One of the benefits students have at a major national research university like Penn State is not only learning from faculty in the classroom but also working alongside them -- in the laboratory or the library -- doing research. Undergraduate students like Christine Theberge and Josh Yeh, who are conducting their own undergraduate research, and those who hold research assistant positions have the opportunity to expand their knowledge in areas of academic interest while developing valuable research skills and relevant work experience. (more)
Three Penn State-led projects have received more than $1.6 million in combined research and development grants from the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Programs. (more)
"What this University is going to lead will be more than a pioneering research center or an economic engine for Pennsylvania and America for years to come: what you're going to do is lead a modern-day incubator for what sets us apart -- the greatest force that the world has ever known," said President Barack Obama Feb. 3 at Penn State's University Park campus. Watch a brief video summarizing the president's visit and Penn State's research leadership at a new national Energy Innovation Hub. (more)
In his policy speech today (Feb. 3) at Penn State, President Barack Obama advocated alternate energy research and increased energy efficiency. Penn State has more than 500 researchers working in the areas of energy and the environment, centered through the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, which are working to advance the energy and environmental missions of the University. Following are five videos from Penn State's Advancing Energy series that highlight a small sample of the variety of cutting-edge energy research at Penn State. (more)
Across the University, Penn State experts are working together to make significant changes in science and medicine. A new series of Penn State Impact videos highlights some of the collaborative research ongoing at Penn State. The newest video, "Advancing Surgery," shows how collaborative efforts among University researchers in engineering, materials science and medicine aim to improve endoscopic surgeries by shrinking surgeons' tools as well as patients' recovery time. (more)
A $1 million commitment from the estate of Cathleen McFarlane-Ross, longtime friend of Penn State, will establish two endowments to benefit students and faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. McFarlane-Ross's gift honors her late husband, industrialist Norris "Mac" McFarlane, who graduated from Penn State in 1934 with a bachelor of science degree in metallurgy. (more)
In what is traditionally called a topping-off ceremony, contractors hoisted the final I-beam into its place Tuesday, April 6, on the Millennium Science Complex, now under construction at Penn State's University Park campus. By completing the complex skeletal frame, construction workers can begin finishing the envelope, or outer shell, and then finally the interior of the complex, which will house materials science and life science faculty together to encourage innovative research collaborations. Read on to watch video highlights of the ceremony. (more)
From ceramic materials for electronics to atomic-scale nanotechnology, physics and chemistry to electrical engineering, clean energy to biotechnology, Penn State's Materials Research Institute (MRI) is at the cutting edge of research and technology that is changing the way we live. In 2011 MRI will join with the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences to move into the Millennium Science Complex, an impressive new 275,000 square-foot facility under construction on Pollock Road at the University Park campus. While the new building will be breathtaking in size and architecture, what goes on behind its walls will be even more impressive. (more)
A new imaging method for breast cancer has been developed by a team of Penn State researchers. Their research, using encapsulated fluorescent molecules in calcium phosphate nanoparticles and non-toxic near infrared imaging (NIR), appears in the Sept. 19 online issue of ACS Nano. By combining NIR imaging with nanoparticles containing a NIR fluorescing dye, indocyanine green, the researchers were able to detect 5 millimeter diameter breast cancer tumors in a live mouse model over a period of four or more days. (more)
