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.
Ancient climate change triggered warming that lasted thousands of years
A rapid rise in temperature on ancient Earth triggered a climate response that may have prolonged the warming for many thousands of years, according to scientists.
Air Force funds polymer materials research for light-speed computing
Robert Hickey, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, will use a $450,000 grant from the United States Air Force to research nanostructured polymer materials for applications in integrated optical circuits, which could allow computers to process information at light-speed.
Understanding physics could lead to big gains in shale oil recovery
Oil companies are missing out on vast sums of recoverable oil in unconventional reservoirs, according to Penn State experts.
A microbial hot spring in your basement
Microbes that thrive in some of the most extreme places on Earth have discovered another cozy place to live — inside homes across the United States.
$1 million Army grant aimed at adaptive fluid materials
Lauren Zarzar, assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State, has been awarded a five-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Army to conduct research related to reconfigurable fluids.
Penn State to host conference focused on geomodeling, food, energy, water nexus
The deadline for interested authors to submit abstracts to the 20th Annual Conference of the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences (IAMG) has been extended. Short abstracts will now be due on Friday, Feb. 1.
Predicting the properties of a new class of glasses
ZIF glasses, a new family of glass, could combine the transparency of silicate glass with the nonbrittle quality of metallic glass, according to researchers at Penn State and Cambridge University in the U.K.
Penn State scientists among leaders in carbon cycle assessment
Penn State researchers were among a team of international scientists whose work on a new climate assessment of North America provides a better understanding of the carbon cycle.
A 3D imaging technique unlocks properties of perovskite crystals
A team of materials scientists from Penn State, Cornell and Argonne National Laboratory have, for the first time, visualized the 3D atomic and electron density structure of the most complex perovskite crystal structure system decoded to date.
3D printing eliminates undesirable trait in conventional superalloys
An undesirable trait found in traditionally processed superalloys does not exist in a 3D-printed, nickel-based superalloy, according to a team of materials scientists who think this could lead to new manufacturing techniques that allow for alloys with tailored properties.