Graduate Studies
Heterogeneous catalysis is an inherently multi-disciplinary field, drawing insight from faculty and students with a wide variety of backgrounds and training. One of the strengths of catalysis at Penn State is the broad number of perspectives and techniques we can bring to bear on important problems in catalysis, energy conversion and storage, pollution reduction, and water purification, among others. This includes fundamental and applied research programs in:
- Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
- Chemistry, Eberly College of Science
- Materials Science and Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
- Energy and Mineral Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
- Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
- Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Colleges of Agriculture and Engineering
- BioRenewable Systems, College Agricultural Sciences
Penn State offers a multitude of research opportunities for students interested in catalysis. Cross-disciplinary studies are common, students in one department often have co-advisors housed in other departments. This distributed model for catalysis research affords students substantial flexibility to develop their interests and personalize their PhD research program with the mixture of fundamental and applied research that best fits their interests and professional goals.
Penn State does not offer a degree program in catalysis; all graduate degrees are administered through individual departments. Students interested in pursuing graduate studies should contact the graduate studies coordinator in one of the above departments for details on enrollment requirements and application processes.
In the United States, individual principal investigators (PIs) generally do not accept students directly into their groups. All the PIs listed here are currently accepting doctoral students, although there may be years where an individual PI does not take on additional students. Please contact individual PIs and departmental coordinators for details.
