Impact Magazine 2022

Science Snapshots

• Researchers create integrated modeling of climate impacts on electricity demand and cost 
• Penn State joins $72M NASA consortium to study Earth system science
• Grant to reduce, eliminate toxicity of coal mine dust 
• Newly discovered carbon may yield clues to ancient Mars
• Study explores how climate change may affect rain in U.S. Corn Belt 

• Penn State awarded $3.4 million contract to target plastic waste 
• Mineral dating reveals new clues about important tectonic process
• Lightning and subvisible discharges produce molecules that clean the atmosphere
• Microwave data assimilation improves forecasts of hurricane intensity, rainfall
• Caribbean-South American plate boundary primed for major earthquake

• Paper on geovisual analytics wins ‘Test of Time’ award 
• Fire operations-prescribed burning combo reduces wildfire severity up to 72 percent
• AI behind deepfakes may power materials design innovations 
• Cold sintering may open door to improved solid-state battery production
• Form fit: Device wraps around hot surfaces, turns wasted heat to electricity

Faculty Notes

• Barbara Arnold, professor of practice in mining engineering, was awarded honorary membership in the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers.
• Luis Ayala, William A. Fustos Family Professor in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, received the 2022 Howard B. Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award. He was also named 2021-22 Big Ten Academic Alliance Program Fellow and a 2022-23 Penn State Administrative Fellow.
• Allison Beese, associate professor of materials science and engineering, was named director of Penn State’s Additive Manufacturing & Design Graduate program.
• Susan Brantley was named the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Hubert Barnes and Dr. Mary Barnes Professorship in Geosciences. She was elected a 2021 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a foreign associate of the French Academy of Sciences. She was also named an Evan Pugh University Professor by Penn State. 
• Guido Cervone, professor of geography and meteorology and atmospheric science, was elected president-elect of the Natural Hazards Section of the American Geophysical Union and will begin a two-year term as president in 2023. He was also named to AGU’s inaugural Local Science Partners program.
• Long-Qing Chen, Hamer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, received the 2022 FMD John Bardeen Award from the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.
• T.C. Mike Chung, professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, was named a 2021 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
• Ralph Colby, professor of materials science and engineering, received a 2022 Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement from Penn State.
• Derek Elsworth, professor of energy and mineral engineering and geosciences, was selected as the inaugural G. Albert Shoemaker Chair in Mineral Engineering.
• Hamid Emami-Meybodi, associate professor of energy and mineral engineering, received the Quentin E. and Louise L. Wood University Endowed Fellowship in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering.
• Jenni Evans, professor of meteorology and atmospheric science and Director of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, was recognized as a university fellow by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
• Maureen Feineman, associate research professor and associate head for undergraduate programs in geosciences, received the Schreyer Honors College Excellence in Advising Award.
• Christopher Fowler, associate professor of geography and director of the Peter R. Gould Center for Geography Education and Outreach, was named by Governor Tom Wolf to the Pennsylvania Redistricting Advisory Council.
• Katherine Freeman, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences, received the 2021 Arthur L. Day Medal from the Geological Society of America.
• José Fuentes, professor of meteorology, was appointed as a co-chair of a NSF external advisory committee tasked with assessing and envisioning the future of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). He also was awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award for the 2022-23 academic year.

• Christopher House, professor of geosciences and director of the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, was appointed director of the Consortium for Planetary and Exoplanetary Sciences and Technology. Hesucceeds James Kasting, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences who is retiredafter nearly 35 years at Penn State.
• Joshua Inwood, professor of geography, received the 2022 Media Achievement Award from the American Association of Geographers.
• Russel Johns, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering and holder of the George E. Trimble Chair in Earth and Mineral Sciences, received the 2022 Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) Pioneer Award from the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
• Zuleima Karpyn, associate dean of graduate education and research and professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering, was named the inaugural Donohue Family Professor. 
• Beth King, associate teaching professor and assistant program manager of the online geospatial education program, received the 2021 Carolyn Merry Mentoring Award from the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science.
• Brian King, professor of geography, was appointed head of the Department of Geography, in July 2021. He succeeded Cynthia Brewer who held the position since 2014.
• Lee Kump, John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
• Kimberly Lau, assistant professor of geosciences, received the Pre-tenure Excellence Award from the Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division of the Geological Society of America. She also was selected to receive GSA’s 2022 Young Scientist Award, known as the Donath Medal.
• Sukyoung Lee, professor of meteorology, was elected as a 2021 Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. She was also named a distinguished professor.
• Shimin Liu, Joseph Kreutzberger Early Career Professor and associate professor of energy and mineral engineering, was recognized as a rising star. by the international journal Energy & Fuel.
• Zi-Kui Liu, Dorothy Pate Enright Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, was named a Fellow of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society.
• Jennifer Macalady, professor of geosciences, was appointed director of Penn State’s Ecology Institute.
• Michael Mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science, was selected as the 2022 recipient of the Leo Szilard Lectureship Award from the American Physical Society.
• Paul Markowski, professor of meteorology and atmospheric science, was named a distinguished professor.
• John Mauro, professor of materials science and engineering, was named as a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering and was awarded a 2021 Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement from Penn State. He was also appointed a Dorothy Pate Enright Professor.

• Kwadwo Osseo-Asare, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering and energy and geo-environmental engineering, received the Materials Research Society’s 2022 MRS Impact Award.  
• Mark Patzkowsky, professor of geosciences, was awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award for the 2022-23 academic year.
• Clive Randall, director of the Materials Research Institute and professor of materials science and engineering, was named a distinguished professor. He was also named a 2021 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and a 2022 Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
• Joan Redwing, professor of materials science and engineering, was named a distinguished professor.
• Mohammad Rezaee, assistant professor of mining engineering, was appointed a Centennial Early Career Development Professor in Mining Engineering. He also was named a 2021-22 Henry Krumb Lecturer by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration.
• Yvette Richardson, associate dean for undergraduate education, was elected to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Board of Trustees for a 3-year term, in February 2022.
• Joshua Robinson, professor of materials science and engineering, received a 2021 Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement from Penn State.
• Karen Schuckman, associate teaching professor of geography in the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, was appointed as the executive director of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).
• Brandon Schwartz, assistant research professor in energy and mineral engineering, received the Dr. N.G.W. Cook Ph.D. Dissertation Award from the American Rock Mechanics Association. 
• Susan Sinnott, head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, received a 2022 Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement from Penn State.
• Erica Smithwick, professor of geography, was named a distinguished professor. She also was appointed as a 2021-22 Penn State Administrative Fellow.
• Sanjay Srinivasan, head of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, was honored as a 2021 distinguished member by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
• Alan Taylor, professor of geography and ecology, was appointed interim director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute.
• Timothy White, research professor in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, was elected a 2021 Fellow of the Geological Society of America. 
• Karl Zimmerer, E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Professor of Environment and Society Geography, was awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award for the 2022-23 academic year.