research News

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded Penn State’s Two-Dimensional Crystal Consortium (2DCC) $4.6 million over four years to support its transition toward long-term sustainability while the national user facility continues providing researchers across the country with access to specialized materials, equipment and expertise. These users conduct cutting-edge research to develop faster, more energy-efficient electronics, photonics, quantum technologies and computing systems.

Penn State was awarded $20 million by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to lead one of 20 teams across the country over the next four years as part of the federal government’s Genesis Mission, a national effort to harness AI for scientific discovery. Each team will develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled programmable cloud laboratory (PCL), or node, that together form a network capable of testing, scaling and demonstrating new approaches for advancing automated science and engineering that can expand on human expertise, with the goal of driving discoveries and innovations across disciplines.

Three projects led by Penn State scientists are among those selected for funding under Phase I of the Genesis Mission, a historic national initiative led by the U.S. Department of Energy to build an integrated science discovery platform. In addition, Penn State is a partner on the Prometheus project, led by Idaho National Laboratory, which is the first Genesis Mission Phase II award recipient.

“AI-Orchestrated Multimodal Platforms for Accelerated Discovery, Scale-Up, and Deployment of 2D Materials” - Led by Stephanie Law, associate professor of materials science and engineering.

The Penn State AI Hub, one of the five research hubs housed under the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), has recognized 14 students, faculty and alumni with 2026 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Awards for their AI-related innovations and contributions to society.

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.

When a jet streaks across the sky, pushing the boundaries of physics, or a new electronic device is created, Kaylin Lamaute, a second-year student majoring in materials science and engineering, knows that’s the result of the careful creation of materials.

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.

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.

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.