Penn State has a vast network of faculty, staff, and students within many centers, institutes, colleges, and departments all focused on tackling the most pressing energy and environmental issues facing the world today. Our educational offerings in energy include more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degrees. Additionally, Penn State offers more than 20 workforce development and continuing education programs. We are leading in research by generating the knowledge and technology that will drive the next energy revolution; in education by preparing a workforce that is both highly trained and highly adaptable, ready for global careers and collaboration; and, in service by partnering with industry to address urgent, real world needs for energy production and policy. We have built strong connections to industry through research partnerships and philanthropic relationships with energy companies ranging from the local to the multinational. The Institutes of Energy and the Environment is the central coordinating structure for energy and environmental research at Penn State. The five research themes that are the focus of the Institutes for Energy and the Environment are:
The Institutes of Energy and the Environment works to build interdisciplinary teams of researchers to see how new partnerships and new ways of thinking can solve some of the world’s most difficult energy and environmental challenges.
The Energy and Environmental Sustainability Laboratories are shared multi-user instrumentation facilities at Penn State that tie together world-class instrumentation and expertise in a broad array of analytical techniques covering materials in all phases.
Learn how Penn State materials research is revolutionizing nearly every aspect of the energy sector. Composites and super alloys are leading to lighter, stronger wind turbines and improved vehicle fuel efficiency. Ceramic and glass research is producing efficient and dynamic “smart” building materials. Nanomaterials are being explored for their application in advanced solar technologies. And so much more!
Penn State is leading the emerging research field of energy storage with the Battery and Energy Storage Technology Center. The center was formed in 2011 to bring together the campus-wide expertise in energy storage, foster collaboration, and provide a focal point for research and education activities.
The mission of the Biomass Energy Center is to coordinate and facilitate research and outreach across the university, building teams to address the complete value chain of biomass energy systems.
Drawdown Scholars is a competitive 10-week summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates program open to all majors and institutions. Drawdown Scholars work closely with Penn State faculty mentors and their respective graduate students to conduct laboratory, field, and/or modeling research to advance Drawdown strategies for reversing global warming.