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2/4/2026
The Leonhard Center for Enhancement of Engineering Education has announced the winners of its inaugural Arts and Engineering Competition. The competition celebrates the creativity and innovation at the intersection of art and engineering.
2/2/2026
The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) awarded two faculty members in the Penn State College of Engineering the Early Career Faculty Fellow Award. The award was granted to Miaomiao Jin, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, and Yang Yang, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics and of nuclear engineering, for their outstanding research and service to TMS and Penn State.
1/5/2026
A startup based on research conducted at Penn State is developing a soft, minimally invasive neural implant intended to reduce inflammation and improve communication with the brain for individuals with drug-resistant epilepsy or living with paralysis. The team recently participated in the Invent Penn State U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps regional short course to learn more about how their product might fit in the medical device market.
12/17/2025
Yang Yang, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics at Pennsylvania State University, received the 2025 U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Research Program Award for his work on how radiation affects metallic glasses, making him the first College of Engineering faculty member to earn both DOE ECRP and NSF CAREER awards. His research aims to advance safer, more resilient materials for next-generation nuclear reactors.
12/8/2025
To investigate the interactions between the influenza virus and bacterial microbe infections and how these interactions impact the lungs, a team co-led by researchers at Penn State and Duke University School of Medicine has been awarded a four-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
12/7/2025
Six materials researchers at Penn State, including three from the College of Engineering, have received the 2025 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, recognizing a wide range of research with societal impact. The award is presented by the Materials Research Institute (MRI) for recent interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State that yields innovative and unexpected results.
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.
12/5/2025
The Quantum Hub, housed under the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), has awarded Quantum SuperSEED grants to three Penn State faculty research teams. All three teams include researchers from the College of Engineering.
11/19/2025
Researchers developed a scalable, versatile approach to designing and fabricating wireless, internet-enabled electronic systems that can better adapt to 3D surfaces, like the human body or common household items, paving the path for more precise health monitoring or household automation, such as a smart recliner that can monitor and correct poor sitting habits to improve circulation and prevent long-term problems.
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.
11/11/2025
While the exact causes of neurodegenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia are still largely unknown, researchers have been able to identify a key characteristic in affected brains: reduced blood flow. Building upon this foundational understanding, a team at Penn State, led by Patrick Drew, professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State, recently found that a rare neuron that is extremely vulnerable to anxiety-induced stress appears to be responsible for regulating blood flow and coordinating neural activity in mice.
11/6/2025
For the first time, researchers have made niobium sulfide metallic nanotubes with stable, predictable properties, a long-sought goal in advanced materials science. According to the international team, including a researcher at Penn State, that made the accomplishment, the new nanomaterial that could open the door to faster electronics, efficient electricity transport via superconductor wires and even future quantum computers was made possible with a surprising ingredient: table salt.
11/3/2025
A fermentation byproduct might help to solve two major global challenges: world hunger and the environmental impact of fast fashion. The leftover yeast from brewing beer, wine or even to make some pharmaceuticals can be repurposed to produce high-performance fibers stronger than natural fibers with significantly less environmental impact, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State and published today (Nov. 3) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
10/29/2025
There’s a lion’s share of potential energy in the vibrations produced by footsteps on dance floors, exercise machines in the gym, or the engines of cars, planes or construction equipment. Some tech companies have already begun to harvest electricity from waste vibrations to power lights and recharge batteries using a class of piezoelectric ceramic materials, which emit electrical charges when stepped on or manipulated. Now, a team led by materials scientists at Penn State has expanded these early efforts of energy harvesting by improving the structure and chemistry of a piezoelectric material made of potassium sodium niobate, or KNN.
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.
10/9/2025
A team of researchers led by Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, the James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, created an on-skin sensing platform to detect vitamin B6 in small concentrations of sweat, instead of relying on expensive, in-person blood draws. The sensor also has the capability to be adapted for glucose sensing at a high sensitivity, allowing patients with diabetes to monitor glucose and vitamin B6 simultaneously.
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.
9/4/2025
When patients undergo reconstructive surgery for devastating injuries, one of the biggest obstacles surgeons face is restoring blood supply to the repaired tissue. Without a functioning vascular system, new grafts cannot survive. With a new $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at Penn State are taking on this challenge by combining advanced 3D bioprinting with a novel surgical method, known as micropuncture.
9/3/2025
Penn State has developed a novel wearable sensor capable of continuously monitoring low rates of perspiration for the presence of a lactate — a molecule the body uses to break down sugars for energy.
9/2/2025
Inspired by nature, Penn State’s Procell fiber is biodegradable, durable, and designed to perform in the toughest conditions—without toxic additives.
8/22/2025
A team led by a Penn State reseracher has developed a sensor that can help diagnose diabetes and prediabetes on-site in a few minutes using just a breath sample.
8/20/2025
A group of researchers at Penn State recently developed a wearable device capable of accurately tracking chloride ion levels in sweat, which is essential for evaluating hydration status and health conditions like cystic fibrosis and more. Their sensor allows for real-time tracking of an exercising person’s sweat through a hydrogel-based design that allows the device to operate with enhanced sensitivity, accuracy and efficiency, all while being reusable.
8/20/2025
Penn State doctoral students Subir Ghosh and Muhtasim Ul Karim Sadaf won Best Paper Awards at the prestigious 2025 Device Research Conference for their innovative work on next-generation computing systems. Their research, advised by Professor Saptarshi Das, focuses on creating energy-efficient, secure, and biologically inspired technologies.
7/25/2025
Yang Yang, an assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics and Materials Research Institute at Penn State, has been named the TMS/KIM Young Leaders International Scholar, an award that recognizes early-career researchers with outstanding technical achievements and leadership potential.
7/16/2025
Dreams, and likely nightmares, are experienced universally across humans and animals, but neuroscientists still do not know why. For the first time, an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers will study the underlying mechanisms of nightmares and their relationship with anxiety-related mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
7/9/2025
A new skin-like sensor developed by an international team led by researchers at Penn State could help doctors monitor vital signs more accurately, track healing after surgery and even help patients with bladder control issues.
7/7/2025
Four emerging leaders in science and innovation have been selected as the inaugural fellows in Penn State’s Next-Gen Innovators Fellowship program, an initiative designed to close critical training gaps in research translation and technology commercialization.
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.
6/11/2025
Silicon is king in the semiconductor technology that underpins smartphones, computers, electric vehicles and more, but its crown may be slipping, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State. In a world first, they used two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are only an atom thick and retain their properties at that scale, unlike silicon, to develop a computer capable of simple operations.
6/9/2025
Christine Masters, assistant dean for academic support and global programs and teaching professor of engineering science and mechanics, will retire effective June 30 after nearly 30 years as a faculty member in the College of Engineering.
6/9/2025
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has named Evan Bozek, a doctoral candidate in engineering science and mechanics in the Penn State College of Engineering, one of 79 recipients of the 2025 DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research Award. Selected graduate students have the opportunity to continue their thesis research at a DOE facility for three to 12 months.
5/30/2025
Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Penn State Evan Pugh University Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, has been named co-recipient of the 2025 van de Hulst Light-Scattering Award alongside Andreas Macke of the University of Leipzig, honoring their significant contributions to the science of light scattering. The award recognizes excellence in fields such as optical theory, atmospheric science, and astronomy.
5/28/2025
Researchers from Penn State, Rice University and the University of Sussex chemically merged silica glass and graphene to produce “glaphene,” a single, atom-thick compound that the team said could potentially advance electronics, photonics and quantum systems.
5/10/2025
Penn State researchers have developed a lightweight, 3D-printed hydrogel electrode that adheres like a strand of hair to the scalp, enabling comfortable, long-term brain monitoring without gels or rigid components. The device delivers stable, high-quality EEG signals for over 24 hours, offering a significant advancement for both clinical and wearable neurotechnology.
5/9/2025
Carbyne, a one-dimensional chain of carbon atoms, is incredibly strong for being so thin, making it an intriguing possibility for use in next-generation electronics, but its extreme instability causing it to bend and snap on itself made it nearly impossible to produce at all, let alone produce enough of it for advanced studies. Now, an international team of researchers, including from Penn State, may have a solution.
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.
5/2/2025
The future of electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring may soon look like a strand of hair. In place of the traditional metal electrodes, a web of wires and sticky adhesives, a team of researchers from Penn State created a hairlike device for long-term, non-invasive monitoring of the brain’s electrical activity. The lightweight and flexible electrode attaches directly to the scalp and delivers stable, high-quality recordings of the brain’s signals.
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.
4/21/2025
Saying one thing while feeling another is part of being human, but bottling up emotions can have serious psychological consequences like anxiety or panic attacks. To help health care providers tell the difference, a team led by scientists at Penn State has created a stretchable, rechargeable sticker that can detect real emotions — by measuring things like skin temperature and heart rate — even when users put on a brave face.
4/21/2025
The American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) recently awarded the 2025 Rock Mechanics Research Award to a team of Penn State researchers, including three from the College of Engineering. The recipients will be recognized at the annual ARMA Symposium, which will take place on June 8-11 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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.
4/11/2025
Over 100 students from Blue Ridge, Scranton and Wallenpaupack Area high schools recently visited Penn State Scranton for Discover Engineering Day, a collaborative event by the Penn State Engineering Ambassadors Program and Penn State Scranton and University students, faculty and staff
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.
4/9/2025
Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, the James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, and his team had their research featured in a recent article by Interesting Engineering. Combining what Cheng calls “soft robotics and flexible electronics,” the team developed small, magnetic robots constructed out of materials that mimic living organisms.
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.
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.
