All News

Michael Mervosh has been named Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ student marshal, the top graduate overall; and Brenden Franks has been named the college’s science honor marshal, the top graduate in a non-engineering discipline. They will be recognized during the college’s spring 2024 commencement ceremony, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, in the Pegula Ice Arena on Penn State's University Park campus.

The winners of the 16th annual Materials Visualization Competition (MVC), a scientific visual and artistic competition sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) and the Materials Research Institute (MRI) at Penn State, have been announced. MVC celebrates the quality of research in materials at Penn State and promotes awareness of materials science through visualization.

Penn State and Morgan Advanced Materials have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to catalyze research and development of silicon carbide, known as SiC, a semiconductor material that operates more efficiently at high voltages than competing technologies. This agreement includes a new five-year, multimillion-dollar initiative and a commitment by Morgan to become a founding member of the recently launched Penn State Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance, as well as to supply the graphite materials and solutions needed for SiC development to Penn State for use by internal and external partners.

The 2024 David Ford McFarland Award Lecture for Achievement in Metallurgy will be held at 3:05 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in 111 Wartik Laboratory on Penn State's University Park campus. Melissa Marshall, vice president of global audit, risk and controls at Westinghouse Electric Co., will deliver the lecture, “How MatSE prepared me for a career that I love (outside of MatSE).”

New research suggests that materials commonly overlooked in computer chip design actually play an important role in information processing, a discovery which could lead to faster and more efficient electronics. Using advanced imaging techniques, an international team led by Penn State researchers found that the material that a semiconductor chip device is built on, called the substrate, responds to changes in electricity much like the semiconductor on top of it. 

Known for its ability to withstand extreme environments and high voltages, silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconducting material made up of silicon and carbon atoms arranged into crystals that is increasingly becoming essential to modern technologies like electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, telecommunications infrastructure and microelectronics.  

The second 2024 Richard E. Tressler Lectures in Materials will be held at 3:05 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in 111 Wartik Laboratory on the Penn State University Park campus. Jennifer Lalli, president at NanoSonic Inc., will deliver the lecture “A Penn State polymer chemist’s role in the commercialization of green nanotechnology.”

The Inamori School of Engineering, Alfred University, will host the annual Samuel R. Scholes Award Lecture on April 4, 2024 Dr. John C. Mauro will give a lecture entitled "There and Back Again: A Journey in Glass" in Holmes Auditorium, Harder Hall at 11:20 a.m.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) named Qiming Zhang, distinguished professor of electrical engineering in Penn State’s College of Engineering, a fellow — the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors.

Silicon has long reigned as the material of choice for the microchips that power everything in the digital age, from AI to military drones — so much so that “silicon” is almost a synonym for tech itself.