IMAGINE Fall 2020 Newsletter

Fall 2020

Welcoming new faces to MatSE Five new faculty members have joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) at Penn State in 2020—three tenure-line faculty, one assistant teaching professor and one assistant research professor.   “I am delighted that these outstanding faculty have joined the department,” said Susan Sinnott, professor and head of the department. “Their unique expertise will enable the development of novel materials, advance our educational mission, and strengthen materials science and engineering at Penn State.” Read more

Over $10 million awarded to Penn State for energy center Penn State will receive more than $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy as an Energy Frontier Research Center Award. This is one of 10 awards announced in 2020, and the second EFRC awarded to Penn State researchers. Read more Penn State to lead $30 million university research alliance The Department of Defense’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has awarded a combined total of $51.1 million to two university research alliances to counter threats of destruction, with a specific focus on improving current and developing future warfighter technology. Read more

Center for Nanoscale Science renewed at $18 million for six years The Center for Nanoscale Science, a National Science Foundation Materials Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), has again successfully renewed its NSF support in the highly competitive MRSEC program. The new iteration of the center encompasses two of NSF’s Big Ideas — "Quantum Leap" and "Harnessing the Data Revolution." Read more

Susan Sinnott

From the Department Head We are almost three months into this most unusual of fall semesters, and I am glad to report that despite numerous challenges, we are successfully navigating the new normal. Our faculty and staff are working tirelessly to ensure that MatSE students receive a meaningful educational experience despite social distancing and the fact that instruction in many courses is taking place remotely. Researchers have been back in the laboratory since the middle of June, and the research enterprise continues. Each time I am on campus, I am heartened to observe MatSE students, faculty, and staff following the safety protocols that are in place to keep everyone safe during this global pandemic. Read more

MatSE Students in the News

Undergraduate Students

Erickson Discovery Grant recipients for 2020 from MatSE Three MatSE undergraduate students were among the sixty-four Erickson Discovery Grant recipients awarded for summer 2020. The grants fund undergraduate student research, scholarship, or creative processes. Read more

Graduate Students 

Wang earns gold graduate student award for work on piezoelectric discovery Full story

Kirchner earns scholars award for glass research from American Ceramic Society Full story

Doctoral student earns dissertation award for emerging field of plasmonics Full story

Doctoral student receives National Nuclear Security Administration fellowship Full story

Materials science and engineering graduate student named Sloan Scholar Full story

Faculty

Zi-Kui Liu named inaugural Dorothy Pate Enright Professor Zi-Kui Liu, professor of materials science and engineering and director of the Phases Research Laboratory, has been named the inaugural Dorothy Pate Enright Professor.    An endowed professorship is among the highest honors that can be bestowed on a faculty member. This endowed professorship was established through an estate gift of $1.33 million from Dorothy Enright of Houston, who died in February at the age of 98. Read more

The American Ceramic Society honors MatSE faculty Read full story

Adair Hellmann Priya Chen Maria

Nanojackets accepted into NCL Assay Cascade characterization and testing program The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) announced that it has accepted calcium phosphosilicate hydrate nanoparticles, or NanoJackets (NJs), which are a new material system invented in the Jim Adair Penn State Lab for diagnostic and drug delivery to human cancer into its Assay Cascade characterization and testing program. Read more

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Alumni

Alumni Spotlight Ryan Dirkx '86g Ryan Dirkx is the vice president of research and development at Arkema Inc., and the past president (2018-20) of the Penn State MatSE External Advisory Board. He answered our questions regarding his career and shared some advice for finding passion in work. Read more

Alumna Melissa Hockstad presented R.E. Tressler Lecture The 2020 Richard E. Tressler Lecture in Materials was recently held and Melissa Hockstad, president and CEO of the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), delivered the lecture “Materials for Success: Bringing Together the Elements for a Successful Career” and received the 2020 R.E. Tressler Award. Read more Alumnus William Woodford to receive the McFarland Award The 2020 David Ford McFarland Award for Achievement in Metallurgy and lecture will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, via Zoom. William Woodford, co-founder and CTO of Form Energy, will deliver the lecture “The Critical Role of Materials in Global Decarbonization” and receive the 2020 McFarland Award. Read more

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Penn State | matse.psu.edu

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This publication is available in alternative media on request.  Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U.Ed. EMS 21-08