UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — This fall, the Millennium Café at Penn State will feature researchers who were awarded Climate Solutions Accelerator workshops by the Penn State Climate Consortium. The talks will occur at 10 a.m. on Oct. 1, Oct. 22 and Dec. 3 on the third floor of the Millennium Science Complex.;
The Oct. 1 talk will be with Shimin Liu, professor of energy and mineral engineering, who will discuss his project that focuses on how climate change and the push for clean energy might worsen dust-related health problems for miners.
Liu said he hopes his talk will emphasize the importance of raw material extraction for energy transition as well as health and well-being and identify the mineral extraction practices that may be affected by climate change, with resulting excessive mineral dust generation.
“It is important to establish the clear and communicable linkages between mineral dusts and impact on human health through an integrated program of research, training, technology transfer and outreach,” Liu said. “I am also interested in meeting other colleagues at Penn State with expertise on health-related research on mineral dust.”
On Oct. 22, Christopher Scott, the Maurice K. Goddard Chair of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, and Margarita Fernández, a postdoctoral scientist in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, will discuss their project about how to improve forest management to capture more carbon dioxide from the air, while considering challenges like different forest types and economic pressures.
On Dec. 3, Zoubeida Ounaies, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Material Systems, will discuss her project that focuses on the intersection of building materials, nature-inspired materials design, and the social, environmental, and global impact of the built environment on the climate crisis.
Ounaies said the goals for her talk are multifaceted, including to catalyzing new collaborations among Penn State researchers across materials science, architecture, engineering, social sciences and environmental studies and encouraging innovative thinking and research directions that could lead to breakthrough solutions for climate resilience.
“In the context of climate research, outreach is particularly vital as it helps to create a sense of urgency and possibility,” Ounaies said. “It shows that while the challenges are significant, innovative solutions are within reach, fostering a proactive and hopeful approach to addressing climate change.”
The Millennium Café is a weekly event sponsored by the Materials Research Institute that provides researchers at Penn State the opportunity to share their work and ideas with the University community.