Read the latest news about research conducted by investigators in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our faculty and students are continually advancing technology, creating solutions and expanding knowledge with new and innovative research.
New family of glass good for lenses
04/03/2019
04/03/2019
A new composition of germanosilicate glass created by adding zinc oxide has properties good for lens applications, according to Penn State researchers. This marks the discovery of a novel glass family.
Penn State exoplanet center celebrates 10-year anniversary
03/29/2019
03/29/2019
To commemorate its 10th anniversary, Penn State's Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds (CEHW) will host a celebration on April 2, with three sessions of talks and panel discussions for technical, academic and public audiences.
Decision makers need contextual interactive guidance
03/28/2019
03/28/2019
Researchers investigating an interactive program using trade-off diagrams that would lead decision makers in the right direction, allow compromises, but not dictate the results.
Fossils show recovery from extinction event helped shape evolutionary history
03/27/2019
03/27/2019
Researchers found the recovery period following the second largest extinction on record, some 444 million years ago, had a bigger evolutionary impact than the extinction event itself on brachiopods, shelled, clam-like animals that once dominated the sea floor.
Sky is clearing for using AI to probe weather variability
03/27/2019
03/27/2019
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies may help scientists better understand weather and weather variability. As the climate changes, this may help prepare people for changes in their region's weather patterns, and better preparedness could save money and lives.
Materials science & engineering graduate student finds community at Penn State
03/27/2019
03/27/2019
An internship at Penn State launched Ama Agyapong toward a career in materials science and engineering and her lifelong goal of improving the devices we use every day.
Privacy law scholars must address potential for nasty satellite data surprises
03/25/2019
03/25/2019
Fitness apps and other smart devices embedded with GPS satellite chips and other sensors may use satellite data to help users stay fit and healthy, but, according to Penn State and Penn State Dickinson Law researchers, they unwittingly open a gateway to privacy-related legal and ethical headaches and are a repeated source of national security threats.
Submissions now open for annual Materials Visualization Competition
03/20/2019
03/20/2019
The 11th annual Materials Visualization Competition (MVC11), a scientific visual and artistic competition, is now accepting submissions. The deadline for submissions is April 5.
Supercrystal: A hidden phase of matter created by a burst of light
03/18/2019
03/18/2019
"Frustration" plus a pulse of laser light resulted in a stable "supercrystal" created by a team of researchers led by Penn State and Argonne National Laboratory, together with University of California, Berkeley, and two other national laboratories.
Research predicts size, magnitude, timing of lab earthquakes
03/11/2019
03/11/2019
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- For the first time, the magnitude, time and duration of earthquakes in a laboratory setting were predicted by a team of researchers from Penn State and Los Alamos National Laboratory.