News

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has named Penn State the lead partner to both Florida International University (FIU) and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) as part of the Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program.

All of the data produced or used in 2020 was estimated to be about 59 zettabytes, each of which equals a billion terabytes. If each terabyte represents a mile, 59 zettabytes would allow for almost 10 full round trips from Earth to Pluto.

Graphene, hexagonally arranged carbon atoms in a single layer with superior pliability and high conductivity, could advance flexible electronics according to a Penn State-led international research team. Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor in Penn State's Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM), heads the collaboration, which recently published two studies that could inform research and development of future motion detection, tactile sensing and health monitoring devices.

A new family of materials that could result in improved digital information storage and uses less energy may be possible thanks to a team of Penn State researchers who demonstrated ferroelectricity in magnesium-substituted zinc oxide.

A national research center that brings together university, industry and government partners to develop atom-thin 2D coatings with wide-ranging industrial applications is expanding thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Travis Peters, a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering at Penn State, will spend a year researching wearable electronics for medical use at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of an elite program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Registration is now open for Penn State’s annual Materials Day, to be held Oct. 12-13 as a hybrid event both virtually and on the University Park campus. This year’s theme is "The Intersection of Materials, Manufacturing and Sustainability."  

Furthering its mission to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) has provided funding for each of its five departments to appoint faculty to serve as DEI associate heads.

Two-dimensional materials are essential for developing new ultra-compact electronic devices, but producing defect-free 2D materials is a challenge. However, discovery of new types of defects in these 2D materials may give insight into how to create materials without such imperfections, according to a group of Penn State researchers.

In nature, the interaction of molecules at the boundary of different liquids can give rise to new structures. These self-assembling molecules make cell formation possible and are instrumental to the development of all life on Earth.