MRI

By David Kubarek

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the vast and varied research that comes out of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) at Penn State, there’s one thing that’s even more important than discovery: lab safety.

Making the department a leader in laboratory safety has been a focus since the mid-2000s with the creation of the MatSE Safety Awareness Organization. Since then, the group has been working with faculty, staff, students and industry partners to keep labs safe while ensuring students enter the workforce with stellar safety practices.

By Jamie Oberdick

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — To enhance biosensor development via artificial intelligence (AI) and offer STEM education opportunities to K-12 students from underserved communities, the U.S. National Science Foundation recently awarded researchers at Penn State a three-year, $1.5 million grant.  

By Ashley WennersHerron

A recently developed electronic tongue is capable of identifying differences in similar liquids, such as milk with varying water content; diverse products, including soda types and coffee blends; signs of spoilage in fruit juices; and instances of food safety concerns. The team, led by researchers at Penn State, also found that results were even more accurate when artificial intelligence (AI) used its own assessment parameters to interpret the data generated by the electronic tongue.

Three potentially high-impact, high-risk research projects have been selected to receive seed funding for the latest round of the Huck Innovative and Transformational Seed (HITS) Fund initiative.

Butterflies can see more of the world than humans, including more colors and the field oscillation direction, or polarization, of light. This special ability enables them to navigate with precision, forage for food and communicate with one another. Other species, like the mantis shrimp, can sense an even wider spectrum of light, as well as the circular polarization, or spinning states, of light waves. They use this capability to signal a “love code,” which helps them find and be discovered by mates.

LionGlass, a new family of glass engineered by researchers at Penn State, has secured its first corporate partner, a move toward bringing the ecofriendly alternative to standard soda lime silicate glass to market.

At its Sept. 5 meeting, the Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Research and Technology heard from Andrew Read, senior vice president for research, about the mission of the Penn State Research Foundation, as well as an update on its activities.