Laurie Mulvey | Penn State World in Conversation Center
Dialogue fails to be constructive because it forgets about science--not the facts, but the method. World in Conversation is in the intermediate stages of building a revised approach to dialogue that not only requires facilitators, but also demands a kind of collaborative critical thinking that takes many of its cues from the scientific method.
Harl Tolbert | Office of Technology Management
I will discuss the role patents play in research, development, technology and the economy—including the differing views specific fields of research and industry have on the value of patents. The role of patenting at academic institutions will also be discussed. We will examine the ways that patents have enhanced innovation, and how they sometimes are thought to impede collaboration and new discoveries.
Lithium ion batteries are energy-storage devices that deliver power on demand. In this talk I will introduce new strategies to use the electrochemical cells within lithium ion batteries to harvest mechanical energies, thereby filling the gap of highly efficient mechanical energy harvesters at the low-frequency paradigm.
Lignin is a polymer produced by terrestrial plants that can be converted into chemicals and products by biorefining. Although many researchers have tried and failed to “make money from lignin” over the past century, its heterogenous structure presumably makes it ill-suited as a platform for new materials. My presentation will showcase our group’s successes using it in 3D printing, and I will highlight our path towards 100% renewable feedstocks for additive manufacturing.
What makes some people more creative than others? I will explore this question from a neuroscience perspective, presenting findings from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research that uses machine learning of brain data to predict a person's ability to come up with original ideas. The findings indicate that creative ability is characterized by cooperation between brain networks that do not typically cooperate, providing insight into the wiring of the creative brain with potential implications for creativity in the arts, sciences, and everyday life.
Can we develop a platform in which printing a working device requiring a range of material functions (conductivity, insulation, elastic compliance, etc.) is no more expensive than printing for a single function? Consider, for example, printing an electric motor versus printing a shelf bracket. I will discuss work in our lab, along with the lab of Dr. Ounaies, that has developed a technological pathway that points toward such a platform. The talk will illustrate how coupled – electric and magnetic field processing techniques applied to polymer matrix composites sit at the heart of our quest for a universal printer.