News

A new fundamental understanding of polymeric relaxor ferroelectric behavior could lead to advances in flexible electronics, actuators and transducers, energy storage, piezoelectric sensors and electrocaloric cooling, according to a team of researchers at Penn State and North Carolina State.

A total of 64 Erickson Discovery Grants were awarded for summer 2020, allowing for funded student research, scholarship or creative processes.

New matchbook-sized devices could convert wasted heat in our homes, offices and vehicles into an environmentally friendly source of electricity, according to a team of scientists.

Finding ways to manage the flow of heat in silicon could boost the performance of semiconductors, but, so far, discovering the right design has remained elusive. Now, a team of Penn State researchers report that a fabrication technique may offer a path toward mastering the often chaotic flow of heat carriers at the nanoscale in silicon and other semiconductors.

Susan Trolier-McKinstry, Flaschen Professor of Ceramic Science and Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, was recently named an Evan Pugh University Professor, an elite distinction conferred by the University on only 73 faculty members since the establishment of the designation in 1960.

Parivash Moradifar, a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering (MatSE), earned the Alumni Association Dissertation Award from the Graduate School for research related to plasmonics, an emerging field between electronics and photonics.

John Shimanek, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering, was one of five students from across the country selected for a federal fellowship program.

A personal, handheld device emitting high intensity ultraviolet light to disinfect areas by killing the Corona virus is now feasible, according to researchers at Penn State, the University of Minnesota and two Japanese universities.

With families stuck at home because of the coronavirus pandemic, the need for quality online resources to help fill the time has skyrocketed. But don’t fret — Penn State’s Center for Nanoscale Science has just launched Mission: Materials Science.

Alex Molina, a fourth-year doctoral student in materials science and engineering, was recently named a Sloan Scholar.