News
What's New in Nano
On our News page you will find the latest stories about nano research at Penn State. In addition, we will provide links to earlier articles and press releases. Come back often to find out what's new in nano at Penn State.
Nano @ Penn State Brochure
To promote this website, and to enhance the visibility of Penn State's expertise in nanoscale science and engineering, we have created a 12-page full-color brochure (5MB PDF). To obtain a printed copy of this brochure, please contact us.
Geodesic Carbon Nanodomes
Jorge Sofo and Renee Diehl discuss recent advances in graphene research in the current issue of Physics.
Acoustic Tweezers Can Position Tiny Objects
University Park, Pa. -- Manipulating tiny objects like single cells or nanosized beads often requires relatively large, unwieldy equipment, but now a system that uses sound as a tiny tweezers can be small enough to place on a chip, according to Penn State engineers.
Nanophysics: Serving Up Buckyballs on a Silver Platter
Scientists at Penn State University, in collaboration with institutes in the US, Finland, Germany and the UK, have figured out the long-sought structure of a layer of C60 – carbon buckyballs – on a silver surface.
Liquid Lens Creates Tiny Flexible Laser on a Chip
University Park, Pa. — Like tiny Jedi knights, tunable fluidic micro lenses can focus and direct light at will to count cells, evaluate molecules or create on-chip optical tweezers, according to a team of Penn State engineers. They may also provide imaging in medical devices, eliminating the necessity and discomfort of moving the tip of a probe.
Storing a Lightning Bolt in Glass for Portable Power
Materials researchers at Penn State University have reported the highest known breakdown strength for a bulk glass ever measured. Breakdown strength, along with dielectric constant, determines how much energy can be stored in an insulating material before it fails and begins to conduct electricity.
Recycling a Greenhouse Gas for High-Energy Fuel
Fossil fuel use, ranging from electricity generating power plants to automobiles, pumps billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually, changing the climate in ways that are likely to be detrimental to future generations.
Penn State Receives $5 Million NSF Grant For Nanotech Applications and Career Knowledge Center
Penn State will receive $5 million over four years from the National Science Foundation to establish a National Center for Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK).
Penn State Receives $13.2M for Nanoscale Science Center
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Penn State University $13.2 million over six years to continue the research and educational activities of its Center for Nanoscale Science, a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC).