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Betul Akkopru-Akgun, assistant research professor in Penn State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Materials Research Institute, has received an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program award to investigate how electricity and heat move through materials used in extreme environments.

John Mauro, the interim John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State, was selected to receive the 2026 W. David Kingery Award from the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He will be recognized on Monday, Oct. 5, at the ACerS Honors and Awards Banquet, which will be held during the society’s 128th Annual Meeting (MS&T26) in Pittsburgh.

Jon-Paul Maria, Dorothy Pate Enright Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State, has been named interim head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE), effective July 1. Maria will lead the department while John Mauro, current department head, begins service as the interim John Leone Dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS).

Fourteen interdisciplinary research teams have received funding through the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s (IEE) 2026 Seed Grant Program. The program supports basic and applied research that lays the groundwork to pursue external funding and is guided by IEE’s five strategic research themes. This year, the program awarded seed funding to more than 40 researchers across 10 colleges and campuses and 21 departments and units.

From discovering planets beyond our solar system and analyzing samples returned from asteroids, to understanding the large-scale structure and evolution of the cosmos, Penn State researchers are helping to address fundamental questions about the universe — How did life begin? What is humanity’s future in space? What are the origins and fate of the universe? — while also leading some of today’s key advancements in space-related innovation and instrumentation.

Twelve research projects have been selected for the 2026 Penn State Commercialization GAP Fund. Awarded projects receive $75,000 in funding and other support to develop promising proof-of-concept research into commercial ready technology.

A vital tool for healthcare practitioners, electroencephalography (EEG) systems measure electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp, but getting reliable readings can be surprisingly difficult. Hair interferes with contact between the electrodes and skin, and the gels used to improve those connections often dry out over time, weakening signal quality.

Penn State’s Alliance for Education, Science, Engineering, and Design with Africa (AESEDA) will host a joint symposium with the African-led Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) to strengthen and expand the Penn State-PASET partnership and collaboration.

Penn State student Matias Moreno earned two of the nation's most competitive undergraduate scholarships this spring — the Astronaut Scholarship and the Udall Scholarship — recognizing both his excellence in STEM research and his commitment to sustainability.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has awarded up to $75.8 million to four research teams through its Ocular Laboratory for Analysis of Biomarkers (OCULAB) program. Researchers from Penn State will develop biosensors for the Closed-Loop Sensing and Microdosing for Dry Eye and Systemic Disease Management (COSMIC) team led by Lacristat, a California-based ophthalmology company.