Millennium Café

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Save the Date: January 21, 2025 is when the Millennium Café returns.

The Millennium Café will return in January 2025.
Enjoy your winter break!

In this special edition of the Millennium Café, we will have a moderated panel discussion with researchers from different disciplines to consider the scientific developments and corresponding ethical, legal, and social implications of bioprinting technologies. Could bioprinted organs be a solution to the transplant organ shortage? Who owns a bioprinted organ? Are “silent” clinical trials with personalized bioprinted tissues and organs ethical? Intended to inspire intellectual curiosity and encourage new interdisciplinary collaborations, the panel discussion will expand upon the distinct topics featured in the “Boosting Bioethics & Bioprinting” webinar series and engage the audience with a wide-ranging discussion of issues.

PANELISTS:
Jennifer K. Wagner | Assistant Professor of Law, Policy, and Engineering and Anthropology
Laura Y. Cabrera | Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Neuroethics
Ibrahim T. Ozbolat | Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in 3D Bioprinting and Regenerative Medicine
MODERATOR:
Alyna Khan | Postdoctoral Scholar, School of Engineering Design & Innovation

The growing demand for greener solutions has intensified the search for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. Bio-renewable resources offer a promising path to sustainable carbon materials, which can replace traditional non-renewable carbon in applications like lithium-ion batteries. This shift reduces environmental impact, lessens fossil fuel dependence, and fosters innovative uses of natural resources for a cleaner future. I will showcase strategies for developing sustainable carbon materials from bio-renewable resources and provide insights into enhancing their performance for energy storage applications, paving the way for innovative and eco-friendly advancements in material science.
Fnu Bindu  |  Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow  |  Energy & Mineral Engineering

I will highlight a collaborative project recently awarded the 2024 Phase 1 accelerator from the Penn State Climate Consortium and hope to foster additional collaborations among Penn State researchers across materials science, architecture, engineering, social sciences, and environmental studies. By encouraging innovative thinking and novel research directions, we seek to develop breakthrough solutions for climate resilience through interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable building materials. 
Mariantonieta ‘Mariant’ Gutierrez Soto | Engineering Design

Enjoy Thanksgiving Break!

There will be no Millennium Café on November 26.
Join us on December 3 for both the Millennium Café and After Café.