October 2, 2012 — “Switch,” an award-winning documentary on future energy needs and supplies, will be shown Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 10 and 11, in the University of Wyoming College of Business auditorium at 7 p.m. Read more
September 20, 2012 — Senior energy industry executive Shaun Andrikopoulos has been awarded the Ultra Petroleum Visiting Chair in Energy Management at the University of Wyoming.
Andrikopoulos will work with other UW School of Energy Resources and College of Business faculty to help develop and launch a new executive program in energy management. He also will be responsible for teaching the second-year MBA capstone strategy course at the College of Business. Read more
eptember 18, 2012 — One day, Po Chen may be referenced in the Wyoming Almanac. For now, he’s likely the envy of many of his fellow University of Wyoming researchers.
Chen, a professor of geology and geophysics in UW’s School of Energy Resources, will make history of sorts when he becomes the first UW faculty member to conduct research at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC). NCAR is now conducting final tests on the $30 million supercomputer, before it is officially launched for use. Read more
August 14, 2012 — Researchers who have been awarded funding for advanced coal combustion technology projects will present their findings at a public forum at the 2012 Clean Coal Technology Research Symposium Thursday, Aug. 23, at the University of Wyoming Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie.
“We’re pleased to see the progress of these projects, and to learn more about the technologies being developed,” Carl Bauer says. Bauer, president of C.O. Bauer Consulting Inc., is a member of the Advanced Conversion Technologies Task Force (formerly the Clean Coal Task Force) and the University of Wyoming Energy Resources Council, which provides research and outreach direction to the UW School of Energy Resources. Read more
August 7, 2012 — Members of the University of Wyoming Energy Resources Council (ERC) and the Advanced Conversion Technologies Task Force (ACTTF) will meet Friday, Aug. 24, at the UW Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Among the agenda items for the ERC are updates on the status of strategy implementation for the UW School of Energy Resources, fundraising, Abandoned Mine Land funds and the Energy Innovation Center. Read more
August 2, 2012 — After earning a bachelor’s degree in earth science from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, Robert Drapeau knew he wanted to further his study of the interaction of surface water and groundwater.
Meanwhile, at the University of Wyoming, Thijs Kelleners, assistant professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, was looking for a graduate student to help with his research on the impact of ponds created by coal-bed methane discharge water in the Powder River Basin. Read more
July 17, 2012 — A delegation of scientists from China’s Shaanxi Province will visit Wyoming this month as part of a joint U.S.-China clean-coal research project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and its Chinese counterpart.
Invited by the University of Wyoming Carbon Management Institute, the delegation consists of researchers from the ShaanGu Group and the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Energy Resources and Chemical Engineering (SPIERCE). It will arrive in the United States July 19 and stay through July 23. Read more
June 29, 2012 — A proposal to study the conversion of natural gas to liquid fuels and chemicals, and a plan to convert coal to gas, liquids and other products, are on track to receive funding from the state of Wyoming.
Wyoming's Clean Coal Task Force which, on July 1, will become the Advanced Conversion Technologies Task Force, selected the two proposals from among 14 applications.
The task force directs the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) in administering the state's Clean Coal Technology Research Account which, on July 1, will be renamed the Advanced Conversion Technology Research Account. The name changes were made by the 2012 Wyoming State Legislature, reflecting the program's broadening scope to include conversion of other minerals besides coal into value-added fuels and products.
Among other research programs, the Legislature appropriated $500,000 to fund the study of technologies to “move Wyoming minerals up the value chain.” The 14 applications received for that funding totaled $2.47 million, SER officials say. Ten reviewers evaluated two to three proposals each, and each proposal had at least two independent reviewers. The task force met June 18 to review and evaluate the proposals. Read more
June 27, 2012 — IBM has been chosen to design and build the University of Wyoming’s campus cluster or high-performance computing center, which may have as many as 100 UW faculty members using it for their computational science research starting this fall.
The campus cluster, formally known as the Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC), will use approximately 150 square feet (for five racks of computer equipment) in the UW Information Technology Building. Its capacity will be roughly 3 percent of the 75,000 CPUs or core hours available to UW at the National Center for Atmospheric Science (NCAR)-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) in Cheyenne. The CPU is essentially the brains of the computer, where most calculations take place. Read more
June 14, 2012 — The Wyoming Clean Coal Task Force will hold a special meeting at 7 a.m. Monday, June 18.
The meeting will take place in the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources conference room, Room 207 of the Bureau of Mines Building, 365 N. Ninth St., in Laramie. Read more
June 14, 2012 — Twenty-one students from Wyoming and three other states will get a hands-on look at energy innovation at the University of Wyoming next week.
The annual Energy Summer Institute , sponsored by the UW School of Energy Resources , is a one-week science camp designed to fire students' imagination related to challenging energy problems facing the world. Participating students are incoming sophomores and juniors in high school.
Classes will be taught by fellows in UW's Science Posse program. Read more
June 13, 2012 — The National Science Foundation has chosen seven University of Wyoming research projects -- ranging from hydrology of the Colorado River Basin to planet formation from star debris to fluid dynamics of wind turbines -- that will use the National Center for Atmospheric Research ( NCAR )-Wyoming Supercomputing Center ( NWSC ) in Cheyenne this fall.
As a result, selected UW faculty members -- many who have conducted research on desktops or on small campus clusters in the past -- will be able to run larger-scale, high-resolution models which account for more complexity. The computational science research projects, headed by seven UW professors, will use approximately 27 million core hours. Read more
June 12, 2012 — It's getting a new name and an expanded mission, but a Wyoming task force is once again looking for scientific proposals aimed at advancing technologies to use coal in innovative ways.
Wyoming's Clean Coal Task Force, which on July 1 will become the Advanced Conversion Technologies Task Force, has issued a request for proposals for research on low-emissions and other advanced coal technologies.
The task force directs the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources in administering the state's Clean Coal Technology Research Account which, on July 1, will be renamed the Advanced Conversion Technology Research Account. The name changes were made by the 2012 Wyoming State Legislature, reflecting the program's broadening scope to include conversion of other minerals besides coal into value-added fuels and products. At the same time, the 2012 Legislature appropriated $10 million for a research program dedicated to coal conversion technologies, and the new request for proposals focuses on coal. Read more
June 8, 2012 — Experts from across the globe will gather at the University of Wyoming later this month to share their expertise and knowledge of biogenic natural gas at the Secondary Biogenic Natural Gas International Conference.
The conference is sponsored by the UW School of Energy Resources' Center for Biogenic Natural Gas Research .
Coal-bed methane, a type of natural gas, can be produced two ways: thermogenically (with pressure and heat) and biogenically (using microbes). Some coal seams in the Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming contain primarily biogenic gas. Read more
June 7, 2012 — In the last decade, a number of California companies -- with employees in tow -- fled the Golden State and relocated to less expensive real estate between Denver and Boulder to set up shop.
While the business migration was a dollar-and-cents decision, the burgeoning population created also put an extra drain on the Colorado River Basin, a water body already significantly taxed by seven states.
Craig Douglas hopes to play a part in helping communities located in the basin carefully plan their water use now and decades into the future while continuing to generate hydroelectric power, a green form of energy production. Douglas, a University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources professor of mathematics and director for the Institute for Scientific Computations, is teaming with UW professor Fred Ogden to study the upper hydrology of the Colorado River Basin. Read more
June 6, 2012 — When Po Chen talks about lives lost in recent, major seismic events -- such as the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China, and the 2011 tsunami off the coast of Japan -- he slowly shakes his head.
"I started to study seismology as an undergraduate student in China, where there are very high seismic hazards," says Chen, a University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources associate professor of geology and geophysics . "Buildings are very poorly constructed there. When earthquakes occur, a lot of damage happens, and lots of people die." Read more
June 1, 2012 - This summer, UW is running an eight-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), which is funded by the School of Energy Resources. Under the supervision of Felipe Pereira, a UW professor of mathematics, 10 UW students are working together on a computational research project related to CO2 sequestration. Read more
May 31, 2012 — A University of Wyoming student from Laramie County is the recipient of the first Cameco Corporation Scholarship at UW.
Duell Petsch of Meriden, a junior in energy resource management and development, has been awarded the scholarship for the 2012-13 academic year. It's the first year the scholarship has been offered. Read more
May 30, 2012 - Two University of Wyoming students studying energy resource management and development are recipients of the York Future of Energy Scholarship at UW.
Sean McDonald, a junior from Jackson, and Carla Moss, a senior from Riverton, received the awards for the 2012-13 academic year. Read more
May 29, 2012 — A professor who built his faculty career at the University of Wyoming has accepted a joint appointment to the UW School of Energy Resources (SER) and the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department in the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS).
Mohammad Piri, who has earned global acclaim for his work in petroleum engineering, begins his new appointment July 1.
"I am pleased and honored to accept this position," says Piri, who is currently an associate professor of petroleum engineering. "And I'm very happy to be part of the University of Wyoming." Read more
May 25, 2012 — A University of Wyoming senior in chemistry is the recipient of the Nielson Excellence Fellowship in Energy Studies for the 2012-13 academic year at UW.
Sakun Duwal, from Nepal, received the prestigious undergraduate fellowship which recognizes superior performance and future potential for students enrolled in energy resource science, energy resource management and development, energy systems engineering, petroleum engineering, chemical engineering, geology and geophysics, chemistry and physics. The fellowship provides students a unique experience to work directly with faculty mentors, graduate students and energy companies on relevant, authentic research and development projects. Read more
May 24, 2012 — A University of Wyoming faculty member and seven students are recipients of Anadarko Fellowships for Excellence in Energy Scholarship for the 2012-13 academic year.
An endowment provided by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. funds the prestigious award for UW junior tenure-track faculty, doctoral students, and junior and senior undergraduate students.
The fellowships are competitively awarded to recognize and advance excellence in energy scholarship. They promote innovative and entrepreneurial research in areas aligning with Anadarko's energy portfolio, including oil and gas, environmental stewardship and reclamation, transportation, regulation and policy, and health and safety. Read more
May 24, 2012 — For six days in June, researchers from the University of Wyoming will address critical issues of advanced coal use at the 2012 International Advanced Coal Technologies Conference in Shaanxi Province, China. They also will tour coal conversion facilities in the region.
The conference, which the UW School of Energy Resources (SER) is co-sponsoring and hosted in Laramie in 2010, also will draw American and Chinese policymakers, coal industry representatives from both countries, and researchers with a wide range of expertise in advanced coal technology, carbon capture and sequestration, and carbon dioxide use. Read more
May 7, 2012 — Members of the University of Wyoming Energy Resources Council (ERC) and Clean Coal Task Force (CCTF) will meet 8 a.m. Friday, May 18, at the UW Conference Center in the Hilton Garden Inn. Read more
May 7, 2012 — Ian Gonella of Jackson, a student in energy resource science, won first prize in the recent Laramie 2050 essay contest sponsored by the University of Wyoming Campus Sustainability Committee. Read more
May 4, 2012 — Determining the economic and environmental "sweet spot" of power generation is the objective of "Power Generation & the Environment: Choices and Economic Trade-offs," a symposium hosted by the University of Wyoming Oct. 1-2. Read more
April 30, 2012 — Two current University of Wyoming employees and 10 residents who graduated from UW recently were selected for the Casper Star-Tribune's (CST) 2012 class of "Twenty Under 40."
The CST's Twenty Under 40 recognizes 20 inspiring residents among the many young people whose talents and hard work are helping to build Wyoming.
Among the selections are Tara Kuipers, UW Extension community development educator for Park County; and Milt Geiger, energy extension coordinator for UW Extension and the UW School of Energy Resources. Read more
April 16, 2012 — Laramie's first-ever community garden located on private property is now being developed.
Peggy McCrackin, a graduate student at UW, owns the property located at 1964 N. 13th St. She plans to use the majority of her front yard to establish a sustainable community garden. Students in UW Campus Sustainability class are assisting her on the project.
As part of their service learning project, Jessica Neuwerth, junior biology major from Rawlins, and energy resource science major Ian Gonnella from Jackson are designing a rain capture system and a composting system for the garden. Law student Nick Norris from Buffalo is researching potential liability issues for the garden. Read more
The University of Wyoming Energy Resources Club President Aron Anderson said he wants to spark debate and discussion around energy.
Anderson said the club hopes to achieve this through a joint film festival with Restoration Outreach and Research.
The festival will run over two nights and feature a panel of professionals to discuss energy issues covered during the event. Read more
April 10, 2012 — The University of Wyoming's Science Posse was recognized in two categories at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education Conference March 17-18, in Washington, D.C.
The Science Posse, along with the University of Connecticut's Ingenuity Incubators Program, placed first in the media category . The Science Posse also was named a finalist in the outstanding project website category. UW was the only institution to be recognized in both categories. Read more
April 5, 2012 — The University of Wyoming College of Business , in cooperation with UW's School of Energy Resources and College of Law , is launching two new energy-focused tracks this fall in conjunction with its full-time MBA program. Read more
April 3, 2012 — Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), celebrating its 100th year in Wyoming and 125th anniversary as a company, today (Tuesday) announced a $1 million gift commitment to the University of Wyoming to further improve UW's academic and research offerings in alignment with the needs of the state's energy industry. Read more
March 20, 2012 — Members of the University of Wyoming Energy Resources Council (ERC) and the Clean Coal Task Force (CCTF) will meet Friday, March 30, in Room 307 at the UW College of Business Building. The ERC will hold a work session Saturday, March 31, at the UW Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn. Read more
March 2, 2012 — An undergraduate fellowship, designed to promote recruitment of talented women and minority students planning careers in the energy sector, is available through the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) for the 2012-2013 academic year.
Students in energy resource management and development (formerly energy resource science); energy systems engineering, petroleum engineering, chemical engineering, geology and geophysics, chemistry and physics are eligible to apply.
Five awards of $4,500 each will be given. The application deadline is April 16. Read more
February 27, 2012 — For years, extraction of coal bed methane (CBM) was a one-and-done proposition: Extract the natural gas from the coal and move on to the next bed. Now, technologies are being developed that may allow for the continued production of CBM through the stimulation of microorganisms living in the coal bed.
The biogenic process, referred to as "methane farming," will be one of the subjects discussed during the Secondary Biogenic Coal Bed Natural Gas International Conference, which will be hosted by the University of Wyoming June 20-21, at the UW Conference Center and Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie. The conference begins at 8 a.m. June 20 and concludes at 3 p.m. June 21. Conference registration is under way. Read more
January 20, 2012 — Graduates of the University Wyoming School of Energy Resources' undergraduate program will be better prepared for the work force as a result of recent curriculum changes.
The "Energy Resource Management and Development" degree was approved Friday by the UW Board of Trustees. It aims to produce graduates ready for careers as energy industry managers who can bridge the complex issues of exploration, development and management of energy resources in Wyoming and globally. Read more
January 12, 2012 — With the installation of the most advanced high-resolution 3D X-ray microscope available, the University of Wyoming becomes the first university in the world to put this state-of-the-art tool in the hands of faculty and researchers to increase their understanding of underground reservoirs of oil and natural gas.
The custom-designed equipment, which is being installed this week in the College of Engineering's EnCana Research Laboratory, will enable UW researchers to obtain ultra-high resolution micro-images of porous media. Once scanned, these micron-scale three-dimensional maps of pore space can be used to more accurately characterize and model flow and fluid occupancy in reservoir rocks relevant to subsurface reservoirs, which can contain oil and natural gas. Read more
