There are many forms of energy around us: light, heat, vibrations, wind, electromagnetic fields, fluid flow, waves, organic waste, etc. At large scale, many of these energy sources already play a significant role in powering our society and are projected to become dominant contributors by 2040. On the smaller scale, exciting scientific and engineering challenges must be overcome to harness these energy sources.
As we begin the New Year we’ll take a moment to celebrate some recent accomplishments and look towards the future: winners of the 2017 Rustum and Della Roy Awards will be announced, new faculty will be highlighted, and I’ll provide an update on some MRI strategic initiatives.
I am honored and excited to begin serving as director of Penn State’s Materials Research Institute. MRI has played an important role throughout my career, from my graduate studies in Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State (2001-2005) to where I am today – its newest Director! I have seen firsthand how the institute brings together people, ideas, and capabilities from across the University to address complex research challenges.
Wearable health monitors are designed to move with the body. But for many devices, movement creates a problem: The more a person bends, stretches, reaches or runs, the harder it can be for the device to keep a stable wireless connection. Penn State researchers and international collaborators set out to solve that problem by developing a soft, stretchable antenna that can keep working even when pulled in different directions.
Joan Redwing, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering, will lead a collaboration of 21 industry and institutional partners
University also partnering on first Phase II award
By Ty Tkacik
Engineers at Penn State are blending art and science to create cute, paint-on tattoos that could help spot heart attacks early, power robotic prosthetics and read brain waves — all within a colorful, customizable system that can be easily washed away or reapplied.
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By Ty Tkacik
By combining approaches from two rapidly growing fields of quantum physics, researchers at Penn State and Saint Louis University have demonstrated a novel specialized material can naturally enable a new way to study unusual physical phenomena known as non-Hermitian dynamics.