Air Force award supports research on electronics that can survive extremes

Woman in lab looking through eyepieces on an electrical charge reading machine

Betul Akkopru-Akgun, assistant research professor in Penn State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Materials Research Institute, has received an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program award to investigate how electricity and heat move through materials used in extreme environments.

Toyota award to support lithium-ion battery fire prevention research

Man in lab posing in a blue jacket and blue striped shirt

Chao-Yang Wang, William E. Diefenderfer Chair in Mechanical Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering, of chemical engineering and of materials science and engineering at Penn State, has received a three-year award from the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) through the institute’s University Research Program (URP). The award will support Wang’s research on redesigning liquid electrolytes to prevent lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries from catching fire.