Thursday, March 01, 2012
Production of energy from the difference between salt water and fresh water is most convenient near the oceans, but now, using an ammonium bicarbonate salt solution, Penn State researchers can combine bacterial degradation of waste water with energy extracted from the salt-water fresh-water gradient to produce power anywhere. "We are taking two technologies, each having limitations, and putting them together," said Bruce E. Logan, Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering. "Combined, they overcome the limitations of the individual technologies."
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Looking for an item in a large department store or mall can be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but that could change thanks to a hybrid location-identification system that uses radio frequency transmitters and overhead LED lights, suggested by a team of researchers from Penn State and Hallym University in South Korea. "LED lights are becoming the norm," said Mohsen Kavehrad, W.L. Weiss Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering and director of the Center for Information and Communications Technology Research at Penn State. "The same lights that brighten a room can also provide locational information." (more)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Eight Penn State faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Fellows are Consuelo M. De Moraes, professor of entomology; Jainendra K. Jain, Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics; John A. Kelmelis, professor of international affairs; Judith Kroll, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, and Women's Studies and director of the Center for Language Science; Beverly Lindsay, professor of education, higher education and comparative and international education; Steven J. Schiff, director, Penn State Center for Neural Engineering, Brush Chair Professor of Engineering, professor of neurosurgery, engineering science and mechanics, and physics; Mauricio Terrones, professor of physics and materials science and engineering; and Darrell Velegol, professor of chemical engineering. (more)
Monday, November 28, 2011
A better understanding of needle-tip geometry could lead to more accurate and less painful biopsies used to confirm prostate cancer, says a Penn State researcher. (more)
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Converting sunlight into electricity is not economically attractive because of the high cost of solar cells, but a recent, purely optical approach to improving luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) may ease the problem, according to researchers at Argonne National Laboratories and Penn State. Using concentrated sunlight reduces the cost of solar power by requiring fewer solar cells to generate a given amount of electricity. LSCs concentrate light by absorbing and re-emiting it at lower frequency within the confines of a transparent slab of material. They can not only collect direct sunlight, but on cloudy days, can collect diffuse light as well. The material then guides the light to the slab's edges, where photovoltaic cells convert the energy to electricity. (more)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wind turbines that float hundreds of feet above the ground or sea and are deployable in 24 hours are the focus of the "Aerostat Platform for Rapid Deployment Airborne Wind Turbine" project that is the winner of the 2011 ConocoPhillips Energy Prize, awarded by ConocoPhillips and Penn State. The ConocoPhillips Energy Prize recognizes new ideas and original, feasible solutions in three areas that can help improve the way the U.S. develops and uses energy: developing new energy sources, improving energy efficiency and combating climate change. (more)
Friday, October 07, 2011
Flexible and printed electronics, and chemical linguistic analysis, are targeted to receive $1.25 million in research grants from the Dow Chemical Co. (more)
Thursday, October 06, 2011
High energy density batteries that significantly reduce size and improve performance and cell life is the goal of the lithium-sulfur cell technology project led by Penn State and funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The $5 million, three-year grant is part of the DOE's Advanced Vehicle Research and Development program, which aims to improving fuel efficiency of next generation vehicles. (more)
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
When the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee dumped more rain on the already saturated Northeast U.S., the result was the Susquehanna River's worst flooding in nearly 40 years. Given that floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States, could we be doing more to predict them and safeguard flood-prone communities? (more)
Friday, September 30, 2011
A new 2011 Volt, Chevrolet's electric automobile, was donated by General Motors to Penn State's Center for Sustainability to further the University's research of new transportation technology. The car will permit researchers to collect and track data that will help to prove the efficiency of solar-generated electricity for cars, motorcycles and daily commuters. The automobile donated to Penn State is one of only two Volts that Chevrolet donated to institutions of higher education, and the only one donated for the purpose of sustainable energy research. (more)
