Geoscientist enjoys critical mineral successes at national lab
Christina Lopano relies on experiences at Penn State to shape career extracting rare earth elements from coal waste
By David Kubarek, Penn State News
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State alumna Christina Lopano works at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which is one of the three applied research labs among the 17 national labs operated under the Department of Energy (DOE). So, she said, she’s used to seeing the results of her work called upon for application in real-world settings.
But the massive push for extracting rare earth elements (REEs) from mining and energy-based waste products is something even she couldn’t have foreseen.
“It’s very interesting when the research you do becomes such a hot topic,” Lopano said.
Lopano, who earned her doctoral degree in geosciences from Penn State in 2007, has for several years been researching ways to unbind metals used in a range of electronics and other critical devices such as batteries, cellphones and vehicles. REEs — which are part of a larger group of critical minerals — are deemed critical because of the nation’s necessity for them as well as a reliance on foreign powers for importing them. Penn State launched a critical minerals consortium in 2021 and began the Center for Critical Minerals in 2019.
Her research improved technology for recovering REEs by incorporating advanced imaging and spectroscopy techniques coupled with laboratory geochemistry to develop methodologies for removing the elements from coal waste byproducts. It earned Lopano the Secretary of Energy’s Excellence Award.
“These awards are among the highest department honors a federal employee or contractor can receive,” NETL Director Brian Anderson said. “With her background in mineralogy, Dr. Lopano has long been on the leading edge of geoscience research, and her work has made significant contributions in NETL’s efforts to find solutions to clean our water and air, lower the environmental footprint of energy production and help communities in need of new jobs and industries. We’re fortunate to benefit from her expertise. She stands out as a driver of meaningful change.”