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Honors and Awards
Penn State’s EcoCAR Team Wins Several
Awards
Penn State’s Advanced Vehicle Team won six awards at the EcoCAR 2 Year One Final
Competition May 18 to 23, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Eduardo Barrientos, a graduate student working at the EMS Energy Institute, served as
the graduate research assistant and team leader to the EcoCAR 2 Team.
The goal of the three-year contest is to reduce the environmental impact of a General
Motors-donated Chevrolet Malibu by improving its fuel efficiency and reducing its
emissions while retaining its performance and consumer appeal.
Faculty Receive Promotions
Randy Vander Wal received a promotion to professor and tenure. Vander Wal is
co-director of the nanomaterials program at the Institute and his research focuses
on applications for nanomaterials. Specific experience includes synthesizing a
range of nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes, onions, capsules, metal oxide
semiconductors, noble and transition metal catalysts, and nitrides. Synthesis methods
have included CVD, plasma, and ablative methods with emphasis upon reacting flows
for scalable production, for example, carbon nanotubes production.
Demian M. Saffer received a promotion to professor. Saffer’s research falls between
geohydrology, active tectonics, fault mechanics, and structural geology. His research
group focuses on quantifying the relationships between fluid flow, mechanics and
deformation, solute transport, and heat transport in a range of geologic settings. The
work address fundamental problems in the geosciences, such as understanding the
role of fluids in earthquakes, faulting, and heat transport, and quantifying the nature
and timing of fluid flow, which ultimately affects processes ranging from fault healing
between earthquakes to the sustenance of biological communities at the seafloor.
Xiaoxing Wang received a promotion to senior research associate at the EMS Energy
Institute. Wang specializes in catalytic conversion of energy resources including
petroleum, natural gas, and biomass, as well as the synthesis, characterization, and
evaluation of materials such as microporous and mesoporous materials for energy
related applications. His current research interests include catalysis and adsorption for
fuel processing, desulfurization/purification of bio-gas, natural gas and other fuel gases,
reforming of hydrocarbons and bio-fuels for hydrogen production, and carbon dioxide
capture and utilization.
Jonathan Mathews received a promotion to associate professor and tenure. Mathews
is co-director of the coal science and technology program at the Institute. His research
focuses on many aspects of coal structure and its influence on coal behavior. This
includes carbon dioxide sequestration in coal, molecular modeling of coal/char, coal to
liquids research, and structural representation of complex behavior.
22 Energy Innovation