Karen Thole, distinguished professor and department head of mechanical and nuclear engineering, received the 2017 ABET Claire L. Felbinger Diversity Award for her endless advocacy of diversity and leadership to mentor and promote underrepresented students and faculty. >>
NOVEMBER 2017
FEATURES
Zhang and other researchers receive $3.7 million grant to further national BRAIN initiatives
Two Penn State professors are collaborating to bring real-world solutions to better understand neuroimaging signal through the support of a $3.7 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies
® (BRAIN) Initiative
grant focusing on resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).>>
Penn State team wins $7M award to enlist insects as allies for food security
A Penn State-led research team is hoping to enlist insects as allies in an effort to make crops more tolerant of environmental stressors, after the crops are already growing in the greenhouse or field.>>
Synthetic material acts like an insect cloaking device
Synthetic microspheres with nanoscale holes can absorb light from all directions across a wide range of frequencies, making them a candidate for antireflective coatings, according to a team of Penn State engineers. The synthetic spheres also explain how the leaf hopper insect uses similar particles to hide from predators in its environment. >>
The move to lighter, stronger, cheaper materials for transportation
Research by Jingjing Li, William and Wendy Korb Early Career Professor (associate professor) of industrial and manufacturing engineering, is primarily concerned with how things are made - the tools and methods of manufacturing - with a particular interest in methods such as advanced welding techniques used to join the new materials that are being introduced into the automotive and aerospace industries.>>
Engineering design faculty member receives DARPA funding to investigate problem-solving modeling
Christopher McComb, assistant professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering, and researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have received funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to design a computer algorithm that is able to simulate and enhance human problem-solving capabilities. >>
RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS
ESM department head elected to ASM International Board of Trustees>>
Jacqueline O'Connor, assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, receives Excellence in Honors Advising Award from Schreyer Honors College >>
