The Institute of Energy and the Environment
Energy and environment are intertwined. At Penn State, we do not have separate institutes for energy and environment: we have a single institute encompassing both topics because they should often not be viewed separately. The types of energy sources and fuels we use, and the products for our lifestyles enabled by our energy infrastructure, combine to present the greatest challenges for our natural and built environment. Like the other institutes at Penn State, IEE works to foster collaborations and fuel interdisciplinary research in the areas central to our institute's mission. Our research topics span a huge scale, from molecules polluting our environment that could last forever to the need to have energy sources spanning the scales of milliwatts to terawatts. The IEE has identified five themes to open up silos and create new playing fields where we can work together to address challenges of climate change, water sustainability, providing safe, equitable, and healthy communities, and ensuring resilience in our built environment. In this talk, I will briefly describe what IEE is doing to enable groups to come together through developing our theme-based communities and providing funding to launch new research directions across departments, colleges, and other research institutes at Penn State.
Bruce Logan | Director, IEE