John Mauro selected to receive Kingery Award from American Ceramic Society
| psu.edu
John Mauro, the interim John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State, was selected to receive the 2026 W. David Kingery Award from the American Ceramic Society. He will be recognized on Monday, Oct. 5, at the the society’s 128th Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh.
Jon-Paul Maria named interim head of Materials Science and Engineering
| psu.edu
Jon-Paul Maria, Dorothy Pate Enright Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State, has been named interim head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, effective July 1.
Family-friendly fun planned for Penn State’s Ag Progress Days
| psu.edu
Penn State’s Ag Progress Days welcomes families and kids of all ages to Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor agricultural exposition. Organizers of the 4-H and Youth Building have a variety of activities planned for its youngest attendees during all three days of the expo, Aug. 11-13, at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs.
Responsible Conduct of Research Awards to be presented at Research Ethics Day
| psu.edu
The Office for Research Protections has announced the launch of the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Awards, a new, University‑wide recognition program celebrating individuals who exemplify integrity, accountability and ethical leadership in research.
‘Designer’ superconducting diamond offers roadmap to multifunction quantum chips
| psu.edu
New research led by Penn State physicists revealed the fundamental — and long hidden — mechanisms underlying superconductivity in diamond.
As a heat wave grips the U.S., a look at how extreme heat affects the body
| npr.org
As heat waves sweep the country, NPR's A Martinez asks W. Larry Kenney, professor of physiology and kinesiology at Penn State University, how extreme heat affects humans.
‘Growing Impact’ podcast discusses tool to identify grid threats, investments
A new planning tool under development at Penn State could help keep the lights on as the U.S. electric grid faces growing pressures from extreme weather, renewable energy and data centers, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Penn State professor Katherine Zipp honored with faculty mentor award
| psu.edu
Katherine Zipp, associate professor of environmental and resource economics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has received the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award for postdoctoral scholars from the Penn State Postdoctoral Society.
Growing Impact: Resilient power grid planning
| Featuring Anirudh Subramanyam, Mort Webster
As electricity demand grows and becomes harder to predict, power grid planners face a difficult question: how do they build for a future shaped by extreme weather, renewable energy, and the rapid rise of data centers?
Researchers convert plastic waste into high-performance battery material
| openthemagazine.com
Researchers at Penn State have transformed discarded PET plastic bottles into highly ordered synthetic graphite for lithium-ion batteries, offering a cleaner, sustainable alternative to conventional graphite production while reducing plastic waste
College of Engineering mourns the loss of Dean Emeritus David Wormley
| psu.edu
The Penn State College of Engineering community mourns the loss of Dean Emeritus David Wormley, who passed away on May 19 in Lancaster.
Fourteen interdisciplinary research teams receive 2026 IEE seed grants
Fourteen interdisciplinary research teams have received funding through the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s (IEE) 2026 Seed Grant Program. The program supports basic and applied research that lays the groundwork to pursue external funding and is guided by IEE’s five strategic research themes. This year, the program awarded seed funding to more than 40 researchers across 10 colleges and campuses and 21 departments and units.