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Nine layers of SnSe that were epitaxially grown on an a-plane sapphire substrate. Credit: Wouter Mortelmans/MIT. All Rights Reserved.

By Jamie Oberdick

A research partnership between Penn State and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could enable an improved method to make a new type of semiconductor that is a few atoms thin and interacts with light in an unusual way. This new semiconductor could lead to new computing and communications technologies that use lower amounts of energy than current electronics.

Read more about New type of semiconductor may advance low-energy electronics

Penn State researchers used a new laser writing technique to develop the first highly customizable microscale gas sensing devices. Credit: Kelby Hochreither/Penn State . All Rights Reserved.

By Ashley J. WennersHerron

Environmental sensors are a step closer to simultaneously sniffing out multiple gases that could indicate disease or pollution, thanks to a Penn State collaboration. Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering, and Lauren Zarzar, assistant professor of chemistry in Eberly College of Science, and their teams combined laser writing and responsive sensor technologies to fabricate the first highly customizable microscale gas sensing devices.

Read more about Laser Writing May Enable ‘Electronic Nose’ For Multi-Gas Sensor

3D patch antennas use an electrically charged surface called a ground plane, which is placed directly under the sensor. It acts as a literal ground to help orient the sensor and compensate for how human tissue and sweat can dissipate electrical signals, giving the patch an advantage over other antenna types. Credit: Submitted/Penn State

By Mariah Chuprinski and Ashley WennersHerron

To become truly wireless, wearable technology has one more cord to cut: the charger. A Penn State-led team made the first slash, using asymmetric copper arches to develop a 3D antenna system that wirelessly harvests radio frequency energy and converts it to electrical energy to power itself and on-board sensors.

Read more about Extra Dimension Doubles Power Of Standalone Antenna System

images of strain crystallized fibers that are 1X-5X the initial hydrated length. The image indicates that the alignment of the fibers increases along the fiber axis with increasing elongation ratio. Credit: Penn State

By Matthew Carroll

Inspired by the structure of muscles, an innovative new strategy for creating fiber actuators could lead to advances in robotics, prosthetics, and smart clothing, according to a Penn State led team of scientists who discovered the process.

Read more about Promising New Materials Mimic Muscle Structure And Function

Penn State-led researchers develop first artificial skin to maintain cognitive characteristics when deformed.

By Mary Fetzer

The skin of cephalopods, such as octopuses, squids and cuttlefish, is stretchy and smart, contributing to these creatures’ ability to sense and respond to their surroundings. A Penn State-led collaboration has harnessed these properties to create an artificial skin that mimics both the elasticity and the neurologic functions of cephalopod skin, with potential applications for neurorobotics, skin prosthetics, artificial organs and more.  

Read more about Rubbery Camouflage Skin Exhibits Smart And Stretchy Behaviors

On any given day, one in 31 hospital patients is diagnosed with an infection that developed as a result of care during their hospital stay, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical devices such as catheters, stents, heart valves and pacemakers, whose surfaces can become covered with harmful bacterial films, account for about a quarter of such infections.