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.
Model shows how intelligent-like behavior can emerge from non-living agents
12/12/2022
12/12/2022
From a distance, they looked like clouds of dust. Yet, the swarm of microrobots in author Michael Crichton’s bestseller “Prey” was self-organized. It acted with rudimentary intelligence, learning, evolving and communicating with itself to grow more powerful.
2D material may enable ultra-sharp cellphone photos in low light
12/09/2022
12/09/2022
A new type of active pixel sensor that uses a novel two-dimensional material may both enable ultra-sharp cellphone photos and create a new class of extremely energy-efficient Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, according to a team of Penn State researchers.
Penn State faculty join NASA mission to study samples from asteroid Bennu
12/08/2022
12/08/2022
Three Penn State faculty — Kate Freeman, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences, Christopher House, professor of geosciences, and Allison Baczynski, associate research professor of geosciences — have been selected to join the NASA Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission to analyze samples from the asteroid Bennu.
Contributions to research, students shaped legacy of geochemist Hu Barnes
12/05/2022
12/05/2022
In the late 1940s, a budding electrical engineer named Hu Barnes spent the summer working with General Radio Company. In a time before the widespread use of computers, he watched as doctoral students toiled over drafting tables.
Stretchable rubber diode opens possibilities for medical, electronic devices
11/30/2022
11/30/2022
Electronic devices, such as robotics or medical devices, are becoming more flexible as technology advances, so Penn State researchers have developed a fully rubbery stretchable diode that maintains performance.
Small percentage of globe provides critical natural benefits to most of humanity
11/29/2022
11/29/2022
A small percentage of land and coastal waters provides most of the global population with the ecosystem services needed to support human well-being, and maintaining these areas can advance the United Nations’ development, climate and biodiversity conservation goals, according to an international team of researchers.
New method can scale, simplify manufacture of stretchy semiconductors
11/29/2022
11/29/2022
Soft, elastic semiconductors and circuits could advance wearable medical devices and other emerging technologies, but the high-performance electronics are difficult and expensive to manufacture. A Penn State-led research team plans to make the process easier and cheaper with a new manufacturing method.
Power plant pipe corrosion focus of industry research project
11/28/2022
11/28/2022
A team of researchers at Penn State is investigating how contaminants in power plant water cycles affect the integrity of steel pipes and tubing in power generation systems.
New process developed to extract high purity rare earth element oxides
11/21/2022
11/21/2022
Penn State’s Center for Critical Minerals has developed a new purification process that extracts mixed rare earth oxides from acid mine drainage and associated sludges at purities of 88.5%
Fossil fuel past, green future: Abandoned wells may offer geothermal power
11/15/2022
11/15/2022
Tapping into abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, products of the state’s long history of energy extraction — could provide a future source of affordable geothermal energy, according to Penn State scientists.