News

Professor Emeritus David Kohlstedt
Awards-Grants, Energy-Environment, Research

Professor Emeritus David Kohlstedt receives Vetlesen Prize, the ‘Nobel Prize of Earth Sciences’

Posted

University of Minnesota Twin Cities Professor Emeritus David Kohlstedt has been awarded the Vetlesen Prize, one of the highest honors in Earth sciences and considered to be the field’s Nobel Prize equivalent.

Acrylic acid graphic
Energy-Environment, Research

Chemical researchers discover catalyst to make renewable paints, coatings, and diapers

Posted

A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has invented a groundbreaking new catalyst technology that converts renewable materials like trees and corn to the key chemicals, acrylic acid, and acrylates used in paints, coatings, and superabsorbent polymers.

BKB Floral Foam team
Energy-Environment, People-Profiles, Research

CSE alumnus helps MN Cup winner BKB Floral Foam bloom

Posted

Chemistry Ph.D. alumnus David Goldfeld is one of the brains behind the University of Minnesota research that’s providing a sustainable solution for the $500 million floral foam market.

Professor Jian-Ping Wang
Awards-Grants, Energy-Environment

University-born company Niron Magnetics receives $17.5M DOE grant

Posted

Niron Magnetics, a company founded by University of Minnesota Twin Cities Professor Jian-Ping Wang, received $17.5M from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund production of its sustainable magnets.

Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) Central Transantarctic Mountains
Energy-Environment, Research

High-res maps of entire polar regions provide new clues for climate researchers

Posted

A team of researchers led by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has released four more years of high-resolution imagery data, which has been added to eight years of previous data, to create the most detailed polar region terrain maps ever created.

Wind farm
Awards-Grants, Energy-Environment

University of Minnesota awarded nearly $22M to lead two Energy Frontier Research Centers

Posted

Two new University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led Energy Frontier Research Centers will bring together engineers and scientists from across the country to develop promising technologies for storing carbon dioxide and making catalytic chemical reactions more efficient and sustainable.

Circularity of resources diagram
Awards-Grants, Energy-Environment

UMN receives $3 million for interdisciplinary NSF Research Traineeship program

Posted

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to implement an interdisciplinary, cross-college research traineeship program that aims to better educate students on topics including sustainability, resource conservation, waste upcycling, and community impact.

Minnesota lakes identified by ReaLSAT (red) and HydroLAKES (blue)
Energy-Environment

Data scientists use new techniques to identify lakes and reservoirs around the world

Posted

A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team of data scientists has published a first-of-its-kind comprehensive global dataset of the lakes and reservoirs on Earth that shows how they have changed over the last 30+ years.

Satellite image of Amalia Glacier in Patagonia
Energy-Environment, Research

Study finds that landslides can have a major impact on glacier melt and movement

Posted

Using satellite imagery to study the effects of a 2019 landslide on the Amalia Glacier in Patagonia, a University of Minnesota-led research team found the landslide helped stabilize the glacier and caused it to grow by about 1,000 meters over the last three years.

High tech agriculture
Energy-Environment

New study could help reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions

Posted

A team of researchers has significantly improved the performance of numerical predictions for agricultural nitrous oxide emissions that could significantly reduce greenhouse gases from agriculture.