Eage 3 3 "Penn State News The Lions S Eve Initiative to Provide Training in Shale-Development Best Practices N atnril gas drilling is booming all over the Commonwealih, and drilling sites, like this one in rural Bradford County, have come under scrutiny regarding safety. Penn State is partnering with other universities across the country to develop a training program for people working in the fast-grow- ing natural gas and oil development industry. (photo credit C.J. Marshall) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A new multi- university initiative announced March 8 will provide best-practices training for people working in the rapidly growing shale natural gas and oil development sector. The effort involves Penn State, the University of Texas at Austin and the Col- orado School of Mines; training programs will be led by faculty at each academic institution and are designed to ensure that regulators and policymakers have access to the latest technological and operational expertise to assist in their oversight of shale development. ExxonMobil and GE, two major U.S. energy corporations, each will contribute $1 million to the new edu- cational effort. : “The program affords the Uni- versity a unique opportunity to further de- velop shale gas best-management practices and to offer new regulators the chance to learn the latest science-based concepts related to geology, petroleum technology and environmental quality,” said Thomas Murphy, co-director of the Penn State Mar- cellus Center for Outreach and Research. “Penn State looks forward to providing development training that will help ensure a strong, yet consistent, regulator process across the Appalachian Basin.” The training program will draw upon Penn State’s significant expertise in shale-gas geology, reservoir engineering and related sciences, and also upon Uni- versity researchers’ leadership in advanc- ing the understanding of the environmen- tal, economic and social issues related to shale-gas development. In addition, a training program for regulators in the oil and gas industry has been added in the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, and a program of courses designed to provide training in the responsible development of unconven- tional energy resources has been added in the Colorado School of Mines’ Unconven- tional Natural Gas and Oil Institute. While hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling and other technologies used to produce shale gas are not new, they are being used today on a larger scale than ever before. Because it is critical that regulators and policymakers have access to a sound scientific understanding of shale-- energy development, and that they are fully aware of the technologies required to produce these resources safely and ef- ficiently while protecting the environment GE and ExxonMobil have offered their support for the training initiative. “Natural gas is dramatically changing the way we power America and GE is committed to its responsible development,” said GE CEO Jeff Immelt. “We believe advanced technology, an expert workforce, and smart regulation are the keys to America leading the world in shale-gas development. As a technology leader in the energy sector, GE recognizes the importance of minimizing a site’s envi- ronmental footprint while simultaneously increasing operational efficiency.” The benefits of the overall train- ing initiative are expected to be felt not only in the oil and gas industry, but by state and federal regulators, and policy- makers. “America’s shale-energy re- sources are creating jobs and economic growth in regions across the country, and Americans rightly want to know that these resources are being produced safely and responsibly,” ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said. “ExxonMobil is pleased to ~ provide the resources to assist the schools in equipping regulators with the latest technical and operational knowledge being applied in this growing sector.” GE produces nearly 40 tech- nologies for the shale-gas sector in areas such as mobile and fixed water filtration, flare-gas capture and reuse, cleaner on-site | power generation, and demand-side solu- tions that create liquefied or compressed natural gas for use in truck fleets and other areas. ExxonMobil is the world’s largest non-government-owned energy company and applies advanced technology to the development and production of oil; natural § gas and petrochemicals. The company is the largest natural gas producer in the United States, with a significant position in the production of shale resources in Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma and North Dakota. What do you think about the natural gas industry coming to Pennsylvania? Are these companies friend or foe? Chime in on The Lion’s Eye Facebook page! Jerry F. Shoup, interim director of Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Science, Engineering and Technology, has received the 2012 Technical Achievement Award from the Central Pennsylvania Engineers Week Council. Chosen for his public, industry and institutional service, Shoup pccepted the award during the National Engineers Week banquet on Feb. 23 in Camp Hill, Pa. "Shoup has served as interim di- Fector since July 2010. He holds the title of nssociate professor of electrical engineer- Ing, and previously served as program Chair for the campus’ Electrical Engineer- Ing and Electrical Engineering Technology bachelor’s programs. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Susquehanna Sec- Lion of the IEEE, and engineering honor life senior member of the IEEE; and a life the council societies Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu; a Mud 114, 2012 SRE Shoup Receives Regional Engineering Award member of the American Soci- ety of Engineer- ing Education. The Central Pennsyl- vania Engineers Week Council each year pres- ents the Engineers Week activities in the Harrisburg area. Composed of representatives from local en- gineering firms, Jerry F. Shoup, interim director of Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Science, Engineering and Technology. (photo recognizes and credit Gini Woy) promotes the work of profes- sionals in the field. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—Students enrolled in the iIMBA program at Penn Btate’s World Campus scored in the top : f percent on the most recent Educational esting Service (ETS) Master of Business Administration (MBA) Major Field Test, p comprehensive national assessment for program evaluation. The Spring 2010 cohort of 54 students in this online program collectively scored in the 97th percentile in 2011. A to- al of 225 institutions administered this test o more than 14,400 students nationwide. MBA students’ scores in the test catego- ries are: Marketing, 92nd percentile; Man- gement, 94th percentile; Finance, 97th ercentile; Accounting, 98th percentile; nd Strategic Integration, 97th percentile. iMBA Program Chair Ashutosh Deshmukh said, “The students’ excep- ional performance on this national test is reflection of the program’s emphasis on holistic understanding of business, which s achieved through integrated content, eamwork and applied learning and sup- ported by two, one-week residencies. The first residency is unique nationally and nternationally. iIMBA students examine a _pompany externally and internally, visiting he manufacturing/service facilities and istening and questioning top executives. Student teams prepare a deep analysis of he company, which we make available to he company.” Administered by ETS -- the same company that creates the SAT, GRE and AP exams -- Major Field Tests measure iIMBA Students World Campus Make Top 3 Percent study. The MBA Major Field Test consists of 124 multiple-choice questions, half of which are based on short case-study scenarios. Most of the questions require knowledge of specific information drawn from marketing, management, finance and managerial accounting, or a combination of these disciplines. Penn State’s online MBA degree is designed for professionals who have work experience in a wide variety of fields -- business, engineering, health care, technology and many others -- and seek to position themselves for growth in the global economic environment. The online IMBA curriculum is well suited for people with either business or nonbusiness under- graduate degrees. For more information, visit the Penn State iMBA website or call 877-574-4622. Penn State World Campus spe- cializes in adult online education, deliver- ing more than 70 of Penn State’s most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate and professional education programs through convenient online formats. Found- ed in 1998, Penn State World Campus is the University’s 25th campus serving more than 10,300 students in all 50 states and around the world. World Campus is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. Penn State Outreach serves more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 115 countries worldwide. AVATALS ETel=Y oToTo) (elod 4 a WAH TY BTo) ETNA York Times estsellers The Tenth Justice, Dead Even, The First Counsel, The Millionaires, and The Zero Game. He is currently working on his newest comic ~ book, DC Universe, and recently published his latest _ novel, The Inner Circle. He can also be seen on the ~ History Channel series “Brad Meltzer's Decoded,” ‘which investigates the secret history of the symbols ; and codes that surround us every day. ad Meltzer is the author of the New His books have a total of almost 6 million copies in print, have spent over nine months on bestseller lists, and have been translated into over 25 languages from Hebrew to Bulgarian. ‘
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