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The Distinguished Lecture Series in Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State will be held in April and will include two Richard E. Tressler Award Lectures in Materials and the David Ford McFarland Award Lecture for Achievement in Metallurgy. The lectures will be from 3:05 to 4:20 p.m. in 111 Forum Building on the University Park campus. 

The awards honor Penn State alumni who have honorably distinguished themselves through exceptional contributions in materials science and engineering.

The Center for Glass Research and the Materials Research Institute’s (MRI) Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) will hold a webinar titled “Optimizing Glass Surfaces for Manufacturing: From Root Causes to Real Solutions” on Wednesday, April 8, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

Penn State’s glass research ecosystem enables partners to address surface‑driven performance challenges, such as rapid, targeted analyses and long-term fundamental research collaborations. From architectural glazing and containers to automotive glass, advanced packaging, and functional coatings, glass surfaces are an increasingly critical driver of performance, reliability, and product differentiation across manufacturing sectors. Yet many surface‑related failures trace back to subtle chemical and structural effects that are difficult to detect without surface‑sensitive tools and specialized expertise.

Penn State has named the inaugural Innovation to Impact Awards recipients, recognizing faculty, researchers, entrepreneurs and partners whose work exemplifies the University’s commitment to translating research into real-world impact.

The Innovation Trailblazer Award honors early‑career faculty and staff whose creativity, inventorship and entrepreneurial drive accelerate the translation of Penn State research to market. The 2025 Innovation Trailblazer Award recognizes Nicholas Clark, assistant research professor in materials science and engineering, for his early-career leadership in the scientific and commercial advancement of LionGlass, a revolutionary, low-carbon glass technology developed at Penn State.

Penn State ranked in 49 out of 55 subjects in the 2026 World University Rankings by Subject, released March 25 by London-based QS, one of the major three international organizations that annually rank academic institutions. 

The QS subject rankings are based on academic and employer reputation surveys; research output, sourced from information analytics company Elsevier; and international research network, which examines a university’s sustained international research collaboration.

Wearing a bonnet and historic period dress at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, Penn State student Irena Potochny stayed steadily in-character as a maple syrup–making pioneer while engaging with the curious minds of community members during the annual Maple Harvest Festival on March 21-22.

Lee Kump, the John Leone Dean of the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), has announced his decision to step down as dean, effective June 30. Kump, who has served as dean for nearly nine years and is celebrating 40 years of service to the college and University in 2026, will remain at Penn State as professor of geosciences on the College of EMS faculty after his deanship concludes.

Making computer chips smaller is not just about better design. It also depends on a critical step in manufacturing called patterning, where nanoscale structures are carved into materials to form the circuits inside everything from smartphones to advanced sensors.  

Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) recognized exceptional staff at its annual Dean’s Staff Appreciation Luncheon held in December 2025 at the Nittany Lion Inn. The awards program consists of three annual awards, the Future Star Award, Circle of Excellence, and the EMS Ambassador. The Charles Hosler  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff Award was also recognized.

Allison Beese, professor of materials science and engineering and of mechanical engineering at Penn State, has been named the senior associate director of Penn State’s new National Security Institute. She will begin her appointment on May 15.

DNA, the genetic blueprints in every living organism, is nature’s most efficient storage mechanism, capable of storing about 215 million gigabytes of data per gram. That storage capacity, if applied to electronics, could enable significantly more efficient data centers, speedier data processing and the ability to process far more complicated data. The trick to making this technological leap is getting DNA, a biological material, to work with electronics. A team led by Penn State researchers has figured out how to bridge the wide compatibility gap.