The person staring back from the computer screen may not actually exist, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) capable of generating convincing but ultimately fake images of human faces. Now this same technology may power the next wave of innovations in materials design, according to Penn State scientists.
If you look at the back of a credit card, a driver’s license, or even a dollar bill, you will likely notice a hologram, or iridescent feature, that appears to change color when viewed at different angles. These color-shifting security features have been around for decades, allowing ample time for people to find ways of counterfeiting the effects. Even so, these types of highly visible and easily recognized color-shifting features are still among the most commonly used optical security element – and Penn State-affiliated startup Chromatir may have discovered a more secure and customizable way to implement this effect.
Vanderbilt and Penn State engineers have developed a novel approach to design and fabricate thin-film infrared light sources with near-arbitrary spectral output driven by heat, along with a machine learning methodology called inverse design that reduced the optimization time for these devices from weeks or months on a multi-core computer to a few minutes on a consumer-grade desktop.
Faced with a growing workload in its research labs, the Materials Research Institute (MRI) met the challenge by offering Penn State students an opportunity that most materials science and engineering undergraduates normally never receive.
Noninvasive glucose monitoring devices are not currently commercially available in the United States, so people with diabetes must collect blood samples or use sensors embedded under the skin to measure their blood sugar levels. Now, with a new wearable device created by Penn State researchers, less intrusive glucose monitoring could become the norm.
Society’s use of materials, with its humble beginnings in the Stone Age with natural materials, advanced through the Bronze Age and Iron Age with man-made alloys to the current Industrial Age and Modern Era. Now, in the 21st century, the functionality of society relies significantly on digital technologies in terms of integration of cyber-physical systems through digitization of knowledge, and the demand for new materials to enable and promote the digital age will continue to increase.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has named Penn State the lead partner to both Florida International University (FIU) and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) as part of the Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program.
All of the data produced or used in 2020 was estimated to be about 59 zettabytes, each of which equals a billion terabytes. If each terabyte represents a mile, 59 zettabytes would allow for almost 10 full round trips from Earth to Pluto.
Graphene, hexagonally arranged carbon atoms in a single layer with superior pliability and high conductivity, could advance flexible electronics according to a Penn State-led international research team. Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor in Penn State's Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM), heads the collaboration, which recently published two studies that could inform research and development of future motion detection, tactile sensing and health monitoring devices.
A new family of materials that could result in improved digital information storage and uses less energy may be possible thanks to a team of Penn State researchers who demonstrated ferroelectricity in magnesium-substituted zinc oxide.