Twelve research projects have been selected for the 2026 Penn State Commercialization GAP Fund. Awarded projects receive $75,000 in funding and other support to develop promising proof-of-concept research into commercial ready technology.
Penn State student Matias Moreno earned two of the nation's most competitive undergraduate scholarships this spring — the Astronaut Scholarship and the Udall Scholarship — recognizing both his excellence in STEM research and his commitment to sustainability.
Lee Kump, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) and professor of geosciences at Penn State, will explore how scientific research at EMS is making a strong impact on students and society in the next session of the Virtual Speaker Series, hosted by the Penn State Alumni Association. The free event will be held online on June 23 from noon to 1:00 p.m. Registration is now open.
The Penn State Bakery has long supported the University community through baked goods and desserts. Now, with a system developed by Matthew Hollingham, a third-year doctoral student in architectural engineering, the Bakery will also help pave the way for carbon capture and utilization.
Although self-driving cars and sophisticated robots use advanced cameras, computer algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to picture their surroundings, these artificial eyes struggle to remain reliable in mixed lighting conditions. A team of researchers, co-led by an engineer from Penn State, has proposed a solution that mimics the mechanics of the human eye to adapt from bright to dark light in seconds.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has awarded up to $75.8 million to four research teams through its Ocular Laboratory for Analysis of Biomarkers (OCULAB) program. Researchers from Penn State will develop biosensors for the Closed-Loop Sensing and Microdosing for Dry Eye and Systemic Disease Management (COSMIC) team led by Lacristat, a California-based ophthalmology company.
Despite being difficult to comprehensively observe, the lowest layer of the atmosphere, known as the boundary layer, is critical to weather forecasting, according to a team of meteorology and atmospheric science researchers at Penn State. Historically, researchers have used weather balloons launched twice a day from about 100 locations across the U.S. to observe the boundary layer, but the layer changes hourly, leaving large swatches of the layer unobserved.
The Materials Characterization Lab (MCL), part of the Materials Research Institute (MRI) at Penn State, is partnering with two Pennsylvania companies to leverage the University’s shared research infrastructure for industrial innovation with practical applications and workforce training.
Accurate measurements are the foundation of effective environmental management and decision-making. Through advanced monitoring networks and computer models, Ken Davis, professor of meteorology and atmospheric science in Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and his research group are helping scientists, communities and policymakers better understand urban heat, greenhouse gas emissions and air quality.
A vital tool for healthcare practitioners, electroencephalography (EEG) systems measure electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp, but getting reliable readings can be surprisingly difficult. Hair interferes with contact between the electrodes and skin, and the gels used to improve those connections often dry out over time, weakening signal quality.