Obituary of Maria Sobkowiak, 70

Maria Sobkowiak, 70, of State College, died Monday, June 19, 2017, at home.

Born March 6th, 1947, in Poznan, Wielkopolska, Poland, she was the daughter of the late Jozef and Czeslawa Schneider Sobkowiak.

Maria is survived by her brother, Przemyslaw Sobkowiak; niece, Malgorzata Hodge of Bensalem, PA; and nephew, Marcin Sobkowiak.

Dr. Maria Sobkowiak was a faculty research associate at the EMS Energy Institute at Penn State University. She received an MS degree in Organic Chemistry Technology from Silesian University of Technology, Poland and a Ph.D degree in Material Science (Fuel Science Option) from the Pennsylvania State University. She had more than twenty years' experience in fuel chemistry, spectroscopy of fuels and various materials, conversion of coal into premium carbon products and biomass conversion. She has published over 50 papers. She also received an Award for Outstanding Service for EMS Energy Institute.

Prior to joining the Penn State University, she worked on coal chemistry in the Department of Coal Chemistry of Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS). She was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship (Penn State University) and the PAS Award for collaborative participation in the research on the molecular structure of coal.

She was a member of International Association for Stability and Handling (IASH) Liquid Fuels as well as the American Chemical Society – Division of Petroleum chemistry.

Maria enjoyed travelling and spending time with her family and friends.

Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.