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Three materials science and engineering doctoral students — representing six in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — are among the 21 new National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recipients for the 2022-23 academic year.

With bans on the chemical being proposed in the U.S. and around the world, the challenge now is creating fluorine-free polymer membranes that do the same job. Karen Winey, the Harold Pender Professor in the departments of chemical & biomolecular engineering and materials science & engineering, has already started to address this challenge by using fluorine-free polymers with precisely placed sulfonate groups. When these proton exchange membranes (PEMs) come into contact with water, the sulfonate groups assemble to form intricate water channels for protons to flow through.

CoorsTek, a leading global manufacturer of engineered ceramics, is pleased to announce that Kevin Ressler is joining the company’s executive leadership team in the role of Chief Commercial Officer. In this position, Ressler will oversee the company’s international commercial functions responsible for driving continued revenue growth.

Penn State has named Corning Inc., one of the world's leading innovators in materials science, as its 2022 Corporate Partner of the Year. The annual award celebrates corporate partners that have demonstrated exceptional commitment in the promotion and support of Penn State, have excellent track records of philanthropy and research, and actively engage Penn State students and alumni in the workplace and the classroom.

To learn more about the impact of giving and the continuing need for support, visit raise.psu.edu.

The Penn State Materials Research Institute (MRI) will hold its marquee annual event, Materials Day, on Oct. 20-21 on the University Park campus. This year’s theme is "Materials Impacting Society" and interested parties can register at the event site.  

Penn State alumna Imani Murray is 14 countries into her travel journey, and as she continues to grow her brand, she’s not stopping there.

Five faculty in Penn State’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) are members of research teams selected for two recently funded Energy Frontier Research Centers. The awards, announced on Aug. 25, are part of a $540 million initiative by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to invest in clean energy technologies and low-carbon manufacturing to help the U.S. achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The coming decades present a host of challenges for our built environments: a rising global population combined with increasing urbanization; crumbling infrastructure and dwindling resources to rebuild it; and the growing pressures of a changing climate, to name a few.

Working together across disciplines, researchers from Penn State and the University of Freiburg are applying materials that adapt, respond to the environment, self-power, and regenerate to meet the challenges of adaptive architecture.

A team of researchers have observed and reported for the first time the unique microstructure of a novel ferroelectric material, enabling the development of lead-free piezoelectric materials for electronics, sensors, and energy storage that are safer for human use. This work was led by the Alem Group at Penn State and in collaboration with research teams at Rutgers University and the University of California, Merced.