The Shale boom has helped create a new program at Youngstown State University.
On Wednesday, university officials with the STEM College announced they are creating a Natural Gas and Water Resources Institute. Students will be able to receive a minor in gas technologies or take part in research projects involving the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process.
The Institute will train science, math and engineering majors for shale specific jobs.
"If we're going to be training or educating students in technical fields in science and engineering, environmental science, chemistry what not, then we have to train them appropriately for jobs that are available," said Dr. Martin Abraham, dean of YSU's STEM College.
The program still needs approval by YSU's Board of Trustees, but it's expected to be put in place for the fall of 2012.
"Given YSU's location in the heart of the Utica shale region, this new Institute is well‐poised to meet the educational and research demands and needs central to this new and growing industry," Abraham said in a press release. "Establishing YSU's presence in this fast‐changing field is a critical necessity if we are to have a role in educating the future workforce to support this economic growth opportunity."
The Utica shale is a large rock formation thousands of feet below the surface spanning an area from eastern Ohio to Pennsylvania and across the Canadian border. Gas contained in the Utica shale is expected to become a dominant source of natural gas for the United States in this decade.
A recent study showed that more than 200,000 jobs, including nearly 9,000 in professional and technical services, will be created or supported by 2015 due to exploration, leasing, drilling and pipeline construction for the Utica shale reserve.
One of the significant issues for the extraction of the gas is the use and recovery of large volumes of water used in the hydraulic fracturing process and the need to treat, analyze and monitor this water. Abraham said the YSU Natural Gas and Water Resources Institute will provide research on water-related issues such as analysis and monitoring, remote sensing, remediation and treatment, and reuse and recycling.
The Institute will utilize faculty and facilities in YSU's chemistry, mechanical engineering, environmental science, chemical engineering, geology and civil engineering departments.
