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12/5/2025
The Penn State Learning Factory will host its biannual end-of-semester showcase for engineering students to present their cornerstone and capstone design projects. The in-person showcase will take place from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Bryce Jordan Center, while a virtual showcase will take place on Friday, Dec. 12 through Friday, Dec. 19. Both versions of the event are free and open to the public.
12/3/2025
Gary Neal, the director of Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects and assistant teaching professor of mechanical engineering, has been named the 2025 SAE International AutoDrive Advisor of the Year for his exceptional leadership and mentorship within the AutoDrive Challenge II. The recognition highlights his role in guiding mechanical engineering design and capstone projects and supporting multidisciplinary student teams in autonomous vehicle development.
11/21/2025
Catherine Berdanier, associate professor at Pennsylvania State University, has been named the 2025 Sloan Faculty Mentor of the Year by the Southern Regional Education Board. She will be honored at the annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring in Atlanta on Nov. 1 for her outstanding support of graduate scholars.
11/17/2025
America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing have awarded a team led by Guha Manogharan, associate professor of mechanical engineering and co-director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition at Penn State, $1.5 million to leverage the digital nature of additive manufacturing in traditional casting of metal components for machinery and vehicles.
11/12/2025
Penn State will celebrate its eleventh GivingTuesday on Dec. 2 — and the College of Engineering invites alumni and friends to be a part of the event by making a gift to support engineering student success.
11/5/2025
Despite lithium-ion (Li) batteries’ role as one of the most widely used forms of energy storage, they struggle to operate at full power in low temperatures and sometimes even explode at high temperatures. Researchers at Penn State, however, have proposed a design that could hold the key to effective and stable power storage in a variety of climates that published in Joule.
10/20/2025
Brennan Manns has been named the Joint Services Student Marshal for the Penn State College of Engineering fall 2025 commencement. A mechanical engineering major and Army ROTC cadet, Manns is being recognized for his academic excellence, leadership, and service to the University community.
10/17/2025
Five years ago, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation established the A. James Clark Scholars Program, a comprehensive scholarship and curricular support program for exceptional Penn State engineering undergraduates who demonstrate financial need. Now, with an additional $11 million investment, the Clark Foundation renewed its support for the program, ensuring that 10 new undergraduate engineering majors at Penn State will receive full tuition, fees, room and board, and curricular enrichment support each year in perpetuity.
10/15/2025
A team of researchers at Penn State led by Tamy Guimarães, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, recently received a three-year, $710,741 U.S. National Science Foundation grant to investigate why and how momentum and heat are transported differently through turbulent flows of air and water. Guimarães recently discussed the goals of the project and the potential impact of the knowledge the team hopes to gain from this work.
10/15/2025
The Penn State Schreyer Honors College has welcomed Wendy Hanna-Rose, Mary High and Zoubeida Ounaies as its third cohort of faculty fellows.
10/13/2025
Reid A. Berdanier, associate professor at The Pennsylvania State University, has been named a 2026 Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in recognition of his outstanding contributions to aerospace research and technology. He will be officially inducted during the AIAA SciTech Forum 2026 in Orlando this January.
10/7/2025
Penn State has been selected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to lead its climate network. Named Prepare PA, the program aims to equip Pennsylvanians with the knowledge, tools and resources they need to adapt, respond and thrive in the face of a changing climate and environmental uncertainty. Prepare PA will be guided by the Penn State Climate Consortium in collaboration with partners from across the state
9/29/2025
The latest episode of Invent Penn State’s "Dare to Disrupt" podcast features Robert Chisena, co-founder and CTO of Amplitude Vascular Systems (AVS), a medical device company focused on safely and effectively treating severely calcified arterial disease.
9/22/2025
Between February and August 2025, the Penn State College of Engineering welcomed 12 new faculty members across various departments, including tenure-line, professional track, and administrative roles. This expansion supports the college’s strategic commitment to academic and research excellence.
9/15/2025
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has selected eight research teams that span 12 departments across six colleges to receive 2025-26 seed grant funding. Three of the eight teams are led by College of Engineering faculty, and an additional three teams have College of Engineering collaborators.
9/11/2025
Amelia Espada and Carolina Diaz-Matos, two third-year mechanical engineering undergraduate students and Clark Scholars, spent their summer abroad through an internship based in Taiwan. The students’ experience was supported through a scholarship from the Clark Scholars Foundation and a stipend from the Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) program at Penn State.
9/5/2025
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Penn State $1.6 million in funding for additive manufacturing research with Guha Manogharan, associate professor of mechanical engineering and co-director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) serving as principal investigator. Manogharan will conduct research through a subcontract with Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
9/2/2025
Mary Frecker, head of Penn State’s Mechanical Engineering Department, was honored with the ASME Dedicated Service Award at the 2025 IDETC conference for her long-term, impactful service to the society, recognized uniquely by two ASME divisions. Her work spans mechanical and biomedical engineering, focusing on compliant mechanisms, smart materials and biomedical device design.
8/22/2025
The Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team (AVT) took home multiple wins, including fourth place overall, in its fourth year of the AutoDrive Challenge II, which took place June 1-7 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sponsored by SAE International and General Motors, the competition tasks student teams with developing and testing a fully autonomous passenger vehicle on a controlled urban driving course.
8/20/2025
Penn State faculty members Brian Fronk and Jessica Menold have been elected Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), recognizing their significant contributions to engineering research, education, and leadership within the ASME community. This prestigious honor is awarded to fewer than 4% of ASME members.
8/20/2025
Jacqueline O’Connor, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, has been honored with the Aerospace Educator University Award from Women in Aerospace for her leadership in aerospace education and mentorship. She will receive the award at WIA’s 40th Annual Awards Ceremony in October 2025.
7/23/2025
The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State has awarded its first round of Fox Endowment scholarships to 18 graduate students in 15 graduate programs. Seven of the recipients were from the College of Engineering. More than 600 graduate students applied for a Fox scholarship.
7/2/2025
The Penn State Engineering Alumni Society (PSEAS) held its annual awards ceremony on June 20 at the State Theatre, building on its 53-year tradition of honoring excellence among engineering faculty, staff and alumni through the PSEAS awards. The award recipients were recognized in the categories of teaching, research, advising and service.
7/1/2025
Sarah Chekan, a master’s student in mechanical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, was selected for the 2025-26 U.S. Fulbright Student Research/Study Program. She will conduct research within the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering on integrating renewable energy into existing power grids.
6/27/2025
Samantha Splendido, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering at Penn State, has been named a 2025–26 ASME Graduate Teaching Fellow, receiving a $5,000 annual stipend to support her teaching assistantship and development as an engineering educator. The fellowship recognizes her commitment to innovative instruction and aims to encourage future faculty careers in mechanical engineering.
6/24/2025
Five research teams from Penn State's College of Engineering have been awarded seed grants through the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s 2025 Seed Grant Program to pursue innovative projects in sustainable energy, materials, and infrastructure. These interdisciplinary efforts aim to advance technologies such as CO? recycling, smart windows, and hydrogen storage, while positioning teams for future external funding.
6/23/2025
Sukwon Choi, associate professor of mechanical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, has been elevated to IEEE Senior Member status — an honor held by only 10% of IEEE’s global membership in recognition of significant professional achievement. This distinction reflects Choi’s accomplishments and leadership in the engineering field.
6/20/2025
A research team from Penn State has broken a 165-year-old law of thermal radiation with unprecedented strength, setting the stage for more efficient energy harvesting, heat transfer and infrared sensing. Their results, currently available online, are slated to be published in Physical Review Letters on June 23.
6/6/2025
Maggie Nunn, a doctoral candidate studying mechanical engineering at Penn State, was recently awarded the Amelia Earhart Fellowship. The fellowship is annually awarded to up to 30 women pursuing doctorates in the fields of aerospace engineering and space sciences, with recipients each receiving $10,000.
6/2/2025
As global temperatures rise, the demand for air conditioning is surging, driving up energy bills and straining power grids. In the United States, air conditioning accounts for nearly one-fifth of all residential electricity use, and cooling systems in commercial buildings consume about one-third of their total energy. To meet this energy need, a team of researchers at Penn State is developing new materials that cool their surroundings when bent or stressed. On the latest episode of “Growing Impact,” the team discusses how this cutting-edge technology could transform the future of building climate control.
5/27/2025
Penn State's University Staff Advisory Council honored three staff members for their outstanding contributions, including Alex Zimmerman of Mechanical Engineering, whose innovative multimedia solutions have enhanced online engineering education, and Angela Dixon of Chemical Engineering, whose leadership and compassion have fostered a supportive departmental culture. These awards highlight excellence in both the technical and interpersonal dimensions of engineering staff roles.
5/20/2025
Putting their classroom engineering skills to a practical test, a group of undergraduates designed, built and are currently testing a single-seat, open-cockpit racecar to prepare for the annual Formula SAE Electric competition, which will take place from June 17-21 at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
5/19/2025
Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation has awarded seed grants to five interdisciplinary research projects. These grants support collaborative projects led by Penn State faculty who aim to generate innovative solutions to complex challenges in real estate and the built environment.
5/15/2025
Penn State researchers have developed a groundbreaking 3D printing method that uses multiple metals within a single structure, allowing precise control of material placement to optimize properties like strength, weight, and conductivity. This innovation in multi-material laser powder bed fusion (MM-LPBF) enables the creation of complex, high-performance parts for industries such as aerospace and biomedical engineering.
5/6/2025
The Penn State College of Engineering has named its student marshals for the spring 2025 commencement ceremony, which will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 9, in the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park.
4/29/2025
Sukwon Choi, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, has been elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), one of the organization’s highest honors recognizing significant engineering achievements and professional contributions.
4/28/2025
Penn State’s Shell Eco-Marathon team recently placed third at the annual Shell Eco-Marathon, an international competition that challenges teams to design and build a vehicle with the highest possible fuel efficiency. The team — consisting mostly of mechanical engineering majors who participate in the competition as their senior capstone projects — raced against seven other teams in their category on April 2-6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.
4/25/2025
Faculty from the Penn State College of Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science were recognized by a number of University-level awards this spring.
4/25/2025
Winners of the 17th annual Materials Visualization Competition at Penn State have been announced, with Jinsol Choi receiving Best of Show for “Nano soccer balls from nature.” The competition, which showcases materials research through visual art, awarded $1,800 in prizes across categories like scientific imaging and computer rendering.
4/24/2025
The Penn State College of Engineering will recognize 21 alumni with the 2025 Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award and Early Career Award in a ceremony on April 24 in the new Engineering Collaborative Research and Education (ECoRE) Building.
4/23/2025
The Penn State Learning Factory will host its biannual end-of-semester showcase for engineering students to present their cornerstone and capstone design projects from 1-3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, at the Bryce Jordan Center. The?virtual showcase?will take place Wednesday, April 30, through Friday, May 9.
4/15/2025
The Materials Research Institute (MRI) at Penn State has announced the recipients of the 2025 Interdisciplinary Seed Grants and Transdisciplinary Teaming Initiative awards, designed to support collaborative, high-risk research with the potential for significant societal and technological impact.
4/15/2025
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers' (ASME) Mechanical Engineering Department Heads Executive Committee recently awarded the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award.
4/11/2025
Christopher Kube, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics in the Penn State College of Engineering, was selected to lead a multidisciplinary team on a two-year, $1 million grant from the Structures Uniquely Resolved to Guarantee Performance (SURGE) program of the federally funded Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a method to detect, measure and localize porosity defects inside 3D-printed metal parts while they are being made. Instead of waiting until after printing to check for flaws, Kube’s team will develop acoustic sensors built into the printing platform and ultrasonic microphones to detect and measure pores during the print.
4/7/2025
A tiny, soft, flexible robot that can crawl through earthquake rubble to find trapped victims or travel inside the human body to deliver medicine may seem like science fiction, but an international team led by researchers at Penn State are pioneering such adaptable robots by integrating flexible electronics with magnetically controlled motion.
4/7/2025
Tak Sing Wong, professor of mechanical engineering and of biomedical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, was named a fellow by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
4/4/2025
Penn State recognized 42 graduate students, including eight from the College of Engineering, with annual University awards that celebrate students' impact in research, scholarship, teaching, outreach, mentoring and more.
4/3/2025
A team of Penn State researchers used a new 3D printing method to produce a complex metal build that was once only possible with welding: fusing two metals together into a single structure. Using an advanced additive manufacturing process known as multi-material laser powder bed fusion — enabled by a newly acquired system in Penn State’s Center for Innovative Materials Processing Through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) — the researchers printed a complex structure out of a blend of low-carbon stainless steel and bronze, which consists of 90% copper and 10% tin.
3/27/2025
The Penn State College of Engineering has added 25 faculty members since February 2024. The four tenure-line faculty and 21 professional track faculty represent 10 units and departments.
3/24/2025
The Penn State College of Engineering’s Office of Corporate and Industry Engagement
invites engineering faculty to I-CONNECT: Intellectual Property and Innovation. The event will take place virtually and on campus at 504 Engineering Collaborative Research and Education
Building (ECoRE) from 12:30 – 2 p.m. ET on April 2.
3/19/2025
The Engineering Ambassadors Network recently held a three-day-long Spring Leadership Conference at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
3/3/2025
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning (ASHRAE) recently awarded Wangda Zuo, professor of architectural engineering, affiliate professor of mechanical engineering and associate director for research of Penn State’s Global Building Network, the title of fellow.
2/28/2025
Andrea Gregg, associate research professor of mechanical engineering and director of learning experience design, received two awards for a book she co-authored on online learning — the 2025 Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature and the American Library Association’s (ALA) Choice Outstanding Academic Titles Award for 2024.
2/18/2025
Ilya Kovalenko, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, earned a five-year, $689,000 U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for a project titled, “Intelligent Products for Mass Individualization in Manufacturing Systems.”
2/18/2025
Tahira Reid Smith, the Arthur L. Glenn Professor of Engineering Education and Associate Department Head for Inclusive Research and Education in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received a Dedicated Service Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
2/17/2025
Penn State’s Office of Faculty Affairs recently named Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Material Systems, a distinguished professor.
2/15/2025
The Penn State Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation hosted its inaugural Student IdeaLab on the University Park campus in December 2024, bringing together a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students interested in shaping the future of the real estate and built environment sectors.
1/28/2025
Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, the James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, received a Mid-Career Investigator Award from the Chinese Association for Biomaterials (CAB).
1/27/2025
The Institute of Energy and the Environment recognized six Penn State faculty members for their research excellence - four of whom are affiliated with the College of Engineering. The College of Engineering faculty who received awards were Margaret Busse, Brian Fronk, Lauren McPhillips and Nathaniel Warner.
1/24/2025
Catherine Berdanier, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is one of three Penn State faculty members awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the White House announced on Jan. 14.
1/23/2025
Three undergraduate members of the Penn State chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Grace Bonnell, Julio Vasquez, and Gabriel Gayoso won the Academic Olympiad competition at the 50th Annual SHPE National Convention.
1/21/2025
Several engineering programs offered by Penn State World Campus were recently ranked as some of the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
1/15/2025
A team led by researchers at Penn State recently received a $2,491,443 grant from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) to reduce emissions and increase thermal efficiency in industrial systems. The team, which includes researchers at Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics Inc., plans to achieve these goals by developing a new ceramic heat exchanger.
1/8/2025
Amrita Basak, the Shuman Early Career Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Herschel
Pangborn, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and of aerospace engineering, were selected to receive $750,000 to conduct research as 2025 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator award recipients.
