Institutes and Centers

Institutes

Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI) — one of the nation’s leading institutes in earth and environmental sciences research. EESI's diverse and world-renowned faculty members are engaged in interdisciplinary, innovative, and collaborative research on some of the most compelling problems and issues of our time
EMS Energy Institute — a leading research and development organization focused on energy science and engineering
John A. Dutton e-Education Institute — as the learning design unit for the college, the Dutton Institute designs, develops and manages online courses and programs in the college’s five academic departments, and supports EMS faculty in the delivery of resident instruction offerings

Centers and Laboratories

Air and Precipitation Chemistry Lab — conducts air chemistry research in regional air quality, the atmospheric effects of aircraft, and chemistry’s role in global change
Appalachian Basin Black Shale Group — a program devoted to the investigation of the properties, microstructure, geochemistry, sedimentology, and stratigraphy of the Marcellus Formation and Utica Shale across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York
Baker Hughes Production Lab
Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Center — brings together the campus-wide expertise in energy storage, fosters collaboration, and provides a focal point for research and education activities spanning from materials to cells to systems
Center for Climate Risk Management — brings together scholars to catalyze transformative, integrated research on climate change, mitigation, adaptation, and decision making that transcends disciplinary boundaries and advances real-world climate risk management
Center for Computational Materials Design — educates scientists and engineers with a broad, industrially relevant perspective on engineering research and practice, preparing them to contribute in the emerging field of materials design
Center for Critical Minerals (C2M) — combines Penn State's expertise across several colleges in partnership with industrial partners to develop the fundamental science and technology needed to harness domestic mineral sources
Center for Dielectric Studies — provides international leadership and train next-generation scientists in the fundamental science and engineering that underpin dielectric and piezoelectric materials
Center for Environmental geoChemistry and Genomics — promotes cross-disciplinary research and teaching in the area of environmental geochemistry and genomics through analytical, computer, and field work
Center for Environmental Informatics — develops technology solutions that leverage environmental information for decision making resource management, and broader applied use
Center for Geomechanics, Geofluids & Geohazards — offers an interdepartmental experience in rock and fluid physics through laboratory experiments, field observations, theoretical analysis, and mathematical modeling
Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) — a world-class resource for advancing and deploying additive manufacturing technology of metallic and advanced material systems for critical applications in industry.
Center for Landscape Dynamics — promotes scholarship and training in landscape science to inform landscape decision making and socio-ecological resilience
Center for Marine Science and Technology (CMAST) — serves as the centralized organization for oceanography and marine science at Penn State
Center for Nanoscale Science — supports collaborative, interdisciplinary research efforts in the area of nanoscale materials with research themes focused broadly on areas like nanomaterial synthesis and fabrication, complex oxide thin films, and multicomponent assemblies for collective optical and electronic functions
Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies — fosters collaborative research on new phenomena and applications of programmable smart composite fibers that could be transformed into high impact functional textile products in medicine, automobile, energy, biotechnology, and cosmetic industries
Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE) — promotes research and education to protect people, infrastructure, and institutions from the broad range of hazards confronting society today.
Center for Solutions to Weather & Climate Risk — advances the science of exploiting environmental opportunities and understanding environmental impacts to manage risk
Center for Sustainable Electric Power Systems — addresses the multitude of challenges that emerge from the design, planning, and operation of the next generation of power systems and markets by bringing together Penn State faculty from the fields on engineering, economics, earth sciences, and other relevant disciplines
Center for Quantitative Imaging — focuses on two main areas of research – monitoring of internal processes in experimental systems and characterization of complex three-dimensional structure and material composition in natural and synthetic systems – using state-of-the-art instrumentation
Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials — offers a unique integrated research education to graduate and undergraduate students by conducting leading international and multidisciplinary research on 2D layered materials using state-of-the-art infrastructure
Chevron Lab
ChoroPhronesis — research focus is on space/environments and how humans think about them, interact with them, represent them, and change them
Cloud and Aerosol Experimentation Lab — investigates important microscale phenomena that contribute to the formation and properties of clouds and aerosols
Earth System Science Center — describes, models, and understands the Earth’s climate system through critical studies
Electrochemical Engine Center — conducts fundamental and applied research on fuel cells and advanced batteries for electric propulsion, stationary power generation, and portable electronics through multidisciplinary research on cutting-edge electrochemical power devices
Geoinformatics and Earth Observation Lab — develops new computational methodologies and cyberinfrastructure solutions for the analyses of geospatial big data, with a focus on problems with high impact to society such as environmental hazards and renewable energy
GeosyntheSES Lab — studies the human-earth systems of agrobiodiversity, food, land use, climate change, livelihoods, sustainability, and political ecology to contribute to the knowledge, understanding, and communication of policy-relevant science and scholarship
GeoVISTA Center — coordinate integrated and innovative research in geographic information science, with an emphasis on geovisualization
Gould Center for Geograpy Education and Outreach — supports the University’s mission of instruction, research, and service through excellence in cartography
Human Factors in GIScience Lab — GeoVISTA Center, the laboratory is devoted to advance the understanding of how humans cognize geographic space
Hydrology Laboratory and Fluids Laboratory — researches permeability testing of rock and soil samples and strength testing of granular materials and fluid flow and flame demonstration experiments
Landscape Ecology at Penn State (LEAPS) — focuses on understanding how ecosystems change in space and time to inform landscape-level research and management
Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR) — coordinates and facilitates programs of research and outreach at Penn State to address the complete range of issues presented by development of the Marcellus Shale and other gas shales
Materials Characterization Lab — seeks to apply a breadth of collective expertise to engage in research without boundaries, and thereby create a new generation of highly qualified graduates who can both communicate and innovate in a converging technological world
Materials Computational Center — supports Penn State faculty working in computer-based simulations of materials across the various length and time scales
Micrometeorology Lab — focuses on activities to advanced understanding of the surface-atmospheric interactions responsible for the transport of energy and trace gases in the lower atmosphere
Mining Engineering Laboratories — equipped with professional surface mining software, a rock mechanics laboratory, and a ventilation laboratory
Nanofabrication Laboratory — allows research into materials and device characterization utilizing the most advanced techniques available at the nanoscale level
Penn State Astrobiology Research Center — focuses on enabling the recognition of signatures of life on the early Earth in extreme environments and in extraterrestrial settings
Penn State Ice and Climate Exploration — is a diverse group of Penn State researchers with a common interest in the cryosphere
Penn State Lab for Analysis of Culture and Environment — facilitates collaborative learning, research, and training among graduate students doing research in human geography
Planetary System Science Center (PSSC) — seeks to enable the Penn State community to explore the solar system and expand the involvement of Penn State faculty and students in planetary science missions and research. The PSSC is devoted to broad, interdisciplinary research in this exciting, rapidly developing field. The center promotes collaborations among scientists at Penn State, promotes collaborations between Penn State and other institutions, and recruits early career planetary scientists to Penn State.
Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium — expands opportunities for Pennsylvanians to learn about and participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space programs by supporting and enhancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, research, and outreach programs
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Laboratories — facilities include production, rock, and fluid properties cement laboratories and a drilling rig simulator
Polar Center — fosters understanding, awareness, and appreciation of the polar regions through outreach, education, and research
Riparia — conducts, facilitates, and coordinates interdisciplinary research, monitoring, and training regarding wetlands and related resources, with an emphasis on mid-Atlantic and northeastern states
Rock and Sediment Mechanics Laboratory - research is focused on the physics of earthquakes and faulting and the mechanics of frictional sliding
Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory — conducts research that promotes the understanding of how a forested, first-order catchment of shale bedrock evolves over multiple time scales in a temperate climate
Sustainable Climate Risk Management — an interdisciplinary team of scholars at 19 universities and five research institutions across 6 nations that seeks to develop sustainable, scientifically sound, technologically feasible, economically efficient, and ethically defensible climate risk management strategies
University Coalition for Basic and Applied Fossil Energy Research and Development (UCFER) - Coalition was established to advance basic and applied fossil energy research through mechanisms that promote collaboration among the Department of Energy (DOE) and member universities by the coordination of research and the sharing of data
Vegetation Dynamics Lab — focuses on identifying the causes and consequences of vegetation change in ecological communities from both a theoretical and applied perspective
Water Institute

Institutes

Centers and Laboratories

University-level Institutes