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Fifteen Penn State research labs have earned My Green Lab certifications at one of the three highest levels available: gold, platinum or green. The certification is recognized by the United Nations as a key measure toward the goal of a zero-carbon future. The Penn State Sustainable Labs Program, launched in 2022, piloted the international certification program at the University, and will welcome 25 new research labs from across the commonwealth to participate in the coming academic year. Applications are due on Aug. 10.

Through events, education and actions, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) at Penn State is committed to creating an environment that promotes diversity in the field so that the next generation of experts tasked with creating and improving materials incorporates all perspectives.

Penn State has been named one of 21 founding member institutions of Micron Technology’s newly formed Northeast University Semiconductor Network. The network, established in partnership with the National Science Foundation, will focus on enhancing curriculum and developing new research and learning opportunities to prepare the next generation of the U.S. semiconductor industry’s workforce.

Worldwide, glass manufacturing produces at least 86 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. A new type of glass promises to cut this carbon footprint in half. The invention, called LionGlass and engineered by researchers at Penn State, requires significantly less energy to produce and is much more damage resistant than standard soda lime silicate glass. The research team recently filed a patent application as a first step toward bringing the product to market.

A new type of ferroelectric polymer that is exceptionally good at converting electrical energy into mechanical strain holds promise as a high-performance motion controller or “actuator” with great potential for applications in medical devices, advanced robotics, and precision positioning systems, according to a team of international researchers led by Penn State. 

In the scientific community, researchers often face the hard choice of continuing or ending investigations into different hypotheses or theories. The decision can be complicated when the hypothesis or theory is widely known and referenced, or it helped spark studies that led to great discoveries.

Enrique Gomez, professor of chemical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering and of materials science and engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), has been appointed interim associate dean for equity and inclusion for the College of Engineering, effective July 1. 

Glass is a material of many faces: It is both ancient and modern, strong yet delicate, and able to adopt almost any shape or color. These properties of glass are why people use it to make everything from smartphone screens and fiber-optic cables to vials that hold vaccines.

The following is a list of academic promotions for tenured and tenure-line faculty members at Penn State, effective July 1, 2023.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) currently designates 50 minerals as critical to the U.S. economy or its national security or both. That number includes the so-called rare-earth elements — the 15 lanthanide metals at the bottom of the periodic table plus scandium and yttrium — along with the battery metals lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, as well as platinum, aluminum, and graphite, among others.