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If you have a deep-seated, nagging worry over dropping your phone in molten lava, you’re in luck.

A research team led by materials scientists at Duke University has developed a method for rapidly discovering a new class of materials with heat and electronic tolerances so rugged that they that could enable devices to function at lava-like temperatures above several thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.

Penn State has been selected by the Department of Defense (DoD) as a partner for two of the four newly created DoD research centers of excellence. The DoD awarded a total of $40 million to establish the four centers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority-serving Institutions (MI), which will conduct research over a five-year period in technology areas deemed critical by the DoD. 

Six Penn State materials researchers have received the 2023 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, covering a wide range of research with societal impact. The award is presented by the Materials Research Institute (MRI) and recognizes recent interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State that yields innovative and unexpected results.

Penn State’s total research expenditures reached a record high of $1.239 billion in fiscal year 2022-23, a 14%* increase from the previous year and driven by a $98 million jump in federal funding for research — by far the largest in the University’s history. This funding enables Penn State faculty, staff and students to conduct cutting-edge research and drive innovation that positively impact people’s lives, both locally and around the globe. 

Lauren Zarzar, associate professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering, has been named one of seven recipients for the Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship. 

Since 2017, Ana de la Fuente Duran has had her eyes fixed on one goal: Becoming a materials scientist.

As a Latina in the field, she’s aware of the odds. She’s walked into rooms to see her eyes turn to the lone woman in the group. And, to see someone from her background, she has to walk into a lot of rooms.

More than half of the estimated 374 million new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2020 were either chlamydia or gonorrhea, which are often asymptomatic and co-occurring, according to the World Health Organization. Despite the prevalence, neither disease currently has a clinically available rapid test, but that could change thanks to a Penn State-led research team.

Susan Sinnott, professor and head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, will deliver the John F. McMahon Memorial Lecture at 11:20 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, in Holmes Auditorium, Harder Hall, on the Alfred University campus.

Quantum materials include superconductors, where pairs of electrons move together; magnets, where the spin of one electron influences the spin of its neighbor; topological materials, where the electrons on the surfaces of the materials have exotic properties; and quantum-confined materials, where the electron properties are determined by the size of the material.

Penn State students, faculty and alumni entrepreneurs joined with venture firms and startup founders from across the United States for the 2023 Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference, held Oct. 16-17 at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey.