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.
Rapidly rising bedrock may help delay Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse
The bedrock beneath West Antarctica is rising rapidly in response to the ongoing ice melt of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, according to an international team of researchers, who indicated that their results have important implications for estimating future ice sheet stability and projections of ice mass losses.
Sintering atomically thin materials with ceramics now possible
For the first time, researchers have created a nanocomposite of ceramics and a two-dimensional material, opening the door for new designs of nanocomposites with such applications as solid-state batteries, thermoelectrics, varistors, catalysts, chemical sensors and much more.
Self-heating, fast-charging battery makes electric vehicles climate-immune
Californians do not purchase electric vehicles because they are cool, they buy EVs because they live in a warm climate. Conventional lithium-ion batteries cannot be rapidly charged at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but now a team of Penn State engineers has created a battery that can self-heat, allowing rapid charging regardless of the outside chill.
Carbon dioxide-to-methanol process improved by catalyst
Dramatic improvements have been made to the process of converting carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, to methanol, a fuel and building block for a wide range of everyday materials, according to Penn State researchers.
Nuclear power shutdowns won't spike power prices
Despite economic woes that could shutter two of Pennsylvania's nuclear power plants — which generate 6 percent of the state's power — power prices will remain steady due to low natural gas prices, according to Seth Blumsack, associate professor of energy policy and economics, Penn State.