July 2026 marks an exciting milestone for Dr. Maria Hilse, who was recently promoted to associate research professor at Penn State. Her work spans fundamental materials research, user facility operations, mentorship, and scientific service.
By Jamie Oberdick
In a Penn State lab, a small cylinder of soil sits wired with sensors, slowly cooling as it mimics conditions thousands of miles away.
At first, it looks unremarkable, like dirt from an average backyard mixed with water. But as the temperature drops, the sample begins to freeze, and its internal structure shifts in ways that are invisible to the eye. Each measurement adds another piece to a complex puzzle, one that connects microscopic structures in a lab to vast landscapes in the Arctic and to global systems that affect people everywhere.
A plastic bottle tossed into a recycling bin could one day help power an electric vehicle, smartphone or renewable energy storage system, according to a team of Penn State researchers.
2DCC CHet system enables synthesis of 2D metals, alloys, and functionalized graphene
Confinement heteroepitaxy (CHet) is an emerging approach for stabilizing atomically thin metals and alloys that normally prefer to form 3D structures by confining their growth at interfaces such as graphene. This enables access to truly two-dimensional metallic phases with unusual electronic and optical properties. This opens new directions in quantum materials and nanoscale device engineering.
Ryan Hawks joins the Nanofab technical staff team as a research engineer.
We're excited to announce that the ClassOne Solstice electroplating and wet processing system is currently undergoing factory acceptance testing and is on track to ship in May 2026.
The tool will be temporarily installed in the Nanofab in June 2026, with copper electroplating capability available to users right away. Once the cleanroom expansion is complete in late 2026 or early 2027, the Solstice will move to its permanent home with its full suite of capabilities online.
MCL hosted a Town Hall on Tuesday, May 12, which focused on engaging with the lab in the early stages of research. Working together early fosters better culture, outcomes, training, and data.
Highlighted during the session:
With LEO, staff can qualify users individually or in batches once they have successfully completed the required instrument training. A simple one‑click promotion or demotion allows staff to toggle a user between limited and full qualifications—making the management of user capability fast, transparent, and consistent.
2DCC Inert Atmosphere Cluster Tool Enables Air-Sensitive Materials Research
