Millennium Café

The National Science Foundation recently funded a new ultrafast microscopy facility at Penn State through the Major Research Instrumentation program. This talk will begin with a description of the facility from the perspective of its use as a tool to examine the electronic properties of 2D materials and to tune those properties through control of doping chemistry. The second part of the talk will discuss plans to expand the scope of the facility to enable operando measurements of new electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution, formation of SEI layers at battery electrodes, and water dynamics in membranes for purification and energy applications among others.

The development of thermal analogues to electrical devices (diodes, transistors, etc) and the potential of integrated thermal systems is the next frontier in nano/micro scale thermal transport.  This exciting new area of research represents uncharted territory for the thermal sciences community where until now, the primary objectives for controlling the flow of heat have been focused on fixing the properties of a material or interface to (a) be as conductive or resistive as possible and (b) maintain these properties both over time and under a variety of environmental conditions.  My presentation will encompass a survey of the existing research on thermal diodes and transistors to date, as well as a perspective on future material/device architectures and other electrical-analogs including detectors and interconnects. 

Brian Foley | Mechanical Engineering

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s music has spanned generations and still permeates society today.  While most people are familiar with the stately elegance of his music, fewer understand just how many distinct styles Mozart could convey.  Today we will perform a slow movement (Andante) and a fast movement (Allegro) from his C major string quintet, K. 515 composed in 1787. Mozart’s lyrical gift, heard most often in his operas, is heard also in the slow movement of this quintet.  His ability to conjure drama through melody and harmony is apparent in the tender duet shared between the violin and the viola. In the fast movement, Mozart’s brilliance and sparkle conveys a sense of perpetual energy, culminating in a dramatic unison ending fit for royalty.

Graduate String Quintet | School of Music

Recent work has established that lanthanides (also called rare earth elements) are acquired and utilized by certain bacteria for essential cellular functions. I will discuss our discovery and characterization of lanmodulin, a protein that recognizes lanthanides with picomolar affinity and millions-fold selectivity over more abundant metal ions such as calcium. A deeper understanding of how these bacteria selectively acquire and use lanthanides may be useful in strategies to detect and concentrate these technologically important metals, and we are seeking collaborations in these areas.

Joey Cotruvo | Chemistry

I will begin with a brief overview of the DOE-funded Center for Lignocellulose Structure and Formation, an Energy Frontier Research Center. Then I will  discuss how plant cells control the expansion of their cell walls and the enigmatic action(s) of the protein that catalyzes wall expansion. 

In Part I of this series, Dr. Crystal Ramsey challenged us to consider not just  the “what” and the “how” regarding our academic endeavors, but also the “why”.  We were encouraged to explore “what if” questions such as:

-What if I knew “why” a researcher was doing her/his/their research?  
-What if my “why” is where I can communicate with anyone about anything without data?  

In the spirit of articulating “why”, I’ve borrowed the title of a work by 19^th century British theologian/educator, John Henry Newman; “Apologia Pro Vita Sua” which roughly translates to “a rationale for my life.”  I will discuss, with a biographical bend, my wrestling with the contours of a relationship between faith and knowledge, recognizing that the history of the academy, at least in part, suggests the impropriety if not the impossibility of such.

David Guthrie | Education Policy Studies