Administrator
Penn State held a Town Hall meeting recently to discuss internal strategies around semiconductor technologies and taking on a key role in partnering with other universities and industry centered on the U.S. government’s CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act, which was signed into law on Aug. 9, 2022.
The David Ford McFarland Award for Achievement in Metallurgy was established in 1948 by the Penn State Chapter of the American Society for Metals (now ASM International) to honor graduates of The Pennsylvania State University who have honorably distinguished themselves in some field of metallurgy. The award was named in honor of Dr. David Ford McFarland—former professor and department head. Read more
The Richard E. Tressler Lectures in Materials honors the very important work of Professor Richard E. Tressler who was head of Penn State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering from 1991-2001. Read more
Students, faculty and researchers in the department are fortunate to have access to a variety of endowed lectures and on-campus visits from materials scientists at the top of their fields. Many of these special events also serve to honor Materials Science and Engineering alumni who served the department, University and entire materials community with great honor.
It was an unusual scene on an overcast day in July 2022 at the University Park West Campus intramural fields. Near quiet tennis courts, a group of around 100 first-year college students, high school students, graduate students from several universities, faculty and administrators, and military visitors gathered around several display tables, including one dishing out Berkey Creamery ice cream. Nearby, a somewhat ominous, mysterious large black drone hovered with a distinct high-pitched buzz.
Perovskites, a family of materials with unique electric properties, show promise for use in a variety fields, including next-generation solar cells. A Penn State-led team of scientists created a new process to fabricate large perovskite devices that is more cost- and time-effective than previously possible and that they said may accelerate future materials discovery.
Just about a year into her Penn State experience, second-year geosciences student Grace Druschel felt she already was making strides toward her research goals. Better yet, she was working on something she believes has extreme societal importance.
The Nelson W. Taylor Lecture in Materials Science and Engineering honors the memory of Professor Nelson W. Taylor (1869–1965) who was head of Penn State’s Department of Ceramics from 1933–1943. During his tenure as department head, Dr. Taylor refined the ceramics undergraduate curriculum, strengthened the graduate program, expanded ties with industry, and was able to attract important scientists (for example Woldemar A. Weyl) to the faculty. He is recognized as the individual most responsible for establishing the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences as a major center for ceramics research. The Nelson W. Taylor Lecture Series was established in 1969, and has consistently attracted scientists of international prominence.
A new form of a heterostructure of layered two-dimensional (2D) materials may enable quantum computing to overcome key barriers to its widespread application, according to an international team of researchers.
