Dear MatSE Community,
It is the privilege of a lifetime to write to you as the new head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State. I would like to thank my predecessor, Susan Sinnott, for her outstanding leadership of our department over the past decade.
I have many fond memories of the good times under Susan’s leadership, most notably for me personally, her enthusiasm and support for my LionGlass research. But what truly defines a leader is how they guide others through difficult times.
In 2016, Susan led us through the unexpected flooding of the Steidle Building, which had just reopened after being completely renovated. Then, in 2020, when the global COVID-19 pandemic forced an overnight shift to remote teaching and operations, Susan once again rose to the occasion. Through every challenge, her steady and compassionate leadership ensured that MatSE emerged stronger, more resilient, and more welcoming than ever.
I thank Susan for her lasting contributions to MatSE, which empowers all of us to pursue new opportunities and strengthen MatSE’s impact together. Looking ahead, I am excited to lead our department as we strive toward our mission to “develop leaders in materials science and engineering, generate scientific discoveries, and enable new opportunities that serve twenty-first-century societal needs through educational innovation, groundbreaking research, entrepreneurial pursuits, translational impact, and community outreach.”
As I step into this new role with optimism and purpose, I also find myself reflecting deeply on the people who made this journey possible, especially Carlo Pantano.
Writing my first “From the Department Head” message is bittersweet, as it follows the unfortunate passing of Carlo this past May.
I’ve long considered him one of my personal role models, and my respect and admiration for him have only deepened over time as I’ve come to understand the many quiet ways he helped others—often without their knowledge.
More than anyone else, Carlo is responsible for my being here at Penn State. In 2010, while attending a conference in Brazil, he invited me to join him for breakfast. I remember us enjoying a delicious Brazilian breakfast, and Carlo planting the idea of me become a professor at Penn State.
At the time, I was working as an industrial research scientist at Corning Incorporated and was not looking for a career change. It took seven years for me to take the leap to academia, but I am forever grateful to Carlo.
Our amazing community truly made my move to Penn State feel like coming home. Every day since, I’ve been deeply inspired by our students, faculty, and staff—their passion to learn, discover, and translate ideas into reality to make a positive difference in the world continues to motivate me.
Even after his passing, I continue to learn from Carlo—through his unfailing kindness, generosity, humility, and his enduring dedication to mentoring the next generation of students and faculty. At Penn State, we are all beneficiaries of Carlo’s legacy. His outstanding leadership of the Materials Research Institute and his visionary role in the creation of the Millennium Science Complex stand as lasting monuments to his tireless efforts to build a cross-disciplinary community of scientists—one that benefits not only Penn State, but the world.
As I begin my tenure as department head, I look forward to hearing from you, our MatSE Community. I invite you to visit us in person and stop by my office in 221A Steidle Building to say hello. You are also welcome to email me anytime at jcm426@psu.edu. I look forward to meeting many of you during the academic year.
We Are!
John C. Mauro
Dorothy Pate Enright Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Department Head of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State