Latest news from Penn State Materials Research Institute on Newswise en-us Copyright 2024 Newswise 115 31 / /images/newswise-logo-rss.gif /articles/grant-to-help-penn-state-build-semiconductor-workforce-in-pennsylvania/?sc=rsin /articles/grant-to-help-penn-state-build-semiconductor-workforce-in-pennsylvania/?sc=rsin Tue, 13 Aug 2024 10:05:44 EST The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded $600,000 to Penn State's Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance (SCIA) to develop a series of educational courses, workshops, and paid academic and industrial internships focused on workforce development in Pennsylvania for the growing semiconductor industry. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/atoms-in-advanced-alloys-find-preferred-neighbors-when-solidifying/?sc=rsin /articles/atoms-in-advanced-alloys-find-preferred-neighbors-when-solidifying/?sc=rsin Thu, 08 Aug 2024 11:05:33 EST A discovery that uncovered the surprising way atoms arrange themselves and find their preferred neighbors in multi-principal element alloys (MPEA) could enable engineers to "tune" these unique and useful materials for enhanced performance in specific applications ranging from advanced power plants to aerospace technologies, according to the researchers who made the finding. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/advanced-materials-research-poised-to-revolutionize-technology-and-society/?sc=rsin /articles/advanced-materials-research-poised-to-revolutionize-technology-and-society/?sc=rsin Wed, 07 Aug 2024 11:05:32 EST Transition metal carbides (TMCs) and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are emerging as key players with transformative potential across various industries. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/better-than-graphene-material-development-may-improve-implantable-technology/?sc=rsin /articles/better-than-graphene-material-development-may-improve-implantable-technology/?sc=rsin Wed, 22 May 2024 14:05:58 EST Move over, graphene. There's a new, improved two-dimensional material in the lab. Borophene, the atomically thin version of boron first synthesized in 2015, is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger and more flexible than graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Now, researchers at Penn State have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality -- or handedness -- on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/surprising-hidden-activity-of-semiconductor-material-spotted-by-researchers/?sc=rsin /articles/surprising-hidden-activity-of-semiconductor-material-spotted-by-researchers/?sc=rsin Thu, 02 May 2024 17:05:18 EST Using advanced imaging techniques, an international team led by Penn State researchers found that the material that a semiconductor chip device is built on, called the substrate, responds to changes in electricity much like the semiconductor on top of it. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/combining-novel-biomaterial-and-microsurgery-might-enable-faster-tissue-recovery/?sc=rsin /articles/combining-novel-biomaterial-and-microsurgery-might-enable-faster-tissue-recovery/?sc=rsin Mon, 25 Mar 2024 10:05:00 EST For soft tissue to recover and regrow, it needs blood vessels to grow to deliver oxygen and nutrients. Sluggish vascularization, however, can slow or even prevent recovery and regrowth of lost or damaged soft tissue after a severe injury or serious illness such as cancer. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/backyard-insect-inspires-invisibility-devices-next-gen-tech/?sc=rsin /articles/backyard-insect-inspires-invisibility-devices-next-gen-tech/?sc=rsin Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:05:50 EST 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. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/integrating-dimensions-to-get-more-out-of-moore-s-law-and-advance-electronics/?sc=rsin /articles/integrating-dimensions-to-get-more-out-of-moore-s-law-and-advance-electronics/?sc=rsin Thu, 11 Jan 2024 13:05:28 EST Today's most advanced chips house nearly 50 billion transistors within a space no larger than your thumbnail. The task of cramming even more transistors into that confined area has become more and more difficult, according to Penn State researchers. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/materials-research-institute-names-2023-roy-award-winners/?sc=rsin /articles/materials-research-institute-names-2023-roy-award-winners/?sc=rsin Mon, 11 Dec 2023 10:05:58 EST Six Penn State materials researchers have received the 2023 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, covering a wide range of research with societal impact. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/nih-diversity-grant-to-fund-student-s-3d-bioprinting-research/?sc=rsin /articles/nih-diversity-grant-to-fund-student-s-3d-bioprinting-research/?sc=rsin Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:05:53 EST Bioprinted, lab-grown networks of blood vessels in tissue could advance research on a variety of vascular diseases that affect millions of people worldwide, according to Angie Castro, a doctoral student pursuing a degree in chemical engineering at Penn State. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/tiny-bubbles-could-reveal-immune-cell-secrets-and-improve-treatments/?sc=rsin /articles/tiny-bubbles-could-reveal-immune-cell-secrets-and-improve-treatments/?sc=rsin Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:05:49 EST Realizing the full potential of macrophage therapies relies on being able to see what these cellular allies are doing inside our bodies, and a team of Penn State researchers may have developed a way to watch them do their thing. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/can-ai-crave-a-favorite-food/?sc=rsin /articles/can-ai-crave-a-favorite-food/?sc=rsin Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:05:21 EST Can artificial intelligence (AI) get hungry? Develop a taste for certain foods? Not yet, but a team of Penn State researchers is developing a novel electronic tongue that mimics how taste influences what we eat based on both needs and wants, providing a possible blueprint for AI that processes information more like a human being. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/thicker-denser-better-new-electrodes-may-hold-key-to-advanced-batteries/?sc=rsin /articles/thicker-denser-better-new-electrodes-may-hold-key-to-advanced-batteries/?sc=rsin Mon, 28 Aug 2023 16:35:55 EST To improve battery performance and production, Penn State researchers and collaborators have developed a new fabrication approach that could make for more efficient batteries that maintain energy and power levels. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/mussels-inspire-an-eco-friendly-way-to-extract-critical-rare-earth-elements/?sc=rsin /articles/mussels-inspire-an-eco-friendly-way-to-extract-critical-rare-earth-elements/?sc=rsin Fri, 11 Aug 2023 09:00:22 EST For clean, environmentally friendly rare earth element extraction, Penn State researchers found inspiration under the sea: mussel stickiness. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/zentropy-and-the-art-of-creating-new-ferroelectric-materials/?sc=rsin /articles/zentropy-and-the-art-of-creating-new-ferroelectric-materials/?sc=rsin Fri, 11 Aug 2023 09:00:20 EST Systems in the Universe trend toward disorder, with only applied energy keeping the chaos at bay. The concept is called entropy, and examples can be found everywhere: ice melting, campfire burning, water boiling. Zentropy theory, however, adds another level to the mix. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/penn-state-hotline-give-apply-this-is-penn-state-academics-admission-tuition-and-aid-research-athletics-news-materials-research-institute-mirror-mirror-who-is-the-most-efficient-semiconductor-of-them-all/?sc=rsin /articles/penn-state-hotline-give-apply-this-is-penn-state-academics-admission-tuition-and-aid-research-athletics-news-materials-research-institute-mirror-mirror-who-is-the-most-efficient-semiconductor-of-them-all/?sc=rsin Wed, 09 Aug 2023 13:05:32 EST The next generation of 2D semiconductor materials doesn't like what it sees when it looks in the mirror. Penn State researchers may have solved this issue. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/new-ferroelectric-material-could-give-robots-muscles/?sc=rsin /articles/new-ferroelectric-material-could-give-robots-muscles/?sc=rsin Wed, 05 Jul 2023 08:05:32 EST New ferroelectric material could give robots muscles actuation of ferroelectric polymers driven by Joule heating. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/newborn-baby-inspires-sensor-design-that-simulates-human-touch/?sc=rsin /articles/newborn-baby-inspires-sensor-design-that-simulates-human-touch/?sc=rsin Wed, 28 Jun 2023 08:05:08 EST As we move into a world where human-machine interactions are becoming more prominent, pressure sensors that are able to analyze and simulate human touch are likely to grow in demand. One challenge facing engineers is the difficulty in making the kind of cost-effective, highly sensitive sensor necessary for applications such as detecting subtle pulses, operating robotic limbs, and creating ultrahigh-resolution scales. However, a team of researchers has developed a sensor capable of performing all of those tasks. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/newly-acquired-3d-printer-boosts-penn-state-s-advanced-ceramic-research/?sc=rsin /articles/newly-acquired-3d-printer-boosts-penn-state-s-advanced-ceramic-research/?sc=rsin Tue, 27 Jun 2023 10:40:48 EST A recently installed 3D ceramics printer offers Penn State materials researchers advanced capabilities to easily produce high-resolution ceramic parts and other innovative ceramics for cutting-edge materials research at a lower cost than sourcing them. Penn State Materials Research Institute /articles/penn-state-and-onsemi-partner-to-boost-silicon-carbide-research-in-the-u-s/?sc=rsin /articles/penn-state-and-onsemi-partner-to-boost-silicon-carbide-research-in-the-u-s/?sc=rsin Mon, 22 May 2023 10:05:22 EST Penn State and onsemi, a leader in intelligent power and sensing technologies, have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding toward an $8 million strategic collaboration that includes the establishment of the onsemi Silicon Carbide Crystal Center (SiC3) at Penn State's Materials Research Institute. Over the next 10 years, onsemi will fund SiC3 with $800,000 per year. Penn State Materials Research Institute