It turns out solid rock isn't so solid after all.

Rocks have tiny areas filled with natural gas and petroleum, the resources we covet. This area is rich in it, but how do we get it out of the rock?

That's a question for a petroleum and natural gas engineer, who is trained to release those resources with minimum damage to the environment.

Future engineers are finding that education right up the road at Slippery Rock University, one of only about 20 four-year programs like it in the nation.

Professor Xinchao “Steven” Wei is program coordinator of the petroleum and natural gas engineering program. He said it's not uncommon for people to think that natural gas and petroleum are waiting underground for us to mine, as if it were a vein of coal.

Not so, he said. “You might think of rocks as solid,” he said. “It's not as solid as you think. A lot of rocks have pore space. The petroleum and gas are trapped inside these pores.”

Under pressure

Petroleum and natural gas are under constant pressure, Wei said, and we use that pressure to bring the resources to us. However, as you extract the resources, the pressure lessens, which is a problem.

“Once you have a well, typically, the pressure will drive the gas and oil naturally to the surface,” he said. “In particular, with production going on for some period of time, the pressure drops, and you have to figure out another way to drive the oil and gas to the surface.”

That's where Kendall Grossman, 19, of West Sunbury, comes in. At least she hopes she will.

As a freshman in the new program, Grossman is excited to learn about how to get those resources to the surface.

“I've always been pretty interested in energy, where it comes from, how we consume it, how we sustain it,” Grossman said.

In fact, it's been on her mind since she was a child.

“It's always been a question (for me),” she said. “I know we use gas a lot, and I also know it's not going to be around forever, so I was always worried about that as a kid: Like, what's going to happen when we run out of gas? It's just something that pointed me in a direction.

“We're making a little bit of leeway in that direction, so I figured: Why not join the cause?”

Before Grossman can answer that question, however, it's calculus, chemistry and speech that she has to conquer. It's not easy, especially when you consider that she is carrying 20 credits, is on the track team and works a part-time job.

Make $50 an hour

Still, it can pay to become a petroleum and natural gas engineer. In Pennsylvania, people in that profession make about $50 an hour, according to ziprecruiter.com.

Wei said to have this degree means you will work in only this field.

“It is a very specialized profession,” he said. “It's not like civil or mechanical engineering, (where) you work for many industries. You will work for the oil and gas industry. It's a bit different. That's why many universities don't offer this program.”

Last May, SRU sent its first class of petroleum and gas engineering graduates out into the world. Nearly all seven found jobs right out of the gate, although some had to go out of state.

This May, five are graduating, though there is no word on whether they will have jobs waiting.

Maintain GPA

Meanwhile, Grossman keeps working.

She knows there's something good waiting for her if she can just maintain that grade-point average.

The job market? That's tomorrow's worry. Today, it's back to calculus, chemistry, physics and maybe a speech.

“I know for women it's been a struggle in engineering fields; we're not always pushed to go in those directions,” Grossman said.

“I know for women, men, anybody, it can be challenging,” she said. “But at some point you just have to realize the challenge is just part of it. If you really have an interest in it, don't let the theory of engineering classes be impossible.”