Welcome New Faculty and Staff

 
The EMS Energy Institute welcomes the following new members who have joined the Institute since our last publication. 

Jeffrey R. S. Brownson 
Associate Professor 
Energy and Mineral Engineering

Jeffrey Brownson joined the faculty of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) in the summer of 2007. He began a joint appointment in the EMS Energy Institute in 2014. Brownson offers a unique background as a materials scientist for solar energy conversion systems, having completed his degrees in geoscience, materials science, and environmental chemistry. His research focuses on photovoltaic materials and systems design and deals with synthesis and characterization of inorganic photovoltaic materials, sustainable materials design for energy conversion; system-integrative photovoltaics (SIPV); and system scale transient energy simulations for buildings and for network (electrical grid) deployment of solar technologies. 

Angelita Johnson 
Administrative Support Assistant 
EMS Energy Institute

Angelita (Angel) Johnson is the assistant to the director of the EMS Energy Institute. She schedules meetings, meeting rooms, conference calls, and catering. She also handles travel arrangements and reimbursements for the director as well as other faculty and students. In addition, she processes research supply and equipment orders, makes fleet vehicle reservations, distributes visitor parking permits, and orders office supplies. She is in charge of all gas cylinder ordering. 

Mort Webster 
Associate Professor 
Energy and Mineral Engineering

Mort Webster specializes in risk analysis, uncertainty analysis, and decision-making under uncertainty. Current research projects include stochastic dynamic modeling of the electric power system focusing on the integration of intermittent renewable generation, modeling technological change as a stochastic process and implications for near-term R&D portfolios, and flexible air quality strategies under uncertainty using integrated economic/energy/chemistry regional models. Prior to joining Penn State, Webster was assistant and associate professor of engineering systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and assistant professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received a doctoral degree in engineering systems and a master’s degree in technology and policy from MIT, and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.