Read the latest news about research conducted by investigators in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our faculty and students are continually advancing technology, creating solutions and expanding knowledge with new and innovative research.
News
Industrial engineering faculty, students honored at annual industry conference
Several faculty and students within the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering were honored for excellence at the Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference in Pittsburgh.
Penn Staters' voices heard at science march in Washington, D.C.
More than 130 members of the Penn State and State College communities traveled to Washington, D.C., last month to take part in the March for Science, a nonpartisan event organized to rally support for science.
Integrative approach needed to protect crop biodiversity, researcher says
In a commentary in the April issue of Nature Plants, Karl Zimmerer, professor of geography, argues that a comprehensive approach to protecting the human use of biodiversity of agricultural crops is vital to a sustainable food future that addresses global hunger, increasing populations and changing climate.
Graham and interdisciplinary team awarded PNAS Cozzarelli Prize
A paper coauthored by Russell Graham, director of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Museum & Art Gallery and professor of geosciences, received the Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Each year, PNAS gives the award to the best published paper of outstanding scientific excellence and originality in the six broadly defined scientific areas of the National Academy of Sciences.
A fast, non-destructive test for two-dimensional materials
Thinning a material down to a single-atom thickness can dramatically change that material's physical properties. For example, graphene, the best-known 2D material, has unparalleled strength and electrical conductivity, unlike its bulk form, graphite. Researchers have begun to study hundreds of other 2D materials for the purposes of electronics, sensing, early cancer diagnosis, water desalination and a host of other applications. Now, a team of Penn State researchers in the Department of Physics and the Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials (2DLM) has developed a fast, nondestructive optical method for analyzing defects in 2D materials.
Outstanding faculty and students honored at annual College of EMS awards banquet
The possibilities for the new field of two-dimensional, one-atomic-layer-thick materials, including but not limited to graphene, appear almost limitless. In new research, Penn State material scientists report two discoveries that will provide a simple and effective way to "stencil" high-quality 2D materials in precise locations and overcome a barrier to their use in next-generation electronics.
Stenciling with atoms in two-dimensional materials possible
The possibilities for the new field of two-dimensional, one-atomic-layer-thick materials, including but not limited to graphene, appear almost limitless. In new research, Penn State material scientists report two discoveries that will provide a simple and effective way to "stencil" high-quality 2D materials in precise locations and overcome a barrier to their use in next-generation electronics.
Recent Penn State graduates earn wings in airborne research project
Two recent Penn State graduates are taking part in the $30 million, NASA-funded Atmospheric Carbon and Transport-America. The project is led by Penn State professor Ken Davis.
Measuring 'rhythms of Penn State' gives students preview of earthquake science
A simple electronic device found in nearly every smartphone today is helping students learn about the science of earthquakes in one general education geosciences course, GEOSC 109, Earthquakes and Society. Taught by Charles Ammon, professor of geosciences, the course was designed to give students insight into how geoscientists understand earthquakes — and, more generally, what's involved in conducting science.
13 graduate students receive the Alumni Association Dissertation Award
Thirteen graduate students received the Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award, Distinguished Doctoral Scholar Medal, in recognition of their outstanding professional accomplishment and achievement in scholarly research in any of the disciplinary areas of fine arts and humanities; social sciences — applied and basic; physical and computational sciences — applied and basic; life and health sciences; and engineering. The graduate students were honored during the Graduate Student Awards Luncheon held on April 18 at the Nittany Lion Inn.