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Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) recognized exceptional students and faculty for their academic excellence, service and leadership during its annual Wilson Awards Celebration, held on March 30. The Wilson Awards are named in honor of Matthew and Anne Wilson, major benefactors of the college. 

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our faculty and students,” said Lee Kump, the John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. “We have a tremendously talented faculty and students who do remarkable things, and this is a chance to honor them.”

Thirty-one graduate students received awards at the 2025 Graduate Exhibition, hosted by the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School on Friday, March 28, on the University Park campus.

• Research Poster Category — Physical Sciences and Mathematics 
  First Place: Cyril Chu Fubin Kumachang, Materials Science and Engineering, “Ambient-Processed Semitransparent Perovskite Solar Cells from Environmentally Benign Solvents”

The 2025 David Ford McFarland Award Lecture for Achievement in Metallurgy will be held at 3:05 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, in 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building on Penn State's University Park campus. Rose Hernandez, science program director at the International Space Station National Laboratory, will deliver the lecture, “From Earth to Space: Advancing Materials Technologies and Embracing Life's Mission.”

Newly achieved precise control over light emitted from incredibly tiny sources, a few nanometers in size, embedded in two-dimensional (2D) materials could lead to remarkably high-resolution monitors and advances in ultra-fast quantum computing, according to an international team led by researchers at Penn State and Université Paris-Saclay.

Penn State researchers aim to enhance the University's research and development capabilities in next-generation semiconductor technology thanks to $4.3 million in infrastructure funding and in-kind support through the University’s membership in MMEC, a consortium of regional partners focused on microelectronics research and development. The funding from MMEC, part of a broader initiative under the Department of Defense Microelectronics Commons effort under the federal CHIPS Act, will help the University establish an advanced lab for semiconductor thin films and device research in the Materials Research Institute’s (MRI) facilities in the Millennium Science Complex at University Park.

Scientists at Penn State have harnessed a unique property called incipient ferroelectricity to create a new type of computer memory that could revolutionize how electronic devices work, such as using much less energy and operating in extreme environments like outer space.

Penn State has moved up two spots to No. 26 in the 2023 U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, the most recently released rankings. The University also earned top 10 rankings in key research fields, including engineering, mathematics, statistics, sociology, demography and psychology.

The Penn State Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation hosted its inaugural Student IdeaLab on the University Park campus in December 2024, bringing together a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students interested in shaping the future of the real estate and built environment sectors. Designed to help students connect with peers across the University’s many disciplines and to promote co-creation of future institute activities, the event offered attendees a platform to share their interests, experiences and ideas.

Penn State’s Sustainable Labs Program ushers participating labs through a yearlong certification process, guiding them in implementing sustainable practices across multiple domains, including energy efficiency, waste reduction, water conservation, green chemistry and sustainable purchasing. The program will host a virtual information session from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and from 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, Feb. 21, for those interested in learning more or applying for the next cohort.

Penn State Professor Dipanjan Pan and his team are advancing the imaging capabilities by developing contrast agents to target specific molecules and processes that may reveal more about disease progression than traditional scans.