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Engineering Learning Factory to host fall cornerstone, capstone project showcase

11/18/2024

The Penn State Learning Factory will host its end-of-semester showcase at the Bryce Jordan Center on Dec. 10 and its virtual showcase Wednesday, Dec. 11 through Friday, Dec. 20. Both versions of the event are free and open to the public.

College of Engineering to raise support for student success on GivingTuesday

11/15/2024

The Penn State College of Engineering invites alumni and friends to support engineering student success through a GivingTuesday gift on Dec. 3 as Penn State celebrates its tenth GivingTuesday.

Media mention: ‘Building Stuff: Boost It!’

11/13/2024

Tahira Reid Smith, professor of mechanical engineering and engineering design, associate department head for inclusive research and education and Arthur L. Glenn Professor of Engineering Education, was featured on a recent episode of PBS NOVA.

Media mention: ‘Penn State announces expansion to START Lab to further research’

11/8/2024

A WTAJ article and video featured the expansion of the Penn State Steady Research Turbine Laboratory (START Lab) and quoted Reid Berdanier, associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of the START Lab.

Mechanical engineering faculty to contribute to separation materials research

11/6/2024

Adri van Duin, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, and Yun Kyung Shin, associate research professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, are part of a University of Wyoming (UW)-led research team that will study 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) — a family of materials designed have optimal traits for use in separating out different materials.

Eight Penn State engineering students awarded Diefenderfer Graduate Fellowships

11/1/2024

Eight Penn State College of Engineering graduate students have received the Diefenderfer Graduate Fellowship in Entrepreneurship for the 2024-2025 academic year. The Diefenderfer Graduate Fellowship encourages and provides financial support to innovative and entrepreneurial graduate engineering students.

Research team aims to better understand traumatic brain injuries

10/29/2024

When the brain experiences an injury, it can be difficult to definitively diagnose a concussion as the trauma is often limited to inside the skull and cannot be accurately assessed. Reuben Kraft, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Penn State College of Engineering and co-hire with the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), and his collaborators are using computational methods and tools — such as custom mouthguard sensors — to model and predict injury in the human brain.

Penn State engineers featured in American Society of Mechanical Engineers article

10/28/2024

Mary Frecker, department head of mechanical engineering, Riess Chair of Engineering and director of the Penn State Center for Biodevices, recently co-authored an article featured in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Select Articles magazine. "What is mechanical engineering" features perspectives from Penn State alumni Michele Beisler and Brain Pandya on their work in the field.

Mechanical engineering, chemistry major named College of Engineering marshal

10/22/2024

Hannah Priller has been named the fall 2024 student marshal for the Penn State College of Engineering. She will receive bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering and in chemistry from the Eberly College of Science at the University’s?undergraduate commencement ceremony, which will be held at 1 p.m. on Dec. 22 in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Q&A: Can you encourage inclusivity by changing how students work together?

10/14/2024

A team of engineering researchers led by Scarlett Miller, Paul Morrow Professor of Engineering Design and Manufacturing, was awarded a five-year, $1.4 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to develop and scale their inclusive student teaming model to multiple campuses and universities.

Penn State College of Engineering faculty receive Fulbright Scholar, Fulbright Specialist Awards for 2024-25 year

10/4/2024

Twelve Penn State faculty members, including two from the College of Engineering, received Fulbright Scholar Awards for the 2024-25 academic year, according to the?Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.?An additional four faculty members, including two from the College of Engineering, have been named Fulbright Specialist Award recipients.??

Sachin Gore, Andrea Ragonese selected for Engineering Unleashed Fellowship

9/30/2024

Sachin Gore, assistant teaching professor of mechanical engineering and director of undergraduate studies for the mechanical engineering department, and Andrea Ragonese, associate teaching professor in the School of Engineering Design and Innovation, were recently named 2024 Engineering Unleashed Fellows.

Climate Consortium workshop leads to speak at Millennium Café this fall

9/27/2024

This fall, the Millennium Café at Penn State will feature researchers who were awarded Climate Solutions Accelerator workshops by the Penn State Climate Consortium.

Revealing invisible educational opportunities through CT scanning

9/20/2024

As a part of its mission to educate and train industry partners and students on computed tomography (CT) scanning, the Center for Quantitative Imaging (CQI) recently supported a three-day additive manufacturing practicum for industry professionals to gain hands-on experience in using 3D X-ray CT scanning.

Three engineering researchers named Institute of Energy and the Environment Fellows

9/12/2024

Nine Penn State researchers, including three from the College of Engineering, have been named fellows of the Institute of Energy and the Environment (IEE) for 2024.

Undergraduate students gain research experience through summer program

9/11/2024

This summer, the Penn State Center for Gas Turbine Research, Education, and Outreach, housed within the Penn State College of Engineering, hosted the Penn State Low-Carbon Power and Propulsion Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at University Park.

Plan advances for addition, renovation to build START+ Lab at CATO Park

9/5/2024

The Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance and Investment advanced a proposal today (Sept. 5) to complete a 13,000-square-foot addition and renovation at the Lidia Manson Building at CATO Park to expand the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Lab.

Reid A. Berdanier named director of START Lab

8/30/2024

Reid A. Berdanier has been named director of the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Lab at Penn State, effective Aug. 15.

Vroom vroom! Penn State earns multiple wins in autonomous driving competition

8/15/2024

The Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team (AVT) took home multiple wins, including third place overall, in its third year of the AutoDrive Challenge II, which empowers student teams to develop and test a fully autonomous passenger vehicle on a controlled urban driving course over a weeklong competition.

Re-engineering medical simulation training for the next generation of physicians

8/12/2024

Placing a central line in a patient’s vein to receive fluids or medicine is one of the most common medical procedures, with more than 5 million performed each year in the United States. Researchers in Penn State’s Colleges of Engineering and of Medicine aim to reduce error rates in central-line placement by designing and implementing a novel robotic training program that uses life-like manikins and real-time feedback to simulate patient scenarios.

Jacqueline O’Connor, Parisa Shokouhi named fellows of STEM leadership program

8/8/2024

Two Penn State College of Engineering faculty members — Jacqueline O'Connor, professor of mechanical engineering, and Parisa Shokouhi, professor of engineering science and mechanics — were selected as part of the 2024-25 cohort of Drexel University’s Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science program.

Q&A: Achieving energy literacy through decarbonization research

7/29/2024

A team of researchers in the Penn State College of Engineering was awarded a five-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to study how undergraduate engineering students learn and develop into energy-literate engineers as they engage with long-term research experiences centered on decarbonization.

Center for Immersive Experiences supports research avenues across University

7/9/2024

The Penn State Center for Immersive Experiences (CIE) aims to create a “convergence accelerator for research” across the commonwealth at Penn State, according to Jessica Menold, CIE director, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences co-hire and associate professor of mechanical engineering and of industrial and manufacturing engineering.

Wangda Zuo honored with international society service award

7/8/2024

Wangda Zuo, professor of architectural engineering and of mechanical engineering, received the Exceptional Service Award from ASHRAE, formerly the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, in June at the society’s annual conference in Indianapolis.

NASA selects Penn State engineering team to develop technology for spacecraft

7/1/2024

A Penn State research team was one of eight chosen to receive funding from NASA as part of the agency’s University SmallSat Technology Partnerships (USTP) initiative within NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program.

Six engineering undergrads earn Graduate Research Fellowships

6/27/2024

Six College of Engineering baccalaureate graduates have been selected for the U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP). Four engineering graduates were also named honorable mentions for the NSF-GRFP.

Mechanical engineering research team’s work featured on journal cover

6/24/2024

A paper from a team of Penn State College of Engineering and Los Alamos National Lab researchers was featured on the cover of the July issue of Experimental Mechanics.

Celebrating excellence in postdoctoral scholarship and mentorship at Penn State

6/21/2024

The Penn State Postdoc Society (PSPS), in collaboration with Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, has announced the 2024 recipients of the Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar and Outstanding Postdoctoral Mentor awards. The award recognition luncheon, honoring the awardees, nominators and judges, was held on June 17.

Project aims to build strong manufacturing workforce with immersive technology

6/17/2024

The Richard King Mellon Foundation recently awarded $392,000 to two researchers at Penn State to build a strong science- and technology-focused (STF) workforce in the state’s Mon Valley region through collaboration and virtual, augmented and mixed reality trainings and tools.

Professor Wangda Zuo receives two recognitions from building-simulation association

6/14/2024

Wangda Zuo, professor of architectural engineering and of mechanical engineering, received the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA)-USA Outstanding Researcher Award. Zuo was recognized at the SimBuild 2024 conference in May in Denver, where he also received the best poster award for one of his papers.

Scarlett Miller named Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation director

6/13/2024

Scarlett Miller, professor of industrial engineering and of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Penn State, was recently appointed director of Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation.

Two nuclear engineering grad students awarded Department of Energy fellowships

6/10/2024

Nuclear engineering graduate students Scout Bucks and Alex Nellis were awarded graduate fellowships from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program. The fellowships include a $169,000 stipend issued over three years and a summer internship at a DOE lab.

From rock climbing to dining, students use engineering to improve accessibility

6/7/2024

A capstone course taught in the spring of 2024 focused specifically on adaptive technology, which is a device or piece of technology designed to provide physical or cognitive assistance.

Engineering investigators awarded seed grants by Institute of Energy and the Environment

6/6/2024

Six interdisciplinary research teams with investigators from the College of Engineering have been awarded funding through the?Institute of Energy and the Environment’s Seed Grant Program for 2024.

$4.4 million investment will expand metals-based outreach programs at Penn State

5/28/2024

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) and the Department of Defense will invest $4.4 million in several metals-based manufacturing programs at Penn State’s Behrend and University Park campuses, where researchers are creating workforce development programs that will strengthen the U.S. metal casting and forging industries.

GAP funding paves the way for research to move from lab to market

5/21/2024

Four projects were recently awarded Penn State Commercialization GAP funding. The GAP Fund, formerly known as the Fund for Innovation, aims to accelerate the development of promising research across the University by closing the funding gaps between proof-of-concept research and readiness for commercialization.

Five engineering undergraduates receive Erickson Discovery Grants

5/14/2024

The Erickson Discovery Grant, which funds independent research projects for undergraduate students, has been awarded to five engineering majors, who were among 43 recipients this year.

Jacqueline O’Connor named to leadership team of Penn State Climate Consortium

5/9/2024

Jacqueline O’Connor, professor of mechanical engineering, has been named an associate director of the Penn State Climate Consortium alongside Janet Swim, professor of psychology.

Tak Sing Wong elected fellow of two professional societies

5/2/2024

Tak Sing Wong, professor of mechanical engineering and of biomedical engineering, was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

How to build a robot in three days

5/1/2024

The Penn State Robot in Three Days club participated in the national FIRST Robotics competition, where students are tasked with designing, prototyping and building a robot in just 72 hours.

Twinning: Kaylie and Kylie Barber named mechanical engineering student marshals

5/1/2024

Identical twins Kaylie and Kylie Barber are the first-ever duo selected to serve as dual student marshals for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

College of Engineering names student marshals for spring 2024 commencement

4/25/2024

The Penn State College of Engineering has named its student marshals for the spring 2024 commencement ceremony.

Winners announced for 16th annual Materials Visualization Competition

4/23/2024

Six members of the College of Engineering are among the winners of the 16th annual Materials Visualization Competition (MVC), a scientific visual and artistic competition sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) and the Materials Research Institute (MRI) at Penn State.

College of Engineering offers information session on new microcredential program

4/18/2024

Starting this spring, the Penn State College of Engineering will offer certified microcredentials that will provide working engineers with opportunities to gain specialized skills and career development through a portfolio of flexible learning options. The college will host a virtual program information session at 8:00 p.m. on April 23.

Penn State Climate Consortium awards three engineering climate action workshops

4/18/2024

Penn State’s Climate Consortium awarded funding to hold workshops to three researchers from the Penn State College of Engineering, including Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering, director of the Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Material Systems and associate director of the Materials Research Institute; Christine Kirchhoff, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and of law, policy and engineering; and James Mutunga, assistant research professor in the School of Engineering Design and Innovation.

Novel robotic training program reduces physician errors placing central lines

4/17/2024

More than 5 million central lines are placed in patients who need prolonged drug delivery, such as those undergoing cancer treatments, in the United States every year, yet the common procedure can lead to a bevy of complications in almost a million of those cases. To help decrease the rate of infections, blood clots and other complications associated with placing a central line catheter, Penn State researchers developed an online curriculum coupled with a hands-on simulation training to provide trainee physicians with more practice.

Tak Sing Wong’s nature-inspired research featured as PNAS cover art

4/17/2024

Research led by Tak Sing Wong, professor of mechanical engineering and of biomedical engineering, was featured as the cover art for the April 2 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Eight engineering graduate students honored with prestigious University awards

4/4/2024

Eight College of Engineering graduate students were among the forty Penn State graduate students named recipients of Penn State’s most prestigious annual graduate student recognition awards.

‘Gamechangers’ series highlights two women making a difference with Penn State

4/3/2024

Two Penn State leaders, Tracy Langkilde and Karen Thole, were profiled by GameDay Couture as part of the “Gamechanger” series, which aims to showcase the accomplishments of women.

Jacqueline O’Connor named 2024 Penn State Teaching Fellow

3/26/2024

Jacqueline O’Connor, professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, is one of three Penn State faculty this year to receive the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and be named a 2024 Penn State Teaching Fellow.

Listen to your gut: Using microbiota analysis for precision health care

3/26/2024

Penn State News spoke to Professor Pak Kin Wong about his recently published paper that discusses the methods available for incorporating microbiota analysis into clinical decision-making, the challenges of doing so and the need for new technologies to capitalize on the potential of microbiota’s role in medicine.

Siu Ling "Pansy" Leung receives 2024 Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching

3/26/2024

Siu Ling "Pansy" Leung, associate teaching professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, is one of six Penn State faculty to receive the 2024 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Two engineering faculty members receive 2024 Faculty Scholar Medals

3/26/2024

Two engineering faculty members were among the six recipients of the 2024 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement. Enrique Gomez, professor of chemical engineering in the College of Engineering and by courtesy materials science and engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Tak-Sing Wong, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering, were both recognized with the award.

Amrita Basak receives NSF CAREER Award

3/18/2024

Amrita Basak, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, earned a five-year, $598,650 U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for a project titled “Understanding Processing-Structure-Property Relationships in Co-Axial Wire-Feed, Powder-Feed Laser Directed Energy Deposition.”

Andrea Gregg co-authors research-supported book to improve online learning

3/18/2024

Andrea Gregg, the director of learning experience design and an associate research professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State, co-authored a book titled High-Impact Design for Online Courses: Blueprinting Quality Digital Learning in Eight Practical Steps (HIDOC).

Backyard insect inspires invisibility devices, next gen tech

3/18/2024

Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. In a first, the team precisely replicated the complex geometry of these particles, called brochosomes, and elucidated a better understanding of how they absorb both visible and ultraviolet light.

Sun and space: Harnessing cold universe and solar power for renewable energy

3/15/2024

As traditional energy methods increase in cost and take their toll on the environment, Penn State researchers are turning to two underutilized renewable resources, the sun and outer space, for solutions to generate electricity and passively cool down structures. A mechanical engineering reserach team developed and tested a dual cooling and power strategy that simultaneously harvests solar energy in a solar cell and directs heat away from Earth through radiative cooling.

Powering accessible, collaborative art

3/14/2024

In a recent installment of “A Note from Neeli,” Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi visited the Center for Pedagogy in Arts and Design where she received a hands-on demonstration of “Together, Tacit,” an interdisciplinary research and creative collaboration between the College of Arts and Architecture and the College of Engineering. In the project, artists and engineers are building a haptic glove powered by virtual reality, allowing visually impaired and sighted individuals to work together to create a sculpture.

Mechanical engineering student Vanessa Dib wins Oswald Award

3/13/2024

Vanessa Dib, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, won the 2024 John W. Oswald Award for scholarship.

Five engineering students finalists in Graduate School Three Minute Thesis contest

3/11/2024

Five Penn State College of Engineering graduate students have been selected for the final round of the inaugural Penn State Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

Q&A with Larry Cheng: Monitoring neurological conditions in real time

3/11/2024

A team of researchers led by Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, the James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM) at Penn State, created a highly-sensitive and cost-effective sensor to better monitor the concentration of dopamine and tyrosine — a neurotransmitter and an amino acid, respectively, that are present in the brain — in sweat or urine.

College of Engineering student, faculty members receive Penn State Global awards

2/27/2024

Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering, Julio Urbina, professor of electrical engineering, and Vanessa Dib, an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering, were recently recognized in Penn State Global’s 2023-24 annual awards.

Q&A with Jessica Menold, a ‘new voice’ for scientific collaboration

2/20/2024

Jessica Menold, Penn State associate professor of engineering design and of mechanical engineering, was named a member of the 2024-26 New Voices cohort of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

A Note from Neeli: February 2024

2/7/2024

Neeli Bendapudi shares the story of “Together, Tacit,” an inspiring interdisciplinary research and creative collaboration between the College of Arts and Architecture and College of Engineering. This research project combines the strength of our interdisciplinary focus, the dedication of our amazing faculty, and the tenacity of a remarkable student.

Mechanical engineering graduate student receives National Academies fellowship

2/7/2024

Luis Delgado Jr., a mechanical engineering doctoral student, is the recipient of a 2024 Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship.

Penn State World Campus engineering programs ranked among nation’s best by U.S. News

2/7/2024

Several master’s in engineering programs offered through Penn State’s World Campus earned top recognitions from the 2024 U.S. News & World Report “Best Online Programs” rankings, released today (Feb. 7).

$4M grant funds project to make robotic prostheses more like biological limbs

2/2/2024

Prosthetic hands that incorporate robotics can perform dexterous self-care tasks, but they are often hard to operate, requiring a user’s constant attention with a limited number of hand functions. With a five-year, $4 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant, Penn State researchers aim to make robotic protheses more useful for people living with amputations.

Guha Manogharan named co-director of Penn State’s additive manufacturing center

2/2/2024

Guha Manogharan, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, was named co-director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D). Manogharan replaces Tim Simpson, the Paul Morrow Professor of Engineering Design and Manufacturing, who has served in the position since the center’s founding in 2012.

Media mention: ‘A fly enters a virtual reality chamber, and insect science may never be the same’

1/29/2024

An article in the journal Science discusses a recently published study led by Penn State researchers that investigated the optomotor response in flies. The article focuses on the work of Jean-Michel Mongeau, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and of biomedical engineering, and mechanical engineering doctoral student Benjamin Cellini.

Penn State undergraduates win innovation award for lunar technology

1/29/2024

A team of undergraduate students in Penn State’s Student Space Programs Laboratory won the 2023 Innovation Award at NASA’s annual Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge.

Amrita Basak wins early career award for gas turbine research

1/24/2024

Amrita Basak, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, was selected as the 2024 Dilip R. Ballal Early Career Engineering Award winner by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ International Gas Turbine Institute.

New scholarship to benefit engineering students from the Coal Region

1/18/2024

A mechanical engineering alumnus honored his late brothers and their Coal Region roots through an $800,000 gift to establish a scholarship in the College of Engineering. The Robert, John, and Edward Mitchell Family Endowed Scholarship Fund in the College of Engineering will help engineering students who hail from Pennsylvania’s Coal Region – or Schuylkill, Carbon, Columbia and Northumberland Counties – in their pursuit to become engineers.

Penn State alumnus Qifeng Liu named Schwarzman Scholar

1/11/2024

Penn State alumnus Qifeng Liu has been named a Schwarzman Scholar, which provides one year of study at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Pak Kin Wong elected member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts

1/2/2024

Pak Kin Wong, professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, was elected a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in class VI – Technical and Environmental Sciences.

Doctoral candidate presents to National Academies meeting

12/15/2023

Maria Rozman, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering at Penn State, presented to the National Academies’ Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board Meeting held October 17-18. Rozman briefed the audience on her turbine efficiency research.

Q&A: Enhancing defense readiness with renewable energy and sensor materials

12/14/2023

Penn State has been selected by the Department of Defense (DoD) as a partner for two of the four newly created DoD research centers of excellence. The Penn State principal investigators discuss Penn State's role in the centers and the research they plan to conduct.

Engineering faculty and students among 2023 Materials Research Award winners

12/6/2023

One faculty member and two graduate students from the Penn State College of Engineering are among the six materials researchers that received the 2023 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award.

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