NEWS & EVENTS
For more information about MCL news and events, please contact the MCL Administrative Office by phone (814-865-2328) or by e-mail (Validate to view contact info).
NEWS
New Equipment and Equipment Upgrades
- New PANalytical X'Pert Pro MPD Diffractometer
- Gatan High Tilt Tomography Cryotransfer System Being Added to MCL LaB6 TEM (more information coming)
- High Power Objective for Wyko NT1100 Optical Profiler
EVENTS
Carbon Characterization Interest Group Meeting
An interest group of researchers with the common need of characterizing structure and functional groups in carbon-based materials has been formed. The kickoff meeting of the group is planned for Tuesday, November 24th from 3:00 to 4:30 PM in Room 189 MRL Building on Hastings Road. Contact Vince Bojan at 814-863-3652 to RSVP or for more information.
The goals of the interest group include but are not limited to:
- Understanding and correctly using the available characterization techniques for structure and functional group identification and quantification in carbon based materials. These techniques include (but are not limited to) TGA, TEM, XPS, AES, FTIR, AFM, Raman, NMR, and XRD.
- Comparing results and interpretations from the various techniques in a concerted effort to understand their strengths and limitations.
- Improving the state-of-the-art in analytical capabilities.
- Educating the user base about important details of the characterization techniques that have an influence on the interpretation of data.
- Sharing resources to prepare and analyze materials and “standards” that will benefit the group as a whole.
- Sharing analytical results that benefit the group given the commonality of analytical needs.
MCL Short Courses
Throughout the year, the Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) offers short courses at Penn State aimed at educating students, faculty, post docs, staff, visitors, and industry in various materials characterization techniques.
Recent short course offerings included Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Particle Characterization, and Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD).
The schedule of future short courses has not yet been established. It will be posted on this website as soon as it is available, so check back periodically if you are interested in short courses.

