Q&A: Growing novel ultra-pure materials for tomorrow’s electronics
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Qihua “David” Zhang, postdoctoral researcher in the Two-Dimensional Crystal Consortium at Penn State, recently earned the 2025 American Vacuum Society’s Thin Film Division Distinguished Technologist Award for his contributions to growing specialized materials with extreme purity and precision.
Huck Institutes seeks faculty applicants for leadership fellows program
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The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has opened a call for applicants wishing to take part in the Huck Leadership Fellows program, which seeks to build institutional leadership skills in tenured and non-tenure-line life sciences faculty at the associate or professor level.
Hershey Company to sponsor Penn State Land Grant Startup Launch Competition
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The Hershey Company has announced it intends to serve as a sponsor for the 2026 Land Grant Startup Launch Competition, an innovative interdisciplinary collaboration between Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Climate Conversation Cafe to explore the right to a healthy environment
The Penn State Climate Consortium will host its next Climate Conversation Café featuring Jonathan Marks, professor of bioethics, humanities, law and philosophy at Penn State. The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, in 117 Earth and Engineering Sciences Building.
Q&A: NSF CAREER Award to 'recover communities’ historic hearts'
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Rebecca Napolitano, assistant professor of architectural engineering at Penn State, has been awarded a five-year, $618,863 U.S. National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award for her project, “Integrating Structural, Social, and Preservation Factors in Tornado Damage and Recover Models.”
Accelerate research impact with the Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps Short Course
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Invent Penn State’s NSF I-Corps Short Course is accepting applications for its virtual January/February cohort. The no-cost program helps researchers test a startup idea through customer interviews and educational programming on the lean startup methodology.
University Libraries launches open-access graduate student architecture journal
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Penn State University Libraries Open Publishing has launched “Hyphen,” an open-access journal edited by graduate students in the Penn State College of Art and Architecture's Stuckeman School.
Scientific publisher agreements expand open-access research
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The University Libraries will enter into new open-access publishing agreements with two major scientific publishers starting in 2026 to make Penn State peer-reviewed research published through these partners free of charge for the authors and all readers.
Materials Research Institute seed grants aim to spark interdisciplinary research
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The Materials Research Institute (MRI) offers the MRI Interdisciplinary Seed Grant to Penn State researchers that encourage high-risk, high-impact collaborative projects across multiple disciplines with great potential for societal benefit. The call for proposals is now open for 2026-27, with applications due by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Jan. 30.
Putting ideas into action: BUILD Night focuses on combating food insecurity
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In early November, Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering partnered to host a BUILD Night at the Penn State Learning Center. Attendees worked in teams to map challenges, brainstorm solutions and build prototypes to combat food insecurity by reducing post-harvest waste.
Industry leaders join Penn State to shape the future of Sustainable Labs Program
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Penn State’s Sustainable Labs Program recently hosted its inaugural Industry Day, bringing together industry leaders, graduate researchers, campus partners and undergraduate sustainability consultants. The day strengthened connections between student learning and industry expertise and shaped a long-term vision for sustainable research spaces through hands-on opportunities that build sustainability knowledge and professional skills.
Dipanjan Pan named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors
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Professor Dipanjan Pan, the Dorothy Foehr Huck & J. Lloyd Chair Professor in Nanomedicine at Penn State has been named a 2025 fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Being named an NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction currently awarded to inventors in the nation.