Twenty-twelve • Volume Two

from.the.dean

Alums and friends –

It is easy to get lost in the turmoil and heartache that has swirled around Penn State over the past several months.

Let’s face it—we are not the same university that opened its doors for the fall semester last year. But aren’t we? Not

all has been doom and gloom—not by a long shot! Surely we have grieved for Jerry Sandusky’s victims, have winced

at the widespread and severe fallout from those crimes, and have pledged “never again.” However, our experience in

the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences over the past 12 months has been a mixture of accomplishment, inspiration,

and pride. Our faculty members have received an extraordi-nary degree of recognition, highlighted by geoscientist Susan

Brantley’s election to the National Academy of Sciences, Emeritus energy and mineral engineer Richard Hogg’s election to the National Academy of Engineering, and

geoscientist James Kasting’s receipt of an Evan Pugh Professorship. In an unprecedented act of gratitude, loyalty

and altruism, Geosciences MS graduate student (now graduated) Hiroshi Hamasaki donated $100,000 to the

Department. The $100,000 was the money he saved because he received graduate assistantships throughout his time as a

graduate student. EMS undergraduate students raised a record $87,601.82 for this past year’s THON, leading all

colleges at Penn State (Just a reminder, EMS is one of Penn State’s smallest colleges!). There is only one word to describe

our undergraduates: AWESOME! Our alumni continue to achieve at the highest levels, making us Penn State proud!

Very few colleges anywhere can boast of an alumnus who is a Deputy Under Secretary at the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (Rear Admiral David Titley, ‘80 Meteo), one who was recently elected to the National

Academy of Engineering (Dr. Gregory Yurek, ‘69, ‘70 MatSE), and one who received a major humanitarian award (Dell

Vaughan McDonald, ‘61, Meteo). I am not afraid to confess becoming emotional when I witness the level of dedication,

high moral standard, and distinction of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. They are shining the light on the path

forward for this great University.

For the Blue and White,

William E. EasterlingDean, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

The Earth, Energy and Materials Science Magazine is a publication of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State.

Editorial Director: William E. Easterling, DeanEditor: Kelly O. Henry, Director of Communications and MarketingDesigner: Morgann E. McAfee, Communications and Marketing SpecialistContributing Authors:Kimberly Del Bright, Ryan Family Student Center, EMSMargaret Hopkins, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, EMS Walt Mills, Materials Research Institute Lynn Persing, Meteorolgy, EMS Clare Price, Geography, EMS Angela Rogers, Geography, EMSPenn State LIVE

Contact Information: 116 Deike Building University Park, PA 16802 -2710814-865-6546 (Office) 814-863-7708 (Fax)contact@ems.psu.edu

www.ems.psu.eduThis publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce. U.Ed. EMS 13-12

In.this.Issue

1 Info-graphics

2 Millennium Science Complex

3 New Faces

4 Research Project: Science Learning and Teaching

5 Be Recognized: Voices and the Research Breakthrough of the Year

6 Feature: Meteorology: Then and Now 8 Development: Grad Gives Back

9 Alumni Achievements

10 EMEX

11 THON

12 Graduate Research: Peruvian Grismills

13 Steidle Renovations

14 Faculty Honors

15 Bookshelf and Endnotes

These trails were taken from a track map of all Category 4 hurricanes in the Eastern Pacific Basin, November 27 2011. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm’s maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below.

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Where are They Now?E M S A l u m n i

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Top Ten Populated Places for EMS Alumni

State College, PA 432 P urgh, PA 329 Houston, TX 306 Philadelphia, PA 140 Reading, PA 94 West Chester, PA 86 Denver, CO 86 Alexandria, VA 81 Harrisburg, PA 77 Spring, TX 72

No EMS Alumni

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Contributed by Clare Price, Department of Geography, 2012

Where are They Now?E M S A l u m n i

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Top Ten Populated Places for EMS Alumni

State College, PA 432 P urgh, PA 329 Houston, TX 306 Philadelphia, PA 140 Reading, PA 94 West Chester, PA 86 Denver, CO 86 Alexandria, VA 81 Harrisburg, PA 77 Spring, TX 72

No EMS Alumni

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By Walt MillsThe convergence of engineering, physical sciences, and life sciences, augmented by high-speed computational and data search, is opening new frontiers in human health, energy, and materials science. At Penn State, this convergence has a new home in the Millennium Science Complex (MSC), a 297,000 square-foot science building hous-ing two of the University’s premier research organizations – the Materials Research Institute and The Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences. More than just a collection of laboratories and instruments, the MSC em-bodies a new style of research, in which ex-perts from many disciplines coordinate their technologies and knowledge in ways that produce exponential advances. By provid-ing the research space and the opportunity for intellectual exchanges, both formal and informal, the MSC is expected to generate large returns on the University’s investment in infrastructure.

• 297,000 gross sq. ft.• 60,000 sq. ft. of green roof on five terraces• 50,000 sq. ft. quiet lab• 9,500 sq. ft. nano-clean room

Designed by internationally renowned archi-tect Rafael Viῆoly, the MSC is one of the na-tion’s first buildings specifically constructed to support the integration of the physical and life sciences. Instruments for the char-acterization of organic and inorganic materi-als will be co-located in a vibration-free user facility dedicated to current and future generations of characterization and fabrica-tion tools. Shared meeting and common areas are designed to encourage the free exchange of ideas that existed in the great corporate labs that defined physical science and engineering in the 20th century. Learn more about the Millennium Science Complex at www.mri.psu.edu/msc/

Photo credit: Mike Fleck, Materials Science and Engineering

millenium.science.complex2

• 66 fume hoods• 30 bio-safety cabinets• $225 million facility

New Director of Dutton e-Education Institute Appointed

Effective February 2012, Ann Hamilton Taylor was appointed the new Director of the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. She brings a wealth of exper-tise to the position from e-education and the World Campus and has a demonstrated record of excellence that has earned the re-spect of her colleagues, the EMS Executive Council and University leadership. Her vi-sion for the Institute calls for the continued excellence and innovation in e-learning that

Ann H. Taylor, atb3@psu.edu

has made us a leader nationally, providing a collaborative atmosphere that engages the College’s academic departments and the faculty and staff of the Institute.

www.e-education.psu.edu

Photo credit: Mike Fleck, Materials Science and Engineering

new.faces 3

Packard Named Director of Development in EMS

www.ems.psu.edu/giving_ems

Carol Packard was named director of devel-opment in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences effective August 2012. She joined the alumni relations and development team in the College of Liberal Arts in 2008. Serving first as associate director of devel-opment and then as director of major gifts, Packard contributed substantially to main-taining momentum toward the $100 million goal for the For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.

Packard has the ability to speak personally about the benefits of a Penn State educa-tion. She graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in English Literature as a Schreyer Honors Scholar. She looks at this promotion in EMS as another opportunity for her to give back to this institution. “In many ways, my experience at Penn State as an under-graduate changed my life as I know it did for others, and I believe that I would not be where I am today without acquiring the critical thinking and leadership skills as a student and Schreyer Honors Scholar. In my role as a fundraiser, I am in the unique posi-tion of bringing alumni and friends who are passionate about education, and specifically EMS, to students and faculty in need of their support. I can’t think of a more important pursuit. Discovery, innovation, and service to

society, all hallmarks of the College, trans-form the world that we live in.”

Not only is Packard loyal to Penn State, but she comes to EMS with significant experi-ence. Before returning to her alma mater, She was director of business development for a local marketing and communications firm focused on generating capital campaign materials for higher education institutions nationwide and a senior account executive at AccuWeather in State College. Packard plans to apply her experiences and skills to enhance the “tradition of excellence” that is well known in EMS.

“I am thrilled to lead such a successful development team and know that the con-tinued generosity of our alumni, faculty, and friends will provide our undergraduate and graduate students unique opportunities to engage in groundbreaking discoveries and innovative research that will greatly impact the world around us. The EMS tradition of excellence speaks to me as an individual and professional and I am already inspired by Dean Easterling, the students, and the faculty who are committed to affirming the College’s role as an international pioneer in research while preparing new generations to carry on the effort to make our planet secure and sustainable.”

We welcome Carol to the EMS Family!

Carol Packard, cak164@psu.edu

By Margaret HopkinsState College teacher Bryan Brightbill wants his students to be well “grounded”—so his seventh graders at Park Forest Middle School have drawn geological cross-sections of central Pennsylvania’s rock layers, identi-fied rock samples and even made rocks out of sand and aquarium salt.

But the Penn State alumnus with a B.S. in Geosciences (Class of 2005) also wants his students to understand how the rocks that formed millions of years ago affect their lives today. To connect the geological past with the present, Brightbill is teaching a unit on the Marcellus Shale.

“Our geology has implications for the energy we use—what it is, how we get it,” Brightbill said. “These students need to know where their energy comes from because they will be making the decisions of tomorrow that impact the world and the future.”

Last spring Brightbill piloted a week-long curriculum on the Marcellus Shale devel-oped as part of a five-year, $9.2-million National Science Foundation grant to researchers in the colleges of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Education, Eberly College of Science and at Penn State Brandywine and Harrisburg.

The project’s goals are ambitious: to improve the teaching of Earth and space science by working with pre-service and experienced classroom teachers and to advance knowledge of how middle-grade students develop understanding of scien-tific concepts. The school districts involved include Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Reading, and State College, Bald Eagle and Bellefonte in Centre County.

Focusing on fundamental scientific concepts is a significant departure from educational tests and practices that emphasize memori-zation of vocabulary and facts and that chop science teaching up into unconnected or non-sequenced units.

“We are interested in how students’ learn-ing about scientific concepts and expla-nations develops over time,” said Tanya Furman, project lead and professor of geosciences. “With that knowledge, we can create learning activities that will better en-able students to build deep understanding.”

American students’ grades on science report cards show need for improvement. As measured by the 2009 National Assess-ment of Educational Progress, only a third of American students in grades 4, 8 and 12 demonstrated “proficiency” when asked about concepts including tectonics and forms of energy or about practices such as identifying patterns in data and evaluating scientific investigations. Even fewer—only three percent—measured as “advanced.”

Yet a scientifically informed public is critical to understanding and addressing today’s complex and worldwide concerns about energy, the environment and climate.

“We need a citizenry that can make deci-sions about the environmental and energy challenges of the future,” said Furman, who also serves as assistant vice president and associate dean for undergraduate educa-tion. “By improving students’ mastery of essential Earth and space science content, we are not only helping them become more informed, but we are also enhancing their ability to do well in all fields of science.”

One reason the project has targeted stu-dents in the middle grades is that Earth and space science provide a gateway for contin-ued study of STEM—science, technology, engineering, mathematics—fields in high school. In other words, students’ science experiences at this age either encourage or discourage them from pursuing additional science courses.

But many of the teachers who are working with those students lack any formal training or coursework in Earth and space sciences. Faced with teaching content they only know superficially, they struggle with helping students lay the conceptual foundations needed to understand complex science.

To better prepare those teachers, the proj-ect offers weeklong summer workshops in topics including “Solar System Astronomy” and “Plate Tectonics.” Key to those work-shops is the use of real data, enabling teach-ers to engage in inquiry-based instructional practices which they can then take back to their classrooms.

New for 2012 was “Energy,” which fo-cused on the fundamental energy transfer processes that underlie electricity, home heating and transportation and about which most people are unaware, said Meredith Hill Bembenic, a postdoctoral scholar on the project who earned her Ph.D. in energy and mineral engineering.

Brightbill, who attended last summer’s “Climate and Climate Change” workshop, signed up for “Energy.”

“Energy is one of those keystone topics with real-world ties for students,” Brightbill said. “This workshop not only expanded my content knowledge, but helped me develop new methods for connecting this topic to the experiences and decisions students are making and will make.”

research.project4

For more information, please visit

www.essp.psu.edu

It’s Here! A New Website Addition: Voices of Our College

By Kimberly Del BrightWhen Don Harris, (B.S. PNGE ’48) remi-nisces about his college years, he’s likely to speak about big bands and cool cat Xavier Cugat. It was post-War World II, and students were serious. Yet they also knew how to have a good time at dances, fraterni-ties, and hanging out at the Corner Room in Happy Valley. Harris is our Featured Voice

for the sparkling new addition to our EMS website: Voices of Our College. You can listen to more of his stories at:

www.voices.ems.psu.edu Stories have the power to connect us and to encourage our sense of community. We hope you’ll be inspired and entertained as you listen to the stories of both past and present people of EMS! You’ll find audio files and view photographs of current stu-dents, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. In addition to Harris’s stories, you can take a trip down memory lane as Simone Gleicher, EMS THON overall chair for two years, puts the feeling of THON into words. Don’t miss Dr. Cathy Lyons, the former Associate Dean for Educational Equity, as she speaks about growing up in rural South Carolina as one

of seven children. And fly high with Casey Webster, a non-traditional student, as he describes his “ride the wind” experience. This is the first edition of Voices. Help us capture and record our rich heritage and traditions of excellence through sharing the spoken words of the many people who have influenced our College. Because Voices is a collaborative project, we seek story contri-butions from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. Do you have a good story or know of one about our College? If so, complete the "share your story" form (www.voices.ems.psu.edu/shareyourstory), or contact Kimberly Del Bright, the Giles Writer-in-Residence at kdb9@psu.edu.

We'd love to hear from you!

process occurs under ambient conditions with nearly 100 percent recovery of the ionic liquid while liberating oil and tar from the huge deposits at a fraction of the cost of current technologies

Painter’s discovery has attracted wide-spread attention from the energy commu-nity and venture capitalists while receiving major accolades and publicity in the New York Times and United Press International, as well as in interviews on the Canadian Business News Network.

Fuqing Zhang is recognized for developing a novel and highly accurate hurricane track forecast model.

Zhang has revolutionized the forecasting of hurricane track and intensity by creat-ing a hurricane prediction system that uses sophisticated statistical techniques to as-similate hurricane-hunter aircraft observa-tions into forecast models. NOAA has flown hurricane-hunter P3 aircraft containing Dop-pler radars for more than 25 years. These

This year the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, with support from a generous gift by EMS alumnus Paul F. Robertson, announces the inaugural Paul F. Robertson Award for the EMS Research Breakthrough of the Year. The Robertson Award recog-nizes achievements for a singular break-through in research or in the scholarship of teaching communicated in one or a series of related articles, reports, or presentations. The recipients for 2012 include:

Paul Painter is recognized for developing an ionic liquid extraction system to separate hydrocarbons from soils and sands.

The removal of bitumen, oil and other hydrocarbons from sands and soils is a decades old problem that has confounded environment clean-up and the cost-effective extraction of hydrocarbons from such systems. Painter’s innovative use of ionic liquids to separate hydrocarbons from soils and sand replaces the energy intensive and environmentally-destructive water steaming process currently in use. The ionic liquid

Paul Painter, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Fuqing Zhang, Professor of Meteorology

aircraft observations have been a valuable tool for scientists and forecasters, but they were never assimilated into hurricane pre-diction models.

Zhang’s breakthrough is the assimilation of these NOAA P3 radar data into his WRF-EnKF system. The resulting improvements in forecasts for hurricane track and intensity have been dramatic. The Penn State WRF-EnKF hurricane prediction system was cho-sen by NOAA to participate in forecasting hurricanes for the 2011 hurricane season. In fact, it was the only university system chosen and has been recognized as a key achievement in a recent NOAA Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program report.

Professor Zhang’s breakthrough method is now being evaluated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to be used in its next-generation hurricane prediction systems.

be.recognized 5

Award for

EMS Research

of the Year

By Kimberly Del BrightThe power of Mother Nature to delight or terrorize us keeps us focused on trying to predict her every move. According to the Weather Channel, nine out of 10 Americans check the weather every day. It comes as no surprise to those of us familiar with the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences that at the epicenter of this national fascination with weather is Penn State’s Department of Meteorology. As home to one of the oldest and largest atmospheric science programs in the U.S., its influence spans all aspects of developments in the understanding of climate, cloud physics, weather risk, meso-scale meteorology, air pollution, and more.

According to Charles Hosler, a retired meteorology professor and former dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, there’s a long tradition of weather forecasting from Penn State.

Beginning as early as the 1880s, because of the importance of agriculture to the early mission of Penn State, weather information was collected and recorded near the Univer-sity at a local airport.

Hosler’s early radio forecasts in the 1950s were popular with farmers dependent on reliable forecasts for planting and harvest-ing decisions. “You could make hay with Hosler,” was a popular phrase of the time. As households acquired televisions in the 1960s, weather forecasts became more mainstream, if not always accurate.

Hosler remembers overhearing an announc-er on a television station reading, “There will be rain today, tomorrow and the next day.” Hosler knew this was completely false. He contacted the station’s producer, Lester Crystal (who went on to be the president of NBC), who said, “We don’t care about the forecast. We just have to get the com-mercials right.” Hosler offered his help, and this was the start of more reliable weather forecasts on television.

It’s easy to be drawn into Hosler’s colorful stories of the early days of the meteorology department. Prior to coming to Penn State, he flew typhoon reconnaissance missions to make surface observations. “We lost a third of our people because it was so dangerous,” Hosler recalls.

After arriving at Penn State, he played a key role in weather forecasting for both the president of Penn State, Milton Eisenhower, and his brother, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. After Milton Eisenhower’s first outdoor commencement was ruined by rain, he asked Hosler what could be done. “I said we would give a forecast, but I wanted to make the decision—inside or outside. For the 20 years I was involved with graduation, we never missed a forecast.”Then in 1955, Dwight Eisenhower was to give the commencement address to a large outdoor audience. The evening before graduation, a severe storm produced heavy rain and threatened the venue. The secret service didn’t want to rearrange the plans because of security concerns, so Hosler stayed up all night plotting weather maps. “There were no satellites then and no radar in central Pennsylvania. An intense, extra-tropical cyclone over West Virginia was headed straight for us, “said Hosler. “One university official was in tears over the deci-sion.” In the morning, Milton Eisenhower called Hosler to his house.

Weather maps in hand, Hosler rushed to Milton’s on-campus house and was greeted by both brothers. Over a breakfast of grape-fruit halves, Dwight Eisenhower expressed his competence in Hosler’s expertise. “You’re the expert, you decide. I haven’t worried about the weather since D-Day.”

Hosler selected a two-hour window of time to hold the commencement. The forecast was accurate, and Dwight Eisenhower was impressed. From that point on, Hosler frequently provided weather forecasts to the White House, and the Department of Meteorology’s influence in national fore-casting grew.

A lot has changed in how forecasting is done since Hosler’s days. Technology is crucial,

and the hub of a lot of the information that is collected world-wide is in the Walker Building on the University Park campus. Thirty-six high resolution screens with more than 150 million pixels supply global satel-lite images, world temperatures, radar sum-maries, national maps of weather watches and warnings, computer model forecast

maps, and webcam images from Pennsylva-nia to New Delhi.

With state-of-the-art facilities and the com-pletely renovated Joel N. Myers Weather Center completed, teaching and research horizons are expanding, too. The addition of the Weather Risk Management (WxRM) op-tion, with Dr. George Young as the adviser, is arming new graduates with meteoro-logical and finance knowledge to provide enhanced decision-making to a wide variety of businesses and governmental agencies. And soon, business professionals from around the world will be able to tap into the weather risk management curriculum with-out having to step foot on campus. Instruc-tional designers are currently developing a set of online courses geared specifically for businesses. These new courses will train business professionals in how they can use weather-related information to make more informed decisions that will improve their organization’s bottom line.

Students pursuing the WxRM option take the core meteorology courses combined with additional courses in probability, statis-tics, finance, economics, computation, data management, and weather risk manage-ment. Brian Bastian, who graduated in May 2012 with the WxRM option and founded

feature6

“You’re the expert, you decide.”

METEOROLOGYThen and Now

www.met.psu.eduwww.met.psu.edu

the Weather Risk Management Club, gained valuable real world experience working as a project manager for ICF International, Inc. He was part of an interdisciplinary team of students conducting risk analyses who were quantifying the impact of seasonal weather risk on the ski industry.

Jeff Mock (B.S. METEO ’04), who started off his career as a successful radio air personal-ity after graduating from Penn State, found his true calling when he joined Dominion Resources in Richmond, VA as a weather risk analyst.

“Not only do I communicate weather forecasts with potential operational impact projections to our company, I also include statistical information about the most prob-able and worst case scenarios. Penn State’s risk management classes combined with my meteorology degree have helped me com-municate my knowledge to help Dominion make smarter decisions,” Mock said.

With the increasing number of private risk-assessment firms, Penn State meteorology graduates are just as likely to be advising commodity traders on energy futures as researching improved ways to forecast the next severe weather event.

Research to improve forecasting of severe weather events is much more of a focus than it was in Hosler’s day, too. Determin-ing both the track and the intensity of severe weather is at the heart of saving lives through early warning announce-ments. Dr. Jon Nese (B.S. METEO ’83, Ph.D. METEO ’89), an on-air weather personality who has worked at The Weather Channel and is a meteorology department faculty member, knows that the public’s perception of forecasting is that it’s frequently wrong. One example he uses to illustrate his point is Hurricane Irene’s evacuation of New York City in August 2011. “A lot of people thought it was wrong,” he said. “Actually, it tracked just as it was projected. But the intensity when it arrived wasn’t right.”

Meteorology faculty and students are getting out from behind their desks and making dramatic improvements in weather forecasting. Just ask Dr. Jenni Evans whose research into tropical cyclones has sent her flying into hurricanes. She flew into the eye of Hurricane Ivan in two NOAA aircrafts: a Gulfstream-IV, referred to as Gonzo, and a WD-P3 Orion, referred to as Kermit. (These

planes serve different functions; Gonzo typi-cally flies around the hurricane and maps the environment around the storm, and Kermit maps the storm itself.) Her experi-ence confirmed her respect for the danger and power of hurricanes.

“In the middle of a hurricane, there’s a clearing and calmness,” she explains. “There’s not a lot of time to relax—maybe 10 minutes—and then the pilot sounds an alarm and you have to grab a bar to get back to your seat because you go weightless before flying out the other side.” Her work to understand tropical storms has brought about improvements in safety, particularly with respect to evacuations.

And she’s not the only one. Drs. Yvette Richardson and Paul Markowski, along with a group of meteorology students, travelled to the Great Plains in 2009 and 2010 to study tornados. They were leaders of the 2009/2010 Verification of the Origin of Rotation in Tornadoes II (VORTEX2) ex-periment, the largest field project to date designed to collect data in tornadic storms. They are now busy analyzing the rare data collected during this project to better understand how tornadoes form and why some tornadoes last longer than others. “While we understand a great deal about how tornadoes form, we still have difficulty determining which of two very similar-looking storms will be the one to produce a tornado,” Markowski said.

“Our knowledge of what controls the inten-sity and longevity of a tornado once it forms is even more limited, but the VORTEX2 data is giving us great clues,” Richardson added.

Satellites, radar and sophisticated comput-ers have also improved the forecasts of the Campus Weather Service (CWS), the largest student-run weather organization, which provides free forecasts to clients across Pennsylvania in all forms of media, including Internet, television, radio, and newspaper. You can also get CWS forecasts delivered on Facebook and Twitter.

The CWS experience helps prepare gradu-ates who are interested in becoming televi-sion meteorologists. Although the competi-tion is keen for these positions, many Penn State graduates land these coveted posi-tions directly after receiving their bachelor’s degree.

Adam Del Rosso, a recent graduate (B.S. METEO ’11), is an on-air weather personal-ity for WTOV9, an NBC affiliate for the Ohio Valley. He credits the CWS experience in addition to dedicated faculty and alumni for clearing the way to his success.

“Everything I do with reporting and weath-er at my station relates to what I did at Penn State. Working with CWS honed my fore-casting skills, and having Jon Nese and Paul Knight critique my ‘Weather or Not’ spots helped me get more confident and comfort-able in front of the camera. Doing live radio helped me think on my feet,” he said. “These days, I’m a one-man band. I do the weather. I come up with news stories. I do research. I conduct on camera interviews. And I edit video using computers and soft-ware programs I learned as a student. If I have one thing to say, it’s ‘thank you’ to all the faculty, staff, and alumni who made sure I had all the right stuff.”

Maintaining a flexible curriculum to adapt to the changes in the atmospheric sciences, conducting research with state-of-the art technologies and facilities, and helping students develop effective communication skills to convey this important information may not completely demystify Mother Na-ture. But with more than 3,000 Penn State meteorology alumni working on it, She’s certain to give up a few of her secrets.

Did you know that Penn State Meteorology...

...has more than 100 alumni scattered across the country doing the weather on television?

...has been providing high-resolution computer forecasts for the Olympic Games since Torino, Italy in 2006?

...captured first place among 50 other universities in the 2012 Weather Challenge collegiate forecasting competition?

...is one of the largest and oldest Meteorology/Atmospheric Science programs in the nation, with Meteorology degrees being granted since the early 1940s.

www.met.psu.eduwww.met.psu.edu

Weeks after receiving his M.S. degree in geosciences, Hiroshi Hamasaki decided to thank Hiroshi Ohmoto, his adviser and professor of geochemistry, with a $100,000 gift to establish the “Geosciences Research Fund in Honor of Hiroshi Ohmoto” in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

The Japanese native said that the gift re-flects his appreciation for the support and mentoring he experienced during his three years of study with Professor Ohmoto. It also speaks to what Hamasaki described as the strengths of Penn State—the sense of community among students, dedication of faculty and world-class research.

“Penn State changed my life—I learned not just academics but also gained a broader perspective,” said Hamasaki, who graduated in December 2011. “I’m proud to be a Penn State alumnus, and the easiest way to show my appreciation was with this donation.”

William Easterling, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, applauded Hamasaki’s generosity, calling it a “selfless gesture.”

“We are truly thankful for Hiroshi’s commit-ment,” Easterling said. “It is very unusual that you find a new graduate who wants to give back at this level.”

Hamasaki, who grew up in the shadow of one of Japan’s two space centers, said he has always been interested in extraterres-

trial life. He pursued that interest at Kyushu University in Japan where he earned an un-dergraduate degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences.

After meeting Ohmoto in Philadelphia, Hamasaki was determined to study astrobiology and only applied to Penn State. Awarded a graduate assistantship, he came in fall 2008 and began research into the processes responsible for the formation of sulfide minerals in deep time, the focus of his master’s thesis.

While Hamasaki credited Ohmoto with teaching him the skills and at-titudes needed to be a good scientist, Ohmoto credited Hamasaki’s success to his work ethic.

“Hiroshi is a hard-working and sincere student,” Ohmoto said. “He has a positive attitude and enjoys helping others.”

The desire to “help others” was a prime motivation behind his gift, said Hamasaki who initially had budgeted the money for further graduate study. “From my childhood, I’ve wanted

Grad Gives Back to Penn State through Major Gift

to do something for others,” said the 29-year-old whose gift will support research in the Department of Geosciences. “By do-nating, someone else will be helped.”

In April, Hamasaki will again begin saving for graduate school as he will start working for Tokyo Gas. Hamasaki sees a possible return to Penn State in his future. Since the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, Japan has shifted from nuclear power to natural gas as the main energy source. Among Hamasaki’s responsibilities for Tokyo Gas will be pur-chasing natural gas from foreign countries, including the United States.

“My long term goals are to someday return to the United State to obtain a Ph.D., be-come a mentoring scientist and show con-tinued support for this wonderful Institu-tion,” Hamasaki said. “We are Penn State.”

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Alumni AchievementsSamrat Choudhury (’08 MatSE) received the 2011 Young Leader Professional Development Award from the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. He currently serves as the Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Materials Science and Technology Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory.Dongwon Shin (’07 MatSE) received the 2011 Young Leader Professional Development Award from the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. He currently serves as an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.Corene J. Matyas (’05 Geog), assistant professor, Department of Geography, University of Florida, received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Geography and Spatial Sciences (GSS) program. Matyas’s research project, “Geospatial Modeling of Tropical Cyclones to Improve the Understanding of Rainfall Patterns,” addresses the need to improve the spatial modeling of tropical cyclone rainfalls.Mahmoud Abd Elhamid (’00 MatSE) awarded his 31st U.S. patent on PEM fuel cells, which are considered a unique source of energy that could potentially reduce demand on conventional sources of energy. PEM fuel cells produce energy by reacting hydrogen and oxygen on electrocatalysts producing water as an end product. Since he joined GM in 2000 “right after his Ph.D. thesis defense” he worked instrumentally to advance the tech-nology to make it viable and cost effective. As a Penn Stater he is proud to say that he has 31 U.S. patents, 15 international patents, 4 trade secrets and 11 defensive publications on PEM fuel cells—a result of the level of education and the learning that he received in the metallurgy program in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Science at Penn State.

Koji Watari (’97 MatSE), Senior Research Scientist in the Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute in Nagoya, Japan, received the Academic Award of the Ceramic Society of Japan in Tokyo.Akira Nakajima (’97 MatSE), Department of Metallurgy and Ceramic Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, received the Academic Award of the Ceramic Society of Japan in Tokyo.Brendan Wesdock (’95 Geog) was named president of GeoDecisions, an information technology company specializing in geospatial solutions based in Camp Hill, Pa. Wesdock is responsible for the strategic direction, companywide leadership, business development, and technical direction of the firm. He leads the development and management of information technology (IT) and graphic information system (GIS) operations nationally and internationally.

Stephen J. Mitchell (’89 Geosc) was promoted to Vice President, Central Division Manager for Weston Solutions, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation providing environmental restoration and green development services worldwide. Rear Admiral David Titley (‘80 Meteo) was appointed Deputy Under Secretary for Operations (DUS/O) at NOAA. As NOAA’s Chief Operating Offi-cer, Dr. Titley will be responsible for managing operations across NOAA’s entire portfolio and will serve as a key advisor on NOAA program and policy issues.

Eugene W. Pine (’77 Geology) appointed as the first chief of the newly-created Division of Subsurface Activities for the Oil and Gas Program in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. This division is responsible for all regulatory, policy, and related technical aspects associated with oil and gas drilling, casing, cementing, completion, production, and plugging activities in the Commonwealth. Timothy Keister (’73 Ceramic Science) awarded two U.S. patents in the field of cooling water treatment/management – Graphite Electrode and Con-tainersless Electrolytic Cell, and Colorant Tracer for Cooling Water Treatment Formations. Previous patents issued in 2009 included the Operation of Cooling Towers with Minimal or Zero Blowdown. Currently, he has five patents pending, two concerning Marcellus gas well wastewater treatment.John A. Coppola (’69 and ’71 MatSE), retired senior vice president, science and technology for Johns Manville, was awarded the Graduate of Earth and Mineral Sciences (GEMS) Alumni Achievement Award. Gregory Yurek (’69 and ’70 MatSE), Founder, Chairman of the Board and former President & CEO of American Superconductor Corporation has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his engineering and leadership in development of high-temperature superconductor products.

Steven D. Scott (’69 Geochemistry and Mineralogy), Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Toronto, received four honors. A special 3-day session at an international conference in Ottawa with 41 speakers from 8 counties including Professor Hiroshi Ohmoto from Penn State as a keynote speaker was organized by four of his former doctoral students. The “Emeritus Professor Steven and Joan Scott Graduate Scholarship in Geology” was established at the University of Toronto. The Australian Academy of Science him with its Haddon Forrester King Medal for "original and sus-tained contributions to earth and related sciences ... of particular relevance to the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of mineral deposits.” The International Marine Minerals Society awarded its Moore Medal for “distinction in the development of marine minerals.”. In addition, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum awarded Scott a distinguished lectureship that took him to 30 venues across Canada, to the U.S., Greece, and Australia giving talks in both English and French on “Seafloor massive sulfide mining: the dawning of a new industry.”Dell Vaughn McDonald (’61 Meteo) received the Salt Lake Homeless Coordinating Council “Stick To It” Award which recognizes individuals for their determination to make things happen or continue working on issues or projects that are difficult or face undue challenges. McDonald supercharged the community efforts toward one clear goal: to fix the problem of chronic homelessness in Salt Lake City. Richard C. J. Somerville (’61 Meteo) received a Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor bestowed by Penn State upon an alumna or alumnus. The award salutes the achievements of outstanding alumni whose “personal lives, professional achievements, and community service exemplify the objectives of their alma mater.” Somerville was recognized for his notable career as an atmospheric scientist and his contributions to the field of climate change science.

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Earth and Mineral Sciences Exposition Has Large Turnout

By Kimberly Del BrightHolding jet fuel, hand-blown glass, and a piece of Marcellus Shale in his hands as props to illustrate the diverse study oppor-tunities available to students of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), Dean William Easterling kicked-off the College’s annual recruiting event held on March 16-17 this year. All students who are consid-ering an EMS major are invited to attend the Earth and Mineral Sciences Exposition (EMEX).

“This is the College you can study every-thing you want about the Earth and do ground-breaking research while enjoying a small college atmosphere within a big re-search institution,” Easterling told prospec-tive students and their families who came from all over the United States including Texas, Idaho, and California.

This year’s overall chair, Erica Marden (se-nior, Materials Science Engineering) recalled the influence EMEX had on her decision to enroll. As a local from State College, she didn’t think she wanted to come to Penn State because she thought a small liberal arts college would be a better fit. “I came to EMEX and loved the feel of this college—very small and personal—it changed my mind,” said Marden who admit-ted to being envious of those just starting out on this journey. “Looking back four years ago, I never would’ve thought I’d have the chance to study abroad, participate in research, and do an internship in Africa. These students are in for a real treat.”

This year’s EMEX was a swan song for Marden as she graduated in May and has been accepted by two medical schools.

“The biggest challenge of putting on EMEX, which is all student-led,” Marden said, “is making sure the communication among fac-ulty, students, alumni, and staff is strong.” She credited her co-chairs, Natalie Gerber (sophomore, Energy Business and Finance), Nolan Maynard (sophomore, Environmental Systems Engineering), and Everleigh Stokes (freshman, Geography) with keeping every-one in the loop.

Seventy-two prospective students came on Friday to attend classes and shadow their student sponsors, meet with Penn State alumni in their fields, and speak to faculty and staff. Friday night, the residents of Irvin Hall, the Special Living Option for EMS, sponsored an evening of ice-breaking activi-ties to help prospective students learn more about college life. While students social-ized with their peers, parents, and their families were treated to a dinner at the Atherton Hotel where they asked questions of the deans, faculty, staff, alumni, and EMS students.

Andrew Paul (junior, Materials Science Engineering) had a student shadow him. He ended up not going to sleep until 2 a.m., yet despite having little rest, he arrived early Saturday morning to help with EMEX. More than 375 people came for the day-long events, and Paul was a guide for one of the most popular features of this year’s EMEX: a tour of the new Millennium Science Com-plex.

He gave a demonstration of the Molecular Beam Epitaxy machine and explained his participation in research on micromagnetic simulations. Afterwards, Sampath Kethavar-apu (junior, Materials Science Engineering) led the group to the Materials Characteriza-tion Lab. He pointed out the methods that provide low acoustic and electromagnetic noise to create an optimal environment for imagery analysis techniques such as Scan-ning Electron Microscopy.

Throughout the day attendees had the opportunity to pick and choose among a va-riety of activities according to their interests and get more information on all five depart-ments: Energy and Mineral Engineering, Geography, Geosciences, Materials Science Engineering, and Meteorology.

Kyle Spataro, a high school senior, flew to State College, from Braintree, Mass., to find out more about the petroleum and natural gas engineering curriculum and to learn more about Penn State.

“There’s a whole lot more here than I real-ized!” he said at the end of the day.

emex10

By Kimberly Del BrightGlenn De Angelis, a senior energy engineer-ing student, put on his lucky SpongeBob arm bands that he wore in 2011 when he successfully danced for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon and headed to the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC). As the EMS THON overall chair for 2012, he was ready. Although EMS students who participated in THON are quick to point out it’s a team ef-fort, under the leadership of DeAngelis, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) raised a record $87,601.82. This was the second year in a row EMS was first among general organizations.

The doors of the BJC opened at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 17, 2012. “As we went through the human tunnel of hundreds of THON committee members lining the hallways, the excitement was unbelievable. I was holding my clip board and waving my sky blue bandana high in the air trying to keep us all together,” said DeAngelis.

DeAngelis acknowledges this was a very dif-ferent year than last year. Students grieved for the loss of Coach Paterno and for the young freshman, Courtney O’Bryan, killed in a car accident en route to a THON canning trip. One of the four canning trips had to be cancelled because of inclement weather, and although DeAngelis and the EMS THON students supported the difficult decision, they worried about the effect it would have on the final fundraising total. The students also fought hard not to let the negativity of the events of the past year dampen their belief in the positive power of people work-ing together for a common goal. The money raised supports the Four Diamonds Fund to help pediatric cancer patients, families and researchers.

On Sunday, when the overall THON total was revealed and was 12 percent higher than last year’s $9.6 million, it felt like a rainbow. Brian Bastian, who served as the EMS donor and alumni relations chair, credits the strength of the EMS executive committee (Marla Korpar, canning chair; Caitlyn McCloy, fundraising chair; and Annie Tamalavage, family relations chair) for much of the success of EMS.

EMS students commented that the close knit feeling of family among EMS students, EMS alumni, and the THON families pro-vide a lot of motivation. Many alumni visit throughout the weekend and support the students throughout the year-long fund-raising.

“The families’ strength inspires us too,” said Marla Korpar. This year the Michael Woods and Troy Brewer families were paired with EMS through the Adopt-A-Family program. Michael is in fifth grade, and his cancer is in remission; however, Troy passed away in 2006. Throughout the year, EMS students interact with the families.

“The ‘why we THON’ is different for every person, but ultimately it’s for those we love and those we lost—For the Kids. Their stories, both tragic and triumphant, inspire me to be a better person,” said Katie Lukens (meteorology) who danced this year along with Brian Bastian (meteorology), An-nie Tamalavage (geosciences), Caitlyn Mc-Cloy (energy, business and finance), Greg Smith (geo-biology), and Marla Korpar (environmental systems engi-neering).

Marla Korpar, a junior, got involved in THON as a freshman and found the last four hours of THON as a dancer this year were especially memorable. “I should have been ex-hausted. ‘What a Wonderful World’ was playing and the BJC was filled to capacity. I looked out on the floor and up to the

stands and saw so many people—it was a sea of bright colors—all standing arms around each other swaying back and forth. I felt love radiating from the BJC. I could see it with my eyes, but I could also feel it in my soul.”

As DeAngelis left the BJC at the end of THON weekend, the sky in Happy Valley was Penn State blue. “It’s important to remem-ber that when people come together for good, something miraculous can happen,” he said.

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EMS THON First Among General Organizations Again!EMS THON First Among General Organizations Again!

By Angela RogersMartha Bell, Ph.D. candidate in the Depart-ment of Geography, traveled to Lima, Peru, to trek into the highlands of the Depart-ment of Ancash (Huaylas and Conchucos regions) in search of gristmills. Her disser-tation is on the social and environmental impacts of the introduction of Spanish water-powered milling technology to Peru during the early colonial period.

“My research focuses on analysis of the role of technology in nature-society rela-tions, but it also looks at related issues, like colonial water governance and regulation of grain markets,” Bell said. “The research included hours in the archives of the city of Lima, visits to historical sites and archaeo-logical excavations within the city, and sur-vey of gristmills still in use in the Peruvian highlands.”

This kind of research is important for two reasons, Bell noted. First, by investigating the social and environmental impacts of Spanish colonialism in this previously un-examined context, broader lessons emerge about the widespread effects of the intro-duction of new technologies.

Second, while the horizontal water-wheel mill was used in Europe since at least the seventh century, the Andean highlands are one of the few remaining places where this machine is still operated on a regular basis (other areas include some parts of Spain and the Himalayas). “ I feel that it is impor-tant to continue to record living knowledge about this mill,” Bell said.

Bell’s research required long days sorting through municipal archives and long days trekking into the highlands of Ancash to conduct fieldwork.

She said that her typical research day involved a morning commute to Lima's Municipal Archive on the newly installed Metropolitano bus system. The archive is housed in City Hall, on the Plaza de Armas in the historic city center. (Photo 1). There she spent her days reading the records of city council meetings from the 16th and 17th centuries, and learning about the ways the municipal government regulated mill-ing, grain markets and water rights in the colonial city.

“The field survey of gristmills in the high-lands of Ancash involved a lot of walking

and meant for more exciting, and definitely more strenuous, research days,” Bell noted. “With my team of assistants—Gabriel Ramón (photographer), Odolín Rodríguez (archaeologist, Quechua translator), and Giner Aranda (Quechua translator)—I vis-ited more than 50 water-powered gristmills, many of which are still in use.”

The mills the research team visited were mostly located on the banks of mountain rivers and streams at elevations ranging from 6,500-13,000 feet above sea level. (Photos 3, 4, 5). They took GPS readings at all of the mills, so as Bell processes the data, she will get an understanding of the spatial organization of milling in Ancash.

Bell also talked with millers and mill clients and learned how wheat becomes flour. (Photo 2). “While the mills currently in use in Ancash primarily grind wheat,” Bell noted, “they are also used for a variety of grains, including barley, corn, peas, and the Andean grains quinoa and kiwicha.”

According to Bell, many people mix the grains together in small batches before mill-ing, and then use the mixed flour to prepare a hot breakfast cereal like oatmeal or cream of wheat. In general, the mills provide an important local service to neighbors and residents of nearby towns, and the flour milled is used mainly in households and local bakeries. Mill users praise the higher quality of stone-ground flour from water-powered mills over flour from electricity-powered cylinder mills, which are also common in the area. The mills also provide income for their owners, and in some cases are being developed for tourism.

“The best part about my fieldwork was get-ting to see the gristmills in use,” Bell said. “This technology has existed in Peru and elsewhere, basically unchanged for hun-dreds of years. It was incredibly satisfying to visit the highland mills, and then return to the big city and find archaeological remains of the same kinds of structures fortuitously preserved amidst modern development. Better still was to see that water-powered gristmills are part of everyday life for many rural people (at least in Ancash). It was a special experience to sit inside a mill house listening to the miller and his clients joke in Quechua over the background noise of the rush of water and the rhythmic clacking of the millstones.”

PeruvianGristmills

Teach Lessons About the Impact

of Technology

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steidle.reno 13

Penn State selected EYP Architecture and Engi-neering to design the renovation of the historic 86,000-square-foot Steidle Building, originally designed by famed architect, Charles Klauder (1872-1938). The renovated facility will include laboratory, office, and classroom space, creating open “research clusters,” conducive to an increas-ingly collaborative research environment.

Constructed in 1930, the facility currently houses teaching and research space for the College’s Department of Materials Science and Engineer-ing. The renovation will reorganize the Steidle Building around the department’s core educational mission and dedicate major sectors to shared and flexible collaborative spaces, laboratory suites, and research and teaching areas. EYP’s design will also include ADA accessibility upgrades and updates to utility and mechanical systems, providing the neces-sary infrastructure for current and future materials science research.

Upon project completion, about two-thirds of the administrative and academic core of materials science will be located in the building. All other MatSE faculty are housed in the Millenium Science Complex (MSC) (see related article on page 2). The renovation into a modern, first-rate research and educational facility will ensure that Penn State maintains its reputation as one of the premier materials science and engineering programs in the United States.

Commented EYP Project Executive Ann Baro-lak, AIA, “We are thrilled for the opportunity to combine our expertise in undergraduate science design and historic preservation with Penn State’s long-term vision for better supporting its nationally-recognized Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The renovation of the Steidle Building will provide students and faculty with a collabora-tive learning and research environment, and we are proud to be part of this exciting project.”

EYP Architecture and Engineering specializes in sus-tainable design for higher education, government, and corporate clients. EYP Energy is a division of EYP that delivers comprehensive energy and sus-tainability services. The firm is ranked among the largest A/E firms in the nation by Building Design and Construction magazine and recently ranked in The Architect 50, Architect Magazine’s annual rank-ing of top architecture firms.

Penn State’s Historic Steidle Building to be Renovated

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences nur-tures and supports world-class scientists and engineers who are responsible for molding tomorrow’s leaders. Recent awards include:

Susan Brantley, distinguished professor of geosciences and director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute,

was elected into membership in the National Academy of Sciences for her excellence in original scientific research. Brantley was also the recipient of the Arthur L. Day Medal from the Geological Society of America recognizing her significant contributions to geologic knowledge through the application of physics and chemistry to the solution of geological problems.

Richard Hogg, professor emeritus of mineral processing and geo-environmental engineering, was named as one of the 66 new

members and 10 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosci-ences, is one of five inaugural recipients of the U.S. News and World Reports STEM Leader-ship Hall of Fame awards. Alley was also the first recipient of the Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Science Communica-tion.Sridhar Anandakrishnan, professor of geosci-ences, was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union recognizing him as one of the top glacial geophysicists in the world. Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences, was named one of Foreign Policy Magazine’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers” in 2011.Chris Forest, associate professor of geography and EESI, was named Lead Author on Chapter 9, “Evaluation of Climate Models,” of Working Group I, for the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chage (IPCC), due to be published in April 2014.Katherine Freeman, professor of geosciences, was elected a Fellow of the Geochemistry Society recognizing her for a long record of innovation at the forefront of organic geochemistry and her national leadership in graduate education. Freeman was also awarded the 2012 Science Innovation Award in Biogeochemistry. This award recognizes scientists who have recently made a particu-larly important and innovative breakthrough in geochemistry.

Fred Gadomski, senior lecturer of meteorol-ogy and the host and co-producer of “Weather World,” was inducted into the National Me-teorologist Hall of Fame.John Hellmann, professor of materials sci-ence and engineering and associate dean for graduate education and research, and his company, “Nittany Extractions Technologies LLC” (NETCO), were the inaugural winner of the Innovation Expo at the Shale Gas Insight Conference held at the Pennsylvania Conven-tion Center in Philadelphia. The Ben Frank-lin Technology Partnership of Central and Northern Pennsylvania and the Marcellus Shale Coalition chose NETCO for its promising proppants research that represents a signifi-cant boom to the Marcellus Shale industry of Pennsylvania. The prize award was donated to support EMS undergraduate research related to the development of the Marcellus Shale gas and oil. Brian King, associate professor of geography, received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation’s Geography and Spatial Sciences program. King’s research project, “Political Ecologies of Health: Coupling Livelihood and Environment Responses to HIV/AIDS,” draws upon political ecology to examine the ways that livelihood systems are transformed by HIV/AIDS.Zi-Kui Liu, professor of materials science and engineering, received the Brimacombe Medal-ist Award from The Minerals, Metals and Ma-terials Society, recognizing him for sustained excellence and achievement in science related to materials science and engineering.Michael Mann, professor of meteorology, was elected as a Fellow of the American Geo-physical Union for exceptional contributions in original research in climate change.Mann also received the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union that honors outstanding scientists whose work is related to climate: past, present, and future.Paul Markowski, professor of meteorology, received the inaugural Nikolai Dotzek Award of the European Severe Storms Laboratory, recognizing him for his outstanding work to-wards finding out why some supercell storms produce tornadoes and other do not.

David Pollard, senior scientist, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, was elected as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union for his work with global climate models and ice-sheet models to investigate the physical processes that have shaped Earth’s climate over geologic time and project the future of the Earth’s system.

Arthur Rose, professor emeritus of geosci-ences, was awarded the William T. Plass Award of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation recognizing him for his outstand-ing contributions in the areas of mining, teach-ing, research, and environmental consulting as they relate to land reclamation.Harold Schobert, professor emeritus of fuel science, was named an American Chemical Society Fellow recognizing him for his out-standing accomplishments in chemistry and important contributions to ACS, the world’s largest scientific society.Chunshan Song, Distinguished Professor of Fuel Science and director of the EMS Energy Institute, was the recipient of the Excellence in Catalysis Award. He recognized for his accomplishments to the field of catalysis on sulfur removal from hydrocarbon mixtures and hydrocarbon conversion for energy oriented processes. Song was also selected to receive the Distinguished Researcher Award for the Petroleum Chemistry Division of the Ameri-can Chemical Society recognizing him for his extensive original contributions to research in the petroleum chemistry field.Anne Thompson, professor of meteorology, received the Verner E. Suomi Award from the American Meteorological Society for exceptional vision and leadership in deploying technologies that have significantly advanced the understanding of ozone dynamics in the atmosphere.Susan Troilier-McKinistry, professor of ce-ramic science and engineering and director of the W. M. Keck Smart Materials Integration Laboratory, received the Ceramic Educational Council Outstanding Educator Award recogniz-ing her for outstanding work and creativity in teaching, directing student research and the general educational process of ceramic educa-tors.Petra Tschakert, associate professor of geography and ESSI, was named Lead Author on Chapter 13 “Livelihoods and Poverty,” Working Group II, for the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due to be published in April 2014.John Wyngaard, professor emeritus of me-teorology, received the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal from the American Meteoro-logical Society for outstanding contributions to measuring, simulating and understanding atmospheric turbulence.

EMS Faculty—World Class Scientists and Engineersfaculty.honors14

Visit us online!John and Willie Leone FamilyDepartment of Energy and Mineral Engineeringw w w . e m e . p s u . e d u

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www.ems.psu.edu

Below is a listing of upcoming events that may provide you with an opportunity to plan a fu-ture visit to Penn State and to reconnect with the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

While making arrangements to attend one of these events, don’t forget to contact our Director of Alumni Relations:

Colleen Swetland, swetland@ems.psu.edu (e-mail) 814-863-4660 (office)

Upcoming Events

UpcomingEvents

...for the glory...for the glory

We would be happy to give you a tour of the College facilities and introduce you to our current faculty and staff. WE ARE PENN STATE!

Total Orientation to Earth and Mineral Sciences (TOTEMS)

Aug. 21-24

GEMS Tailgate, Lubrano ParkSept. 22

Tarbell Lecture - MeteorologySept. 21

Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference

and Exhibition, San Antonio, TX

Oct. 8-10

Society of Petroleum Engineers Alumni Reception, San Antonio, TX

Oct. 8

Materials Science and Engineering Alumni Reception, Pittsburgh, PA

Oct. 9

Alumni Fellow Award Induction and Dinner, University Park

Oct. 16

Geological Society of American Alumni Reception, Charlotte, North Carolina

Nov. 5

Obelisk Dinner & Awards CeremonySept. 21

Sept. 20-21 GEMS Board Meeting & Seminar

EMS Bookshelf

A World of Weather – Fundamentals of Meteorologyby Lee Grenci and Jon Nese, Senior Lecturers in Meteorology

Electricity Restructuringby Andrew Kleit, Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics

The Earth Systemby Lee R. Kump, Professor of Geosciences; James E. Kasting, Evan Pugh Professor; and Robert C. Crane, Professor of Geography

Mesoscale Meteorology in Midlatitudesby Paul Markowski, and Yvette Richardson, Associate Professors of Meteorology

How to Find a Habitable Planetby James Kasting, Distinguished Professor of Geosciences and Meteorology

Clean Coal Engineering Technologyby Bruce Miller, Senior Research Associate, EMS Energy Institute

Earth: The Operators’ Manualby Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences

The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lineby Michael E. Mann, Professor of Meteorology

endnote.and.bookshelf 15

MINExpo Alumni Reception, Las Vegas, NV

Sept. 25

www.facebook.com/GEMSatPSU

www.ems.psu.edu

Office of the DeanCollege of Earth and Mineral SciencesThe Pennsylvania State University116 Deike BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802-2710

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