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.
Colorado River basin: Machine learning approach may aid water conservation push
01/26/2023
01/26/2023
The Colorado River basin, which supplies water to 40 million people in the Western United States, is threatened by historic drought, a changing climate and water demands from growing cities. One potential response involves encouraging individuals to conserve water, and a new study may help identify those most likely to change their behaviors to contribute, according to scientists.
In-place manufacturing method improves gas sensor capabilities, production time
01/19/2023
01/19/2023
When used as wearable medical devices, stretchy, flexible gas sensors can identify health conditions or issues by detecting oxygen or carbon dioxide levels in the breath or sweat.
Humidity may be the key to super-lubricity 'switch'
01/09/2023
01/09/2023
Sometimes friction is good, such as the friction between a road and a car’s tires to prevent the vehicle from skidding. But sometimes friction is bad — if you did not put oil in that very same car, there would be so much friction in the bearings of the engine that the car could not operate.
Study sheds light on how ‘forever chemicals’ travel in groundwater
01/04/2023
01/04/2023
A large family of chemicals used for decades to improve our lives — from nonstick cooking pans to waterproof clothing — are now known as "forever chemicals" because they do not easily break down in the environment and pose potential health risks as they build up in our bodies. A new study may improve our understanding of how these chemicals move in the groundwater, according to a team of scientists.
Researchers encouraged to submit proposals for Earthshot Prize
12/16/2022
12/16/2022
Penn State faculty and staff are invited to submit nominations for the Earthshot Prize 2023, an international competition aimed at identifying the most promising solutions to environmental challenges.
Changes in Earth’s orbit may have triggered ancient warming event
12/13/2022
12/13/2022
Changes in Earth’s orbit that favored hotter conditions may have helped trigger a rapid global warming event 56 million years ago that is considered an analogue for modern climate change, according to an international team of scientists.
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.