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Clive Randall, Evan Pugh University Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State, has been named an inaugural recipient of the Inamori-KYOCERA Award, an international honor recognizing individuals whose scholarship, invention, technological innovation and international collaboration have substantially advanced the ceramics industry.

Storing energy as heat is a proven pathway to address the challenge solar power faces when it’s dark or cloudy outside by enabling the capture, storage and on-demand release of thermal energy. The process, called high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES), however, can be prohibitively expensive. Researchers at Penn State have found that steel slags — a rock-like waste byproduct of the steelmaking process — may potentially serve as a low-cost, heat storage candidate for TES applications.

Melissa Gonte, a doctoral student in Penn State’s John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME), has been awarded a scholarship from The Copper Club for her academic excellence, leadership and work related to the copper industry. She is one of eight recipients awarded the scholarship this year by the select community dedicated to promoting the next generation of industry talent.

Remember the solar calculator from middle school math class that had a small solar cell at the top? The idea behind that technology is not a relic of the past, but the subject of continuous innovation. Today’s indoor solar cells, known as photovoltaics, use new semiconductor materials, such as metal halide perovskite, to convert ambient light into electricity to power small electronic devices without needing batteries or a power outlet. Now, a team led by materials science researchers at Penn State has improved perovskite’s ambient light-absorbing ability and its capacity to remain stable over time even at high light intensities.

Penn State and Kurt J. Lesker Company (KJLC) are launching a strategic partnership to develop new ways to create and shape the extremely thin layers of specialized materials that form critical parts of semiconductor, advanced packaging, quantum, photonic and other next-generation technologies.

Penn State showcased its leadership in critical minerals and materials research and workforce development through a recent three-day workshop that brought together nearly 150 representatives from academia, industry and government agencies.

Kat Hogan is a senior majoring in energy engineering, and she found her home as an undergraduate researcher in Penn State’s Center for Critical Minerals. She’s interested in sustainability — particularly in the energy sector — and said critical minerals sourcing is essential to a sustainable future for the energy industry.

Penn State and Battalion Advanced Technology Ltd. have entered into two research agreements worth up to $6 million to develop advanced semiconductor platforms and high-temperature materials that aim to enable next-generation energy, transportation, aerospace and industrial systems while also providing critical capabilities for national security.

The AI Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning has awarded 46 grants to Penn State faculty and faculty teams through the inaugural cycle of two instructional innovation grant programs supporting the thoughtful integration of generative artificial intelligence into teaching and learning.

Seismic waves produced by thunderstorms, called thunderquakes, can be used as a novel source for seismic imaging, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.