UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A recent gift of a Thermotron humidity chamber from energy company Aramco Americas will support numerous research projects in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS).
Aramco Americas, headquartered in Houston, Texas, operates research centers in Houston, Boston and Detroit.
The story of the partnership between Penn State and Aramco Americas begins with the launch of its scholarship program in the 1980s, long before this recent gift. Each year, Aramco’s highly selective program sponsors more than 160 Saudi Arabian students to study science and engineering at Penn State. With nearly 50 women in the current cohort, the program also aims to increase gender diversity in male-dominated fields.
Lee Kump, John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, said corporate collaborations contribute to the overall success of both institutions.
“Together, Penn State and Aramco are ensuring that the next generation of scientists and engineers have the resources they need to solve society’s most pressing problems. The sponsored student program and this gift both demonstrate Aramco’s strong commitment to building a talented workforce that is ready to tackle those challenges.”
Inside the Thermotron
Humidity chambers like the Thermotron SM-16-2-2-8200 regulate both temperature and humidity within a contained environment. For Randy Vander Wal, professor of energy and mineral engineering, materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering, the chamber will assist research on cement-based materials. Specifically, the chamber will play a role in “curing,” or hardening, cement-based materials containing carbon additives. Adding carbon to these materials makes them stronger and less porous, both of which are qualities that are important in a wide variety of industries including petroleum and natural gas and construction.
These same industries are also concerned with humidity’s effect on the deterioration of clay-containing rock formations. By studying the rates of deterioration at various humidity levels using the humidity chamber, Shimin Liu, associate professor of energy and mineral engineering, is providing insights that will help to increase the stability and longevity of civil structures.
Jonathan Mathews, professor of energy and mineral engineering, will utilize the equipment to study a different type of geologic material: coal. Mathews, along with a team of graduate and post-doctoral scholars, studies the ways in which water, a structural component in coal, impacts the fuel source’s mechanical properties. A humidity chamber provides a controlled environment in which to monitor and explore these processes.
To Kump, the humidity chamber is more than an addition to a lab.
“This type of far-reaching, impactful research is a key component to our mission to advance science and engineering for the betterment of society,” he said. “By providing valuable equipment, Aramco is helping us do just that.”
Visiting University Park
On May 13, representatives from both Penn State and Aramco Americas came together to commemorate the installation of the humidity chamber, now housed in the C211 Coal Utilization Lab (CUL) on Bigler Road. Its new home on the University Park campus features a series of labs in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Energy Institute.
Visitors from Aramco included Wajih Malibari, academic and technical programs division administrator; Tim Torre, university placement and professional training supervisor; and Fahad Aljabry, university placement and professional training human resources adviser. The visit encompassed a memorandum of agreement signing with Roger Brindley, vice provost for Penn State Global, to solidify a credit transfer policy for Saudi Aramco-sponsored students who take advanced placement courses in high school. Aramco’s trip concluded with the dedication of the humidity chamber with Dean Kump in the CUL.
“Aramco Americas is thrilled to be able to make this gift to our long-standing partner,” said Malibari. “Penn State’s excellence in education has been an asset to our students, our company and the community beyond.”
“Support from international partners like Aramco Americas strengthens our ability to reach our shared goals to improve societies here in the United States and internationally, and creates opportunities for Penn State students and faculty to have a global impact,” said Brindley. “There are few limits to what we can achieve when we work together.”
With the record-breaking success of “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” which raised $2.2 billion from 2016 to 2022, philanthropy is helping to sustain the University’s tradition of education, research and service to communities across the commonwealth and around the globe. Scholarships enable our institution to open doors and welcome students from every background, support for transformative experiences allows our students and faculty to fulfill their vast potential for leadership, and gifts toward discovery and excellence help us to serve and impact the world we share. To learn more about the impact of giving and the continuing need for support, please visit raise.psu.edu.
About Aramco Americas
Aramco Services Company (d/b/a Aramco Americas) is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Aramco, a world leader in integrated energy and chemicals, and has had a presence in the U.S. for more than 60 years. Aramco Americas is a contributor to the U.S. energy sector through research and development, venture fund activities, asset ownership, as well as technology and digital transformation. The company is headquartered in Houston, and maintains offices in New York, Washington D.C., Boston and Detroit. Aramco Americas is committed to being a positive contributor in the communities where its employees live and work, and to making a difference through outreach that benefits the arts, geosciences, education and the environment.