Millennium Café

Chaopeng Shen | Tong Qiu / Civil & Environmental Engineering

The recent rise in deep learning (DL) is transforming the way many scientists, Geoscientists included, ask questions, formulate solutions and get answers. We are demonstrating promising hydrologic and geotechnical applications, e.g. soil moisture, streamflow, and landslide modeling (Google AI Impact Challenge), where we dedicate some mathematical effort including uncertainties and real-time model updates to the machine. We welcome a conversation regarding where this evolution will take us next.

Thousands of Penn State students graduate each year and seek jobs in academia, national labs, or large companies, but there is another path. Start-up companies create millions of jobs and bring innovative products or services to the world. I will discuss my experience founding a high-tech company that serves the electron microscopy market, discuss risks and rewards, and present “lessons learned” along the way.

John Damiano | PSU EE 93’ | Protochips

Control of pore size, morphology, microstructure and surface functionalization form the basis for numerous applications of carbon materials. In particular, they have a profound impact on the electrochemical properties of carbon. I will discuss past and ongoing efforts in the use of various types of carbon materials for improving the electrode/electrolyte interaction and their potential impact on design of high energy density electrochemical capacitors.

Chris Ulmer | Motta Group

Advanced nuclear reactor designs push the operational requirements for materials, including tolerance to radiation damage whereby atomic displacements produce defects in the microstructure. Accelerated irradiation testing of materials is possible in the laboratory setting through ion irradiation, and its ability to reproduce real conditions is quantified by transmission electron microscope microstructural characterization and comparison to in-reactor irradiation.

Rare earth elements are used in the manufacture of lighter and stronger materials for energy applications such as gas turbines and wind and power systems, defense applications, electronics, and the medical industry.  2017 data indicates that the US is 100% import dependent for 21 of the 50 non-fuel mineral commodities. This dependence poses a national security threat and as such the US DOE, DOD, and DOI are actively pursuing research and development efforts in this area to expand domestic production. Penn State along with other industrial partners is involved in research efforts to develop physical separation and chemical methods to concentrate rare earths and other critical elements from coal and other waste products. This talk will outline the multidisciplinary nature and challenges in this task that require collaborations across several disciplines.

Sarma Pisupati | Center for Critical Materials

Over the past seven years, part of my research has focused on the use of nanoscale and microscale fillers as a strategy to transform the performance of polymers by providing new mechanisms to engineer dielectric, magnetic and coupled functionality, with important implications in actuation, energy harvesting and energy storage. The goal of the talk, which seeks to assess my interdisciplinary experiences with colleagues and students at Penn State and other institutions, is to provide an example of critical self-refection that might prove useful to colleagues interested in making sense of their own collaborative research and teaching practice.