Researchers in the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering recently received a $389,919 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate, explore and innovate new flying mechanisms for micro air vehicles (MAVs) to better mimic the performance and agility of flying animals. Bo Cheng, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State University Park, […]
Researchers Look for Successful End to Power Grid Failures
Anyone who has experienced an extended power outage knows that the effects can go well beyond inconvenient and become outright dangerous. Luckily, with the help of a $999,000 NSF Cyber Physical Systems grant, Nilanjan Ray Chaudhuri, assistant professor in electrical engineering and principal investigator on the project, is working to prevent failures in the power […]
Safety in Numbers: Mobile Robots Could Save Lives During Emergency Evacuations
As recent global events have shown, knowing how to evacuate during an emergency is becoming a necessary component at concerts, movies, churches and even for children attending school. Many of these emergencies require people to evacuate quickly and to make quick decisions; however, when people rely on default decision making, they could be putting themselves […]
Next Gen Batteries Possible with Engineering Breakthrough
Dramatically longer lasting, faster charging, and safer lithium metal batteries may be possible from Penn State research published today (Nov. 12) in Nature Energy. Funded by the U.S Department of Energy, researchers developed a three-dimensional cross-linked polymer sponge that attaches to the metal plating of a battery anode. “This project aims to develop the next generation […]
Penn State Aerospace Engineer To Explore Impact Of Social Robots And Artificial Intelligence Used In Higher Education
Recent research has demonstrated that robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are poised to redefine higher education. How much these social robotics could positively contribute to the social development of students and how they could be used to support academic integrity decision making by students is something Alan Wagner, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Penn State, […]
Can Computers Be Creative?
Researchers from Penn State have received $900,000 to teach computers how to generate original design ideas and then determine if those ideas are technically feasible which, in terms of national security, would give the United States a considerable competitive advantage in our technology industries. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is supporting the 18-month […]
Green Fleet Technology
New research at Penn State addresses the impact delivery trucks have on the environment by providing green solutions that keep costs down without sacrificing efficiency. Reducing the impact large-vehicle emissions have on the environment is a real challenge due to delivery industry demands, explained Vittal Prabhu, a professor in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department […]
Flipped Classrooms Turning STEM Education Upside Down
Given the difficult-to-digest subject matter in many STEM classrooms, educators have customarily relied on traditional lecture-based educational methods where they spend class time walking through content and then assign homework problems to supplement that learning. Liberal arts classrooms, on the other hand, often invert that structure. They task students with learning the material from a […]