When President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act on Aug. 9, 2022, to accelerate U.S. manufacturing of semiconductors, Penn State took action. The University created the Mid-Atlantic Semiconductor Hub (MASH) with other academic partners, industry and state governments to lead and leverage the cumulative expertise in this area.
Through events, education and actions, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) at Penn State is committed to creating an environment that promotes diversity in the field so that the next generation of experts tasked with creating and improving materials incorporates all perspectives.
Penn State has been named one of 21 founding member institutions of Micron Technology’s newly formed Northeast University Semiconductor Network. The network, established in partnership with the National Science Foundation, will focus on enhancing curriculum and developing new research and learning opportunities to prepare the next generation of the U.S. semiconductor industry’s workforce.
Worldwide, glass manufacturing produces at least 86 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. A new type of glass promises to cut this carbon footprint in half. The invention, called LionGlass and engineered by researchers at Penn State, requires significantly less energy to produce and is much more damage resistant than standard soda lime silicate glass. The research team recently filed a patent application as a first step toward bringing the product to market.
A new type of ferroelectric polymer that is exceptionally good at converting electrical energy into mechanical strain holds promise as a high-performance motion controller or “actuator” with great potential for applications in medical devices, advanced robotics, and precision positioning systems, according to a team of international researchers led by Penn State.
Penn State achieved a record $1.03 billion in research expenditures in FY22 and is poised for continued growth as one of the nation’s top research institutions, Lora G. Weiss, senior vice president for research, told the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Academic Affairs, Research and Student Life on June 15. To build on recent successes, Weiss said, “will require a combination of strategic leadership, investments, partnering and positioning.”
A recently installed 3D ceramics printer offers Penn State materials researchers advanced capabilities to easily produce high-resolution ceramic parts and other innovative ceramics for cutting-edge materials research at a lower cost than sourcing them.
Fourteen graduate students from Penn State have been awarded research fellowships and nine undergraduate students from around the commonwealth have been awarded scholarships from the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium (PSGC).
Penn State ranked No. 83 in the world — a jump of 10 positions from No. 93 last year — in the recently released 2024 QS World University Rankings, placing the University in the top 6% worldwide among the 1,500 institutions ranked by QS. Penn State also placed, out of 199 ranked U.S. institutions, at No. 8 among public universities nationally and No. 4 among Big Ten institutions. Penn State rose to No. 24 among all U.S. universities, up from No. 26 last year.
The following is a list of academic promotions for tenured and tenure-line faculty members at Penn State, effective July 1, 2023.