Read the latest news about research conducted by investigators in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our faculty and students are continually advancing technology, creating solutions and expanding knowledge with new and innovative research.
News
The effects of melting glaciers on tropical communities
A Penn State professor is researching the trickle-down effects that melting tropical glaciers have on food security and biodiversity, and what regional communities, like Cusco and Huaraz in Peru, can do about it.
Conservation practices may leave African indigenous populations behind
Conservation and logging groups in Central and West Africa are failing to fully incorporate local concerns into management, marginalizing the livelihoods of the local population, according to Nathan Clay, doctoral candidate in geography, Penn State.
Project to develop computational tools for coupled human-natural systems
Penn State researchers have received a $20 million, five-year project with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) looks to create a state-of-the-art framework of computational tools that will help to assess the impacts of weather-related variability and change.
South American fossil tomatillos show nightshades evolved earlier than thought
Delicate fossil remains of tomatillos found in Patagonia, Argentina, show that this branch of the economically important family that also includes potatoes, peppers, tobacco, petunias and tomatoes existed 52 million years ago, long before the dates previously ascribed to these species, according to an international team of scientists.
New approach captures the energy of slow motion
A new concept in energy harvesting could capture energy currently wasted due to its characteristic low frequency and use it to power next-generation electronic devices, according to a team of Penn State materials scientists and electrical engineers.
EMS students tour Iceland’s renewable energy facilities
Picturesque Iceland, the least populated nation in Europe, is home to glaciers, volcanoes and a unique ability to harness the renewable energy that lies beneath the Earth’s surface. It’s also a place for Penn State students to see classroom lessons and their career ambitions brought to life. This past summer, with the help of a scholarship from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), EMS students toured the country as part of the Global Renewable Energy Education Network, or GREEN, program’s Iceland trip.
Apartheid’s lingering effects on HIV and AIDS
Geography researcher’s long-term study analyzes impacts of HIV/AIDS, food security and spatial dynamics on quality of life in rural South Africa
Big data approach to water quality applied at shale drilling sites
A computer program is diving deep into water quality data from Pennsylvania, helping scientists detect potential environmental impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling.
Thrower’s gift to help Penn State students build research ties with Cambridge
Peter and Carol Thrower have a unique affinity for both Penn State and the University of Cambridge and, through the Thrower Endowed Program Fund for Cambridge Studies in Materials Science and Engineering, they hope student recipients will, too.
Rice named fall student marshal for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
Brent Tyler Rice has been named the student marshal for the the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' fall 2016 commencement ceremony. Rice selected Jon Michael Nese, senior lecturer and associate head for undergraduate programs in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science to escort him as the college’s faculty marshal.