Fall is here, and it is wonderful to be back on campus after about a year and a half of working from home. We are continuing to wear masks indoors but pleased that we have been conducting in-person instruction, research, and other activities since mid-summer. However, some key activities such as advisory board meetings and our colloquium series are being delivered online.
At Penn State there is a very strong focus on excellence in materials science and materials engineering that is not only evident in our department but across the University. That commitment has been recognized for the third year in a row by the National Science Foundation by ranking Penn State as number one in materials
engineering and as number two in materials science relative to our peer institutions in the United States. This is a huge honor of significant importance to us, and one we hope to continue to earn in the future.
In this edition of our newsletter, it is easy to see the reasons behind receiving such a designation. Our cover story highlights the work taking place in the new Department of Energy center on three-dimensional ferroelectric microelectronics, one of only ten such centers funded in 2020. Led by Susan Trolier-McKinstry, Evan Pugh University Professor and Steward S. Flaschen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and professor of electrical engineering, this center is enabling new interdisciplinary research that will positively impact the development of next generation electronic devices.
There is considerably more going on in the research front; it was difficult just to choose a few to share in this issue—accomplishments in computational materials science, spacetime crystal theory, and solar cells—all of which advance the discipline in meaningful ways.
The significant accomplishments of MatSE faculty and students have been recognized with a variety of awards. I note that we graduated our fourth cohort of students in our Accelerated Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering degree program, and photos from their end-of-year poster session are featured here. Some of these students have gone on to pursue doctoral degrees at Penn State or other universities or to very promising industrial positions. The alumni spotlight underscores the journey and accomplishments of alumnus David Simpson who has been working at ExxonMobil for the last eight years. Also, he served on the MatSE Executive Advisory Board from 2016 to 2021. On behalf of our MatSE community, I thank David for all he has done during his tenure.
I hope you enjoy reading about these amazing people and innovative research as much as I do! Please stay in touch and share what is new with you. You can reach me at sinnott@matse.psu.edu or 814-863-3117.
Susan B. Sinnott
Professor and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering
To read more about stories mentioned above visit Imagine, Fall 2021.