Impactful science and engineering for the coming decades
While EMS retains a strong focus on basic research, advancing knowledge of the world around us, our students and faculty are increasingly passionate about conducting research that has a more immediate, positive impact on society. Whether it’s Melissa Gervais’ analysis of Arctic sea-ice loss, Renee Obringer’s projections of water and electricity demand in the future, or Manzhu Yu’s modeling of the public health implications of wildfire smoke, the motivation is the same: applying one’s expertise to the benefit of communities, local, regional, or global. Our focus on solutions for society benefits from our innovative approaches, exemplified by Tieyuan Zhu’s use of fiber-optic networks to detect problems in subsurface utilities or mitigate geohazards. And innovation happens when we forge partnerships and collaborations with other units at Penn State, other academic institutions, government agencies, non-profits, and industry, exemplified by Josh Robinson’s silicon-carbide innovation alliance. Think of EMS not just as earth and mineral sciences. EMS is everything listed below and more...
I hope you enjoy the issue and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.