Millennium Café

We have developed a closed-loop neurostimulation framework that synchronizes transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with individual brain rhythms to improve treatment outcomes for depression. By combining real-time EEG phase tracking with fMRI-guided targeting, stimulation is precisely aligned to each person’s neural state, yielding stronger network engagement and more reliable clinical effects. This work illustrates how adaptive control and multimodal sensing can transform neurostimulation into a precision engineering system for psychiatry and beyond.

Xiaoxiao Sun | Biomedical Engineering

The technologies and materials we rely on for clean water are outdated and inefficient. In this presentation, I will focus on emerging challenges in water treatment and the opportunities presented by modern technologies in the water industry. Specifically, I will discuss: (i) thermal regeneration of PFAS-laden granular activated carbons to break the forever PFAS cycle, (ii) application of nanobubbles in water treatment.

Onur Apul | Environmental Engineering

The Millennium Café will return November 4, 2025.

The Millennium Café will return November 4, 2025.

The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI)

Social and behavioral science research deepens our understanding of the forces that shape how people live as well as interact within their families, communities, and broader society and cultures. This knowledge is crucial for informing public policy, developing innovative solutions to global challenges, and ultimately improving the quality of life and well-being for people and communities. SSRI and the research we support builds the path towards impact. Like other STEM fields, social and behavioral science research is grounded in theory, employs conceptual frameworks, uses rigorous analytic methods, and seeks ultimately to understand causal pathways and moderating factors. By collecting multilevel data with novel methods, social science research offers insights and potential solutions to a broad array of problems. Ultimately, research supports evidence-based recommendations that inform practice, programs, and policy in areas ranging from healthcare and education to economic development and disaster response. Understanding human behavior and human networks also helps ensure that new innovations are successfully applied and implemented with a focus on public impact. 

We will illustrate segments of the breadth and depth of social and behavioral science research here at Penn State by describing three currently NIH-funded projects coalesced around the research area of maternal and child health. Research in this field is critical to better understand and reduce infant and maternal mortality rates, both higher in the US than in other high-income countries. Each illustrates a different study design, innovative uses of primary data collection and secondary data sources, and the strong potential for impact on real-world practice,  programs, and policy.

Deborah Ehrenthal | Director, SSRI
Professor of Biobehavioral Health

Danielle Symons Downs | Associate Director, SSRI
Professor of Kinesiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology

Koraly Pérez-Edgar | Associate Director, SSRI
McCourtney Professor of Child Studies

The Biodefense/Biosecurity Initiative at the Applied Research Laboratory works with faculty across the spectrum of PSU research expertise to develop novel ideas into applied solutions for the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and other government agencies. Whether your expertise is in Agriculture, AI, Data Science, Engineering, Health and Medicine, Infectious Disease, Materials Science, or any other discipline, and you think that your research could be applied to national biosecurity risks, we want to hear about your ideas.  This talk will give a brief overview of our program and some of the topic areas where our government customers have current needs that you may be able to assist with. 

Amanda Clase  |  ARL - Huck Institutes - Biodefense Initiative