The Lab’s K-12 STEM Education & Outreach team assisted several events and led site tours of NETL-Morgantown throughout the month of January. The team also attended events surrounding the integration of technology into education in order to understand how the process of learning will change in an increasingly technology-dependent world.

NETL has developed an easy-to-use online story map that explores how northwestern Pennsylvania became the birthplace of the modern petroleum industry and the efforts taken by Laboratory scientists to address the ongoing environmental issues from the region’s oil boom more than 150 years ago.

On a brisk winter morning, teachers Jill Jakub and Kelly Bandik spoke in warm, glowing terms about the strong partnership between their school and NETL.

NETL Director Brian Anderson will showcase the Lab’s work and dedication to solving America’s energy challenges when he addresses the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Energy Initiative at a sold-out event Feb. 19, 2020, at the Wong Auditorium. Anderson will discuss how NETL advances cost-effective implementation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies throughout the power-generation sector to ensure Americans continue to have access to clean, affordable and reliable energy.

In collaboration with the Office of Fossil Energy, NETL will manage the implementation of a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program to accelerate the development and integration of energy storage technologies to ensure reliable supplies of affordable, clean energy from the nation’s fossil energy assets (both coal and natural gas).

As the world continues its transition to a highly tech-driven economy, NETL supports innovative techniques to develop a reliable domestic supply of rare earth elements (REEs), which are vital materials for modern technologies. To that end, NETL is collaborating with the University of Kentucky and their subcontractor Virginia Tech to demonstrate a novel process that could see America’s coal country as a new supplier of these vital materials.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and NETL have issued a request for information (RFI) for coal/biomass co-firing emission profiles and the impacts of those technologies on carbon capture systems.

The Lab salutes the contribution of its female scientists, researchers, engineers and support staff for their contributions in overcoming the world’s energy challenges in a manner compatible with environmental integrity and economic development. Over the past 15 years, the global community has taken strides to inspire women and girls to pursue a career path in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. However, that process is far from finished.

The West Virginia Science Bowl tested students’ knowledge of math and science with round-robin and double-elimination competition rounds. Middle school teams competed Friday, followed by high school students on Saturday. This year’s West Virginia competition included welcoming remarks from Congressman David McKinley, as well as representatives from NETL and WVU. Participants also explored hands-on engineering activities and an academic information fair from institutions around the state.

As NETL’s new STEM education and outreach specialist, dedicated to boosting the Lab’s community impact and improve educational outcomes in West Virginia, Kinsey Walker aims to expand student participation in this vitally important subset across the state through unity among program providers.