. The workshop was designed for 12, but student demand for experience with solar was so high, 18 students were allowed to register. Based on this response and feedback from participants, student organizers hope to make this opportunity for hands-on solar experience an annual or twice-a-year event. Photo: Students wire off-grid photovoltaic system. Left to Right: Charles Dulik, Dustin Walls, Hannah Estrich, Su Zhang, Dr. Vera Cole, and Matt VanHefter (rear).
Student Voice Forum on Black Affairs honors Energy Engineering student
Peilin Cao receives first place in poster session
The Forum on Black Affairs at Penn State selected John-Paul Milton, a bachelor’s degree student in energy engineering, as a recipient of the 2013 Fannie Lou Hamer - W.E.B. Du Bois Service Scholarship. Milton accepted the honor at the 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet held on January 15 at The Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel. The Hamer – Du Bois Scholarship is awarded annually to Penn State students in good academic standing who are actively engaged in service to the African-American community. Recipients are selected through a competitive process which includes the submission of an essay describing ways the African-American community can improve its collective well-being. Milton is a Bunton-Waller Fellow who is an active member of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. He also serves as the secretary for the Penn State Student Society of Energy Engineers. In the fall of 2012, he was selected to participate in the Presidential Leadership Academy, a three-year leadership development opportunity for students to develop leadership fundamentals to thrive in an environment in which multiple dimensions of an issue are explored, diverse viewpoints are welcomed and heard, and a fully informed and respectful discourse ensues that leads to sound action.
Peilin Cao, a doctoral candidate in energy and mineral engineering, received first place for her poster submitted in the Energy and Engineering category at the 2013 CarbonEARTH Carbon Conference. Cao is part of Dr. Zuleima Karpyn’s Flow in Porus Media research group. Cao’s research focuses on wellbore integrity and degradation of well cement under CO2 sequestration conditions. The Carbon Conference, which was held on February 23, brings together the University’s carbon research community and features talks by distinguished faculty on novel carbon research and an undergraduate/graduate/postdoctoral research poster competition.
Marla Korpar, a bachelor’s degree student in environmental systems engineering, received the Ellen Steidle Achievement Award at the 2013 College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Wilson Awards Banquet. This is the second year in a row that Marla has received this award. Established in 1953 by Dean Edward Steidle to honor the memory of his wife, this award recognizes students who have been active in advancing the welfare and improvement of the College.
Congratulations to the Penn State mine rescue team for placing 2nd overall and 2nd in the underground problem at the 2013 Mine Emergency Response Development contest in Ashland, PA. Members of the team included mining engineering students Eric Bella, Chris Brown Speck, Kevin Cloud, Wei Guo, Obaid Hossain, Thomas Rauch, and Adam Rodriguez.
Hamed Lashkari, a master’s degree student in the mining and mineral process engineering option, was selected as a recipient of the 2013 Underground Construction Association of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration Engineers (UCA of SME) Scholarship. The scholarship was established to “encourage the introduction of undergraduate and graduate academic pursuits and careers in the field of tunneling and underground construction.” Lucas Witmer, a doctoral student in energy and mineral engineering, received the John and Barbara Yellott Award at the 2013 American Solar Energy Society Meeting in Baltimore, MD. The Yellott Award, named for those who helped found the American Solar Energy Society, is given to a deserving graduate student concentrating on solar energy at a recognized institution of higher learning.” During the conference, Witmer also received a travel award from the Society of Building Energy Science Educators.
Connection
13
Student Voice
Why EMS THONs
One College. One Love. One Fight.
by Marla Korpar, B.S. Student in Environmental Systems Engineering
On February 15 – 17, Penn State held its annual IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) in the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus. Over $12 million was raised for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. With a total topping more than $92,000, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) THON organization once again achieved the distinction of raising the most money among the 253 general organizations participating in the event. Students from the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) were an integral part of that success with four out of the six EMS dancers coming from EME majors. The entire EMS dance team included Sarah Bademan (energy engineering), Chris DiMisa (energy business and finance), Brittany Eckert (energy business and finance), Julianne Ganter (environmental systems engineering), Alyson Hoegg (meteorology), and Jacqueline Layer (meteorology). In addition, Marla Korpar, a bachelor’s degree student in environmental systems engineering, served as this year’s overall EMS Chairperson. Here, Marla explains what THON means to EMS students and why, year-after-year, they continue to work tirelessly as part of the largest student-run philanthropic event in the world. Our organization was founded in 2003 with a group of 20 active members. Ten years later, we have expanded to over 100 active members. We have grown from raising a few thousand dollars for our first THON, to being named the “Number One General Organization” for three consecutive years and raising over $92,000 For The Kids this year. We pride ourselves on the community feeling we have within our group and the vision of our group. We strive to remain a close-knit group of science and engineering students that work towards the common goal of finding a cure for pediatric cancer. We work hard to instill the true meaning of being a part of the THON community and how our work affects the lives of Four Diamonds families. While we believe it is extremely important to raise money for THON, we work equally as hard to create lasting relationships with each other and our THON families. We THON for our families: the Brewers, the Woods, and the Hollingers The Brewers became our family in the fall of 2004. Our organization was graced with Lynn and Butch, strong loving parents, their two sons, Troy and Tommy, and now Tommy’s wife Danielle and a beautiful grandson, LeLand. Their son, Troy, was our first THON 14
www.eme.psu.edu
The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Dance Marathon dancers (left to right): Christopher Dimisa, Alyson Hoegg, Julianne Ganter, Brittany Eckert, Sarah Bademan, and Jacqueline Layer.
child. He was a spit-fire teenager who loved hunting. Troy became a part of our family, and we are a part of his. Our members would make frequent visits with the Brewers. Troy passed away from pediatric cancer in March of 2006. We THON every day in Troy’s memory. We THON to keep his smile alive, and to protect other families from having to experience what Butch and Lynn have gone through. The Woods became our family in the spring of 2006. We have the loving parents Lisa and Ryan, and their six children Moriah, Lauren, Michael, Anna, Andrew, and Christopher (born October 2012!). The Woods have adopted us into their family, having as many as 30 of us over at a time. We frequently visit for birthday parties, canning weekends, long weekends, and to baby-sit. Their son, Michael, had pediatric cancer, and is now cancer free! With the Woods, we celebrate life, progress, and health. We THON so other families can have the blessing that the Woods had with Michael, and so families can experience the love the Woods share every day. We THON so one day, every THON family can celebrate their child being cancer-free. The Hollingers have just adopted us into their family in the fall of 2012. Their son, Jackson, is currently going through active treatment. As we get to know the Hollingers, they are a constant reminder that “THON is today.” Cancer doesn’t take holidays, it is
present and kids are fighting every day. We THON for the health and happiness of the kids currently undergoing treatment. We THON today, so they can laugh and play tomorrow and for years to come. We THON for the kids. Pediatric cancer is the number one leading cause of death amongst children. We THON to give children the chance to live; the chance to laugh; and the chance to play. We THON so kids can be kids. We THON for a cure. Our ultimate goal is that one day there will be no need for THON. We THON, so that one day a cure will be found for all pediatric cancers. At the end of the fundraising season, we celebrate our efforts through THON, a 46hour, no sleeping, no sitting dance marathon. We hold this extravagant event to celebrate our hard work through the year, and to give our THON families a place where “kids can be kids.” THON is a time where kids can forget that they have cancer, and they can laugh and play. It is an extremely symbolic event that is by far our favorite weekend of the year. Our organization’s motto is “One College. One Love. One Fight.” Together, we work to fight pediatric cancer, and to support the families who are facing it today.
Sijuola Odumabo, a master’s degree student in the petroleum and natural gas engineering option, received 3rd place at the 2013 Graduate Exhibition for her poster. The poster, “Gas Flow Hindrance Fracturing Fluid Invasion in Low Permeability Sandstones,” highlights work she is doing at the EMS Energy Institute. The Graduate Exhibition is open to all degree-seeking graduate students who are currently enrolled in graduate degree programs at Penn State and wish to present their scholarly work.
Jessie Chao, a master’s degree student in energy and mineral engineering, participated in the 2012 Summer Experience in the Earth and Mineral Sciences (SEEMS) program as a graduate student Jessie Chao (center) with Upward Bound Math and Science mentor. Jessie led a scholars at the SEEMS final ceremony. group of high school students to a first place finish in the final presentation competition within the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), and a third place finish in the final presentation competition of all University Park campus teams. In collaboration with the Penn State Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) Summer Academy, the SEEMS program is designed to provide UBMS scholars the opportunity to work with EMS faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students on conducting hands-on research projects.
Theodore Edwards, a bachelor’s degree student in energy business and finance, won first place at the annual Grundy Haven paper competition for his paper, “Externality, PA: Using Economics to Protect Pennsylvania’s Environment.” The William Grundy Haven Awards were established in 1950 in memory of a Penn State geology student who was killed in action during World War II. The aim of the competition is to encourage excellence in writing by students in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Edwards’ paper explores the disincentives of current laws governing bonding in the natural gas industry for firms to perform adequate site reclamation. It suggests ways incentives can be re-aligned to encourage firms to internalize reclamation costs that would result in proper site reclamation.
Allison Boehm, a master’s degree student in the energy policy and management option, recently was awarded a fellowship from the Wind Energy Foundation for a research proposal on wind turbine decommissioning.
Ehsan Alavi Gharabagh, a doctoral student in the minng and mineral process engineering option, was the recipient of the 2013 Iranian American Academics and Professionals at Penn State award. Ehsan has just accepted an offer as a research assistant professor at the Colorado School of Mines.
Penn State competes in Mining Games A team of mining engineering students recently participated in the co-ed division of the 35th International Intercollegiate Mining Games. Held in March at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO, the competition included 15 co-ed teams from universities across the country. Penn State finished 14th overall, with a 6th place finish in the track stand contest and 8th place finish in the survey event. Members of the team included Eric Bella, Adam Rodriguez, Lily List, Obaid Hossain, Diana Fernandez, and geosciences student Tessa Hettesheimer. The Intercollegiate Mining Games began in 1978 to honor the 91 miners who died in the 1972 Sunshine Mine Disaster. The contest also helps to keep alive traditional mining practices. Teams compete in seven individual events which include: track stand, which involves laying sections of rail; hand muck, which involves filling a two-ton ore cart and pushing it down a track; gold panning for flattened lead shot in dirt-filled pans; Swede saw, in which team members cut through a 6 inch by 6 inch piece of timber; hand steel, in which team members drill into a concrete block with a pneumatic drill; and surveying with a Wild T2 Mod theodolite. Connection
15
An Opportunity To Give The John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering EME Undergraduate Education Funds To make a gift, please complete and return this form with a check made payable to: The Pennsylvania State University EME Undergraduate Education Funds 116 Hosler Building University Park, PA 16802 Name: _______________________________________ Address: _____________________________________ ____________________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________ Email: _______________________________________
I would like to support EME with my gift of:
□ $50.00 □ $100.00 □ $250.00 □ Other: _____________ Please use my gift for the following area of need:
□ □ □ □
Incoming Student Incentive Scholarship Fund Departmental Undergraduate Scholarship Fund Undergraduate Travel Fund Teaching Laboratories Upgrade Fund
When giving online, please be sure to include the code AD323 to the right of the description.
Newsletter
John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering College of Earth and Mineral Sciences The Pennsylvania State University 110 Hosler Building University Park, PA 16802 Phone: (814) 865-3437
www.eme.psu.edu