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As the first Millennium Scholar in the College of Earth and Mineral Science, Ana De La Fuente Duran embraced the opportunities of the program, which aims to help ambitious students onto the track toward advanced degrees in STEM fields. At Penn State, De La Fuente Duran pursued research into optoelectronics, founded a student organization for women in the sciences, and graduated with a degree in materials science in 2020.

Antimicrobial resistance, including bacteria that have evolved to defy antibiotics, is one of the top 10 global public health threats humanity faces, according to the World Health Organization. A Penn State-led multidisciplinary collaboration may have found a solution in cholestyramine, an oral drug already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce cholesterol levels and remove bile acids associated with liver diseases. 

Penn State reached a record $1.034 billion in research expenditures during fiscal year 2021-22, an overall 4.1% increase from the previous year. The funding, which comes from federal and state agencies, industry sponsors, private donors, the University and other sources, advances research innovations and enables Penn State faculty and students to push the boundaries of discovery, bringing experiences into the classrooms, and offering a world-class education to undergraduate and graduate students. 

The 2022 Van Horn Distinguished Lectures, presented by Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, will be held from November 1-3, 2022. The Kent R. van Horn Lectureship honors the1926 alum, who had a distinguished career as a metallurgist, director of research, and ultimately corporate vice-president of Alcoa. Provision for endowing the lectureship was made possible by his sons, Karl and Neil Van Horn. Three lectures on varied topics of interest to both academia and industry are to be delivered over three successive days.

All lectures are free and open to the public. Parking is available in Lot 53, Veale Parking Garage, located on Adelbert Road in University Circle.

Jean Paul Allain, Huck Chair Professor and head of the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering in the College of Engineering at Penn State, was appointed to serve on the Fusion Energy Science Advisory Committee. The national committee provides advice and recommendations on scientific, technical and programmatic issues relating to fusion energy sciences program, overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. 

Penn State College of Medicine is among the Mary Kay Ash Foundation’s 2022 cancer research grant recipients. The foundation announced $1 million in grants awarded to 10 individuals who are conducting groundbreaking research in cancers that primarily affect women. The grants fund innovative, translational research efforts to help with better detection, prognosis and treatment of cancer. Since 1996, the foundation has awarded more than $26 million to more than 265 researchers across the country.

Gail Matters, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, medicine and pharmacology, and her team received a grant to develop new tools to detect the early spread, or metastasis, of breast cancer. Additional team members include James Adair, professor of materials science and engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmacology at Penn State College of Engineering; Thomas Neuberger, director of the High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility at Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences; and Andrea Mastro, emeritus professor at Penn State Eberly College of Science.

Three materials science and engineering doctoral students — representing six in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences — are among the 21 new National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recipients for the 2022-23 academic year.

With bans on the chemical being proposed in the U.S. and around the world, the challenge now is creating fluorine-free polymer membranes that do the same job. Karen Winey, the Harold Pender Professor in the departments of chemical & biomolecular engineering and materials science & engineering, has already started to address this challenge by using fluorine-free polymers with precisely placed sulfonate groups. When these proton exchange membranes (PEMs) come into contact with water, the sulfonate groups assemble to form intricate water channels for protons to flow through.

CoorsTek, a leading global manufacturer of engineered ceramics, is pleased to announce that Kevin Ressler is joining the company’s executive leadership team in the role of Chief Commercial Officer. In this position, Ressler will oversee the company’s international commercial functions responsible for driving continued revenue growth.

Penn State has named Corning Inc., one of the world's leading innovators in materials science, as its 2022 Corporate Partner of the Year. The annual award celebrates corporate partners that have demonstrated exceptional commitment in the promotion and support of Penn State, have excellent track records of philanthropy and research, and actively engage Penn State students and alumni in the workplace and the classroom.

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