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The Institute of Energy and the Environment (IEE) has welcomed five new faculty members to its community. Their expertise spans artificial intelligence, water treatment, marine ecosystems, sustainable buildings and solar cell efficiency, strengthening IEE’s interdisciplinary approach to addressing complex challenges. By uniting diverse perspectives, IEE fosters collaborations that can address problems from multiple angles.

Heating and cooling account for most of the energy used in homes and businesses, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Additionally, heat gain and loss through windows can waste up to 30% of the energy used to heat and cool a home. With this in mind, a research team at Penn State is exploring the development of smart windows that use a unique polymer to block sunlight. On the latest episode of “Growing Impact,” the team discusses how the material works and how these smart windows might change the way buildings are designed, built and operated.

Sarah Perry, professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Penn State, will present “Polyelectrolyte complex materials” as part of the Penn State Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s (MatSE) 590 Seminar series. The event will be held from 3:05 to 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, October 2 in 112 Kern Building on the University Park campus.

Artificial intelligence-powered large language models (LLM) need to be trained on massive datasets to make accurate predictions — but what if researchers don't have enough of the right type of data?

The 2025 Nelson W. Taylor Lecture in Materials will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Friday, September 26, in the HUB-Robeson Center’s Heritage Hall on the Penn State University Park campus. The theme of this year’s lecture series is “Forging the future of steel.”

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has selected eight research teams that span 12 departments across six colleges to receive 2025-26 seed grant funding.

Seventy years ago, in Osmond Laboratory on Penn State’s University Park campus, Erwin W. Müller, Evan Pugh Research Professor of Physics, became the first person to “see” an atom. In doing so, Müller cemented his legacy, not only at Penn State, but also as a pioneer in the world of physics and beyond.

Josh Stapleton, director of the Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) at Penn State, will deliver a talk titled “The Penn State Materials Characterization Lab” as part of the Penn State Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s 590 Seminar series. The event will be held at from 3:05 to 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, in 112 Kern Building at Penn State University Park.

Electricity flows through wires to deliver power, but it loses energy as it moves, delivering less than it started with. But that energy loss isn’t a given. Scientists at Penn State have found a new way to identify types of materials known as superconductors that allow power to travel without any resistance, meaning no energy is lost.

Could clothing monitor a person’s health in real time, because the clothing itself is a self-powered sensor? A new material created through electrospinning, which is a process that draws out fibers using electricity, brings this possibility one step closer.