Millennium Café

Shape memory polymers have many potential applications which includes biomedical devices, smart textiles, and soft robotics.  These polymers store elastic energy by freezing stretched polymer chains in an extended state, which is analogous to a spring.  I will discuss how the work that can be done by these systems is a combination of elastically stored energy (i.e., a spring) and energy stored through a phase change (i.e., transitioning between crystalline and amorphous solid states) while highlighting opportunities for new interdisciplinary applications.

The Penn State Plant Institute serves to develop and support a wide diversity of students, staff and faculty involved in many different areas related to plant science and applications. As the new director, I am leading the development of a new vision for the Institute, this will be an opportunity to hear updates, gather input from the community, and learn about some activities planned for this year.  We are specifically looking to increase interdisciplinary interactions across campus and so this talk is for anyone that might be looking to learn how there expertise can fit within the institute.

Mark Guiltinan  |  Plant Science

We will engage researchers from different disciplines to consider the ethical, social, legal, and cultural implications of innovative biomedical research for patients, people, animals, and populations. Panel experts and audience participants will specifically discuss the opportunities and challenges of governing neuroscientific advances and novel neurotechnologies. 

Neuroscience has reached a pivotal point in its study of the human brain, including the creation of novel neurotechnologies with unique capabilities for both understanding the brain's intricate functions and manipulating neural activity with high precision. While both neuroscience and neurotechnology are critical to improving societal and individual well-being, both can also be applied in a variety of domains such as law, context of legal systems, employment, and entertainment, impacting our daily lives and society in unprecedented ways: some positive and some negative.  This poses unique ethical, social, and legal questions, including: 
How can we best regulate development and use? 
What can be learned from other technologies regarding how best to govern emerging technologies?  
Is new regulation needed to address neurotechnologies? 

Panelist:
Jennifer Wagner  |  Law, Policy, and Engineering 
Laura Cabrera      |  Engineering Science & Mechanics / Rock Ethics Institute
Michele Mekel      |  Bioethics, law, and Medical Humanities

Moderator:  Laura Weyrich  |   Anthropology and Bioethics
 

Penn State’s NSF-supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) will soon invite proposals for a Seed competition that seeks to nucleate interdisciplinary teams in areas of transformative materials research that would be competitive as Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) in the upcoming 2025–26 national MRSEC competition. During the Cafe I will describe the qualities of a successful Seed-IRG. Immediately after the Café (starting at 11a) will be a round table opportunity for anyone interested in further discussion & brainstorming.

Vin Crespi |  Penn State MRSEC

Global problems that have the potential to be existential are of such complexity that no one field, agency, country, or foundation can solve them.  Systems solutions to those problems by definition require an unprecedented degree of interdisciplinary collaboration to solve problems not solvable within single disciplines.  By banding together internationally, universities may be the best social structure in society that would overall be capable of rising to the challenge of finding systems solutions to global problems, and by a decentralized organization be potentially immune to less-than-beneficent influences.  Participating in those solutions is a moral responsibility of Universities, a useful focus for the future of Universities, and motivates future funding for their role in addressing global problems and making the world a better place.  I propose that Penn State faculty and community play a key role in interdisciplinary approaches to solving global problems and that we outline current and potential activities that will enable such activity. We can be purposeful in developing a culture that maximizes our interdisciplinary effectiveness.

Keith Cheng |  College of Medicine

Humans have the ability to recognize patterns, and architects in particular have a tendency to see them everywhere. This can be useful for research and design. I will discuss how decoding the logic behind the tessellation of the first geodesic dome can help the eco-conscious revival of an ancient wooden-roof construction method. Furthermore, I will demonstrate how we can apply known patterns and define new ones to increase the use of reclaimed materials, particularly bricks. 

Speaker: Orsolya Gaspar |  Architecture