Programs:
Basin Research [website]
The 'Basin Research Group' is the title Peter B. Flemings has appropriated for his research group here at Penn State. We note that there are many different investigators (see Sedimentary Geology at Penn State and Geodynamics) working on aspects of basin research at Penn State and we are just a part of that effort. Our group is multi-disciplinary and studies stratigraphy, subsurface fluid flow (through both modeling and 4-D seismic analyses), sediment transport and stratigraphic modeling. A strong component of our effort is the use of seismic (2 and 3-D) and well data to constrain our work.
Hydrogeology [website]
The hydrogeology/environmental geology program dates from 1961 and enjoys a national reputation. It is undergoing a rejuvenation with the addition of two new faculty members in the coming year. Its graduates are among
the nation's most outstanding hydroscientists, academics and consultants. Students may either select class work available in a number of departments to obtain breadth or elect to focus their studies to gain competence along narrower fields of study. Thesis and dissertation topics may emphasize field, laboratory or theoretical developments. Opportunities exist to develop hydroscience interests in a wide range of
topics including fluid flow and solute transport processes, GIS, aqueous geochemistry, organic geochemistry, environmental geophysics, environmental geology, mining and energy, radioactive waste isolation, forest hydrology, soil physics and chemistry, and environmental
engineering while maintaining strength in other more traditional aspects
of hydrogeology, geology, geochemistry and geophysics. Demian Saffer will
join the faculty in January 2005. His interests include the role of pore
fluids within tectonically active ocean margins, along active faults and the study of methane and water production within High Plains coal deposits. Kamini Singha will join the department in fall 2005. Her research focuses on the
integration of near-surface geophysical data with more standard hydrologic
testing to help characterize local-scale hydrogeologic processes and
calibrate hydrologic models.
Petroleum Geosystems [website]
The Petroleum GeoSystems Initiative is an interdisciplinary Master's Degree educational model that links the Department of Energy and GeoEnvironmental Engineering (Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Section), the Department of Geosciences, and corporate partners. Graduate students are sponsored by industry, formed into research teams focused on applied industry problems, and given the opportunity to intern with sponsoring companies. The Petroleum GeoSystems Initiative recognizes that many fundamental research problems lie at the interface of Geosciences and Petroleum Engineering and that interdisciplinary scientists trained in problem-based collaborative research will be tomorrow's industry leaders.
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