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.
05/23/2017
Several faculty and students within the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering were honored for excellence at the Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference in Pittsburgh.
05/18/2017
More than 130 members of the Penn State and State College communities traveled to Washington, D.C., last month to take part in the March for Science, a nonpartisan event organized to rally support for science.
05/10/2017
In a commentary in the April issue of Nature Plants, Karl Zimmerer, professor of geography, argues that a comprehensive approach to protecting the human use of biodiversity of agricultural crops is vital to a sustainable food future that addresses global hunger, increasing populations and changing climate.
05/05/2017
A paper coauthored by Russell Graham, director of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' Museum & Art Gallery and professor of geosciences, received the Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Each year, PNAS gives the award to the best published paper of outstanding scientific excellence and originality in the six broadly defined scientific areas of the National Academy of Sciences.
05/02/2017
The possibilities for the new field of two-dimensional, one-atomic-layer-thick materials, including but not limited to graphene, appear almost limitless. In new research, Penn State material scientists report two discoveries that will provide a simple and effective way to "stencil" high-quality 2D materials in precise locations and overcome a barrier to their use in next-generation electronics.
05/02/2017
Thinning a material down to a single-atom thickness can dramatically change that material's physical properties. For example, graphene, the best-known 2D material, has unparalleled strength and electrical conductivity, unlike its bulk form, graphite. Researchers have begun to study hundreds of other 2D materials for the purposes of electronics, sensing, early cancer diagnosis, water desalination and a host of other applications. Now, a team of Penn State researchers in the Department of Physics and the Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials (2DLM) has developed a fast, nondestructive optical method for analyzing defects in 2D materials.
05/01/2017
The possibilities for the new field of two-dimensional, one-atomic-layer-thick materials, including but not limited to graphene, appear almost limitless. In new research, Penn State material scientists report two discoveries that will provide a simple and effective way to "stencil" high-quality 2D materials in precise locations and overcome a barrier to their use in next-generation electronics.
04/26/2017
A simple electronic device found in nearly every smartphone today is helping students learn about the science of earthquakes in one general education geosciences course, GEOSC 109, Earthquakes and Society. Taught by Charles Ammon, professor of geosciences, the course was designed to give students insight into how geoscientists understand earthquakes -- and, more generally, what's involved in conducting science.
04/26/2017
Two recent Penn State graduates are taking part in the $30 million, NASA-funded Atmospheric Carbon and Transport-America. The project is led by Penn State professor Ken Davis.
04/24/2017
David Titley, professor of international affairs and of practice in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State, will discuss the role the military could play in combating climate change during the TED 2017 conference. Titley will join seven other speakers from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. April 26 for Session 6: Planet, Protection, hosted by Chris Anderson, the owner of TED, a nonprofit organization that provides idea-based talks.