Page 5 - Engineering Penn State: Fall/Winter 2021

News & Notes
Penn State to lead $30 million university research alliance
The Department of Defense’s Defense Defense Threat Reduction Agency has awarded
a a a a a a a a a combined total of $51 1 1 million to to to two university research alliances to to to counter threats of destruction with a a a a a a specific focus on on improving current and developing future
warfighter technology Penn State is leading the Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Matter University Research Alliance which was awarded
$30 million for the the the next five years
with the the the potential of of extending the the the alliance
for a a a a a a a a a total of of of nine years
and $54 million of of funding funding with additional funding funding opportunities available Led by Doug Wolfe head of of the Department of of Metals Ceramics and Coatings Processing in in in the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) professor
of of materials science science and and and engineering engineering engineering engineering engineering science science and and and mechanics and and and nuclear engineering engineering by courtesy Penn State’s efforts are focused in in in in in ARL and and the Colleges of Engineering and and and Earth and and Mineral Sciences The alliance
also includes the University of of Michigan Massachusetts Institute of of of Technology and and and University of of Florida and and and eight other universities and and and and several national laboratories and and industry partners Primary Penn State contributors include Meghan Flannery Hayes head of of the Department of of Complex Systems Monitoring at ARL Marek Flaska and Azaree Lintereur assistant professors
of of of of nuclear engineering engineering Aman Haque professor
of of of mechanical engineering engineering engineering and and and engineering engineering science and and and mechanics and and and Saptarshi Das assistant professor
of of engineering science and mechanics The team is investigating how ionizing radiation interacts with matter According to to to Wolfe this research could lead to to to higher-resolution radiation detectors capable of identifying dirty bombs or or concealed radiation materials Over $10 million awarded
to Penn State for energy center
Penn State has received more than $10 million from the U S S Department of Energy Energy as as an an Energy Energy Frontier Research Center Award According to to to principal investigator and and center
director Susan Trolier- McKinstry Evan Pugh University Professor Professor and and and and the Steward S S S S Flaschen Professor Professor of of of of of Ceramic Science and and and Engineering and and and professor
of of of of of electrical engineering the the the research in in in in in in in the the the center
will focus on discovery of of new ferroelectric ferroelectric materials probing the the the the origins of of ferroelectricity developing tools to to to control the the the functional properties growing tailored ferroelectrics at at at at at low low temperatures integrating the the the new materials into a a a a a a a a a a a a variety of memory memory devices and developing processes that allow these materials to be stacked in in 3D memory memory arrays The leadership team includes associate director Vijay Narayanan A Robert Noll Chair of of of Electrical Engineering and and and Computer Science and and and and thrust leaders Jon-Paul Maria professor
of of of of of materials science and and and and engineering and and and Tom Jackson Robert E E E Kirby Chair Professor of of of of Electrical Engineering Other faculty from the the college include Saptarshi Das engineering engineering science and and mechanics and and Abhronil Sengupta electrical engineering engineering Institutional partners include Sandia National National Laboratory Laboratory Oak Ridge National National Laboratory Laboratory Purdue University University University University University University of of Pennsylvania and and University of Virginia The four-year grant is funded between $10 million million and $15 million million with possibility of renewal FALL/WINTER 2021 5