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By David Kubarek

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the vast and varied research that comes out of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) at Penn State, there’s one thing that’s even more important than discovery: lab safety.

Making the department a leader in laboratory safety has been a focus since the mid-2000s with the creation of the MatSE Safety Awareness Organization. Since then, the group has been working with faculty, staff, students and industry partners to keep labs safe while ensuring students enter the workforce with stellar safety practices.

By Jamie Oberdick

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — To enhance biosensor development via artificial intelligence (AI) and offer STEM education opportunities to K-12 students from underserved communities, the U.S. National Science Foundation recently awarded researchers at Penn State a three-year, $1.5 million grant.  

By Ashley WennersHerron

A recently developed electronic tongue is capable of identifying differences in similar liquids, such as milk with varying water content; diverse products, including soda types and coffee blends; signs of spoilage in fruit juices; and instances of food safety concerns. The team, led by researchers at Penn State, also found that results were even more accurate when artificial intelligence (AI) used its own assessment parameters to interpret the data generated by the electronic tongue.

Three potentially high-impact, high-risk research projects have been selected to receive seed funding for the latest round of the Huck Innovative and Transformational Seed (HITS) Fund initiative.