Penn State ranks among the nation's ten largest public research institutions, directing more than $665 million dollars in fiscal 2007 to support research and development activities, many having have important economic implications.
A majority of research funds come from sources outside Pennsylvania, principally from the U.S. government, business and industry, and foundations. In fiscal 2007, for example, Penn State attracted $375 million in federal research funds.
According to the most recent National Science Foundation data, fiscal year 2006, Penn State research expenditures rank the institution in the following top ten disciplines:: 1st in Materials and Sociology; 2nd in Psychology; 3rd in Chemical Engineering and Total Engineering; 4th in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering; 7th in Earth Sciences and Mathematics, and 9th in Chemistry and Total Physical Sciences.
The Smart Spaces Center will be joining the Social Science Research Institute beginning July 1, 2008. Directed by Dr. Richard Behr, Charles and Elinor Matts Professor of Architectural Engineering, the Center will focus on creating innovative and practical solutions that will enable elderly persons to live at home as long as possible while maintaining a high quality of life. Interdisciplinary teams of Penn State faculty and strategic partners will collaborate on research that advances what we know about aging, home design, technology, community planning, and public policy.
University Park will be home to a new Siemens 3 Tesla whole-body magnetic resonance imaging system in January 2009. This technology allows researchers to perform non-invasive structural and functional imaging of children and adults as well as small animals and materials. The "human magnet" will be located in Chandlee Building along with Huck's Magnetic Resonance Center and SSRI's Human Electrophysiology Facility.
Headed by Dr. Stephen Matthews, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, the Geographic Information Analysis Unit of the Social Science Research Institute and the Population Research Institute was recently recognized by Delta Scan as one of the top ten world leaders in social science spatial analysis. Delta Scan is a forum for scanning the science and technology horizon over the next 50 years and is produced by the Institute for the Future (http://www.iftf.org), a Silicon Valley think-tank.
Infectious diseases have an immense impact on human health, agriculture, and conservation. The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics was established to bring together theoreticians and empirical scientists in a wide variety of disciplines to collaborate and innovate in the area of infectious disease research, ranging from investigating development of disease agents within hosts, to characterizing and predicting their spread through populations in time and space.
Bruce E. Logan, Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering, was appointed a KAUST Investigator by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. He is one of only twelve KAUST Investigators chosen in a highly competitive selection process from nominees of 60 international world-class universities and graduate research institutes.
Penn State is one of three universities nationwide to receive funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a critical zone observatory; the purpose of the three NSF observatories is to gain a fundamental understanding of how water movement in the area referred to as the critical zone – the region extending from the bottom of unweathered bedrock to the top of tree canopies – affects soil formation and how this process will respond to climate and land use changes. Penn State’s observatory is based in the Shale Hills research watershed and engages researchers from multiple institutions including Alabama A&M University, Baylor University, Colgate University, Juniata College, Temple University, University of New York Binghamton, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, University of Tennessee, Washington & Lee University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Visualization and spatial representation of the Commonwealth’s environmental resources are crucial to effective stewardship. With support from Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, and Office of the Governor, Penn State researchers are developing mapping and spatial modeling tools for use in assessing the state’s natural resources. Research projects range from the production of state digital soil data, source water assessment, delineation of wellhead protection areas, development of non-point source tracking tools, development of models for Total Maximum Daily Load compliance, and support of the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access clearinghouse. Such research demonstrates the strong partnership between the Commonwealth and the University to co-produce knowledge needed to effectively manage and protect Pennsylvania’s resources.
Energy Research
Penn State launched a major research alliance with one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, Chevron. This joint initiative will focus on coal chemistry and conversion technology, advanced fuels, and CO2 greenhouse gas management and conversion. Under the alliance, Chevron will provide up to $17.3 million over the next five years to Penn State, funding which will make possible significant opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows as they develop skills needed to solve global energy problems.
Many Penn State researchers are investigating renewable and clean forms of energy that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil and curtail greenhouse gas emissions. See below:
Biofuels
The goal of the U.S. government is to replace 30 percent of the petroleum-based fuels used for transportation with biofuels–fuels made from plants–by 2030. Presently, most ethanol produced in the U.S. is made from corn but projections indicate ethanol made from corn only will not be enough to meet that target. Lignocellulosic biomass sources such as grasses, wood chips, and agricultural waste hold promise as a sustainable source of biofuels but their conversion to ethanol is not yet an efficient, economically viable solution. Researchers in Penn State’s Biomass Energy Center are working to develop better technologies to make ethanol production from these complex cellulose biomass sources. Breakthrough technologies include: (1) physiological and genetic advances to improve growth and
lower lignin content to enhance digestibility in hybrid poplar and other bioenergy crops, (2) strategies for wet storage of biomass after harvest that dramatically reduce dry matter loss and improve transport characteristics, and (3) investigation of class of plant proteins, named expansins, that may Improve the performance of enzymes used in the deconstruction of cellulosic biomass.
Hydrogen energy research has sprung to the forefront at Penn State where more than a hundred researchers are fully involved in developing new hydrogen energy and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Penn State and its collaborators are leading progress in hydrogen storage, production, utilization, and education, inventing new hydrogen technologies, and enhancing the growth of a hydrogen infrastructure in Pennsylvania and the United States, and with continuing research hopefully throughout the world. Hydrogen Day is held semi-annually by Penn State’s Hydrogen Energy Center for people from the University; the community; state and local governments; and industry to come to Penn State to learn about research in hydrogen technology.
Renewable Hydrogen
Most hydrogen produced for energy is derived from fossil fuels such as natural gas but Penn State researchers have come up with a renewable process for hydrogen production. Researchers in Penn State’s Hydrogen Energy Center developed a microbial fuel cell (MFC) capable of direct conversion of organic matter to electricity using bacteria. The MFCs can produce hydrogen from any biodegradable organic matter including wastewater from wastewater treatment plants–addressing two critical areas at the same time–energy production and wastewater treatment. They also have shown increased hydrogen production yields in a modified MFC, known as bioelectrochemically assisted microbial reactors or microbial electrolysis cells, which applies a small amount of voltage and removes the oxygen from the system.
Fuel Cells
Fuel cells are subject to mass transfer limitations of fuels, oxygen, water and electricity. Novel materials and processes are needed to create thinner layers with few defects and lower precious metal loading. Penn State researchers are developing new approaches to computational design and system integration to overcome mass transfer and temperature constraints and novel materials for solid-oxide and proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
CO2 Capture and Sequestration
Capture and separation of CO2 from flue gases of fossil fuel combustion are important and yet costly, accounting for two thirds of the total costs for sequestration according to the Department of Energy. Researchers at Penn State’s Energy Institute are developing new and more effective approaches to CO2 capture and sequestration including a novel process based on solid “molecular basket” sorbents; advanced CO2 conversion and utilization for biofuels; and sequestration into coal seams coupled with coal bed methane recovery.
