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Qisheng Ding admits building a portable escape room on the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center is a little out of his comfort zone. He's a senior majoring in materials science and engineering, so the concept of building a storyline, developing computer coding, wiring lights and other electronics -- all housed in a rented tent -- was foreign to him. So was working with a team of other engineers outside of his field.

Staff Sgt. Timothy Bowen said he built his career by honing his craft. For the past eight years, Bowen served in the U.S. Army and National Guard, including one year in Iraq. Bowen's dedication continued as a materials science and engineering major at Penn State. While earning his degree, he worked at the Applied Research Lab and appeared on the dean's list six times. Bowen is the 2018 recipient of the Outstanding Adult Student Award.

Six University faculty members have received 2018 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement -- John M. Carroll, distinguished professor of information sciences and technology; Neil Christensen, professor of pathology, and microbiology and immunology; Bernhard Luscher, professor of biology, biochemistry and molecular biology; Sandra Spanier, liberal arts professor of English; Qing Wang, professor of materials science and engineering; and Fuqing Zhang, professor of meteorology and atmospheric sciences.

A total of 139 capstone design projects, intended to solve real-world challenges posed by industry sponsors and other clients, were judged by a panel of industry experts, comprised of current and past sponsors as well as members of the Learning Factory Industry Advisory Board. Second place for best project went to:  “Personal protection equipment (rubber gloves) used in electric industry” for FirstEnergy by Khalid Aldossary, Rashid Al-Saadi, Robert Haldeman, Shakthi Suresh and Jiapeng Xiong, advised by Allen Kimel, associate teaching professor of materials science and engineering

 A team of engineers worked diligently for months designing a new passenger car seat for the Ford Motor Company, harnessing years of education to create a finished prototype. But they weren’t professionals working in Detroit — the team members were all undergraduate seniors at Penn State.

Imagine being surrounded by complex equations and diagrams in the dead of night, preparing for your thermodynamics exam tomorrow. You had a project due the previous day and you just returned from a research conference in a different corner of the country. Overwhelming, isn’t it? Not for this group of six female materials science and engineering students. 

A new material that is both highly transparent and electrically conductive could make large screen displays, smart windows and even touch screens and solar cells more affordable and efficient, according to a Penn State team of researchers led by Roman Engel-Herbert, associate professor of materials science and engineering.

James Adair, professor of materials science and engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmacology, was awarded the Invent Penn State "Inventor of the Year" award, Friday, April 20, at the Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference awards ceremony.

Hundreds of students and judges bustled about in the HUB-Robeson Center Wednesday evening for the 2018 Undergraduate Research Exhibition on the University Park campus of Penn State. From musical presentations in the Flex Theater to posters in Alumni and Heritage halls, the University's best were promoting the fruits of their academic and artistic pursuits.

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) celebrated exceptional students and faculty for their academic excellence, service and leadership during its annual Wilson Awards Banquet held Sunday, April 15. The awards banquet is the college’s annual celebration of faculty and student accomplishments and is named in honor of Matthew and Anne Wilson, major benefactors of the college.