Published October 06, 2023
By Institutional Marketing
A University of Wyoming graduate student will continue her research on rare earth elements, and she will do it at a renowned national laboratory.
Ellen Polites, a fifth-year Ph.D. geology student from York, Pa., is the recipient of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program Award. She will conduct her research fellowship at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., from January through June on the topic of “Unraveling new reactive transport pathways of multi-phase REE (rare earth element) cycling in low temperature basins.”
“The main goal of this project is to understand how rare earth elements are moving in sedimentary basins during the migration of water and oil from source rock to reservoir,” Polites explains. “I plan to do this by utilizing data I have collected here in Wyoming and using a reactive transport modeling software created by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.”
Through world-class training and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources at DOE national laboratories, SCGSR prepares graduate students to enter jobs of critical importance to DOE’s mission and secures America’s national position at the forefront of discovery and innovation.
SCGSR awardees work on research projects of significant importance to the Office of Science mission that address critical energy, environmental and nuclear challenges at national and international scales. Projects in this cohort span seven Office of Science research programs. In all, 60 students from 49 universities in 26 different states received SCGRS awards this year.
The award period for the proposed research project at DOE laboratories/facilities may range from three to 12 consecutive months. Polites says her award offers her a $3,600 monthly stipend for general living expenses, plus up to $2,000 for moving expenses. The DOE Office of Science provides the funding for this program.
“This opportunity will allow me to broaden my geochemical skill set and connect me with some of the leading scientists in my field,” Polites says. “This is my second extended research opportunity with a national laboratory through the Department of Energy, and I couldn’t be more excited to strengthen those connections and my research skills.”
In 2020, Polites was a recipient of DOE’s Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship. She worked remotely with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers and published a study titled “Exotic Carbonate Mineralization Recovered From a Deep Basalt Carbon Storage Demonstration” in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. That research was part of the UW School of Energy Resources’ Wyoming CarbonSAFE Project, which is working to develop carbon capture, storage and utilization technologies.
Polites credits her adviser, John Kaszuba, a professor in the UW Department of Geology and Geophysics, for being “an incredible mentor during my time at UW and encouraging me to pursue the SCGSR Program.”
“He has had two other students successfully complete the program and knows the benefits that come with working at a national laboratory,” she adds.
“This is an incredible experience for students. Being able to conduct research at a national laboratory will have far-reaching impacts,” says Asmeret Berhe, director of the DOE Office of Science. “We hope that these students will continue their path in science, and I look forward to seeing what they do in the future.”
