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Skip to main content Materials Research Institute Our integrated research laboratories turn concepts into prototypes Search: Penn State People Departments This Site Search: Penn State People Departments This Site Current RIMS Users RIMS Login Intranet at MRI MRI Materials Characterization Lab Nanofabrication lab Materials Computation Center 2D Crystal Consortium Our Research Innovations Facilities and Centers Become a User For Industry Ways to Give Safety News/Pubs Events Personnel Directory Navigation MRI Home MCL Homepage Nanofab Homepage MCC Homepage 2DCC-MIP Homepage About MRI MRI Research Capabilities MRI Facilities and Centers Become a User For Industry Safety Info MRI News MRI Events Contact Us/Directory Penn State Receives Five-year $3.7 Million Grant to Study Virus Evolution Penn State Receives Five-year $3.7 Million Grant to Study Virus Evolution New Method to Detect Defects in 2D Materials for Future Electronics, Sensors New Method to Detect Defects in 2D Materials for Future Electronics, Sensors A megalibrary of nanoparticles A megalibrary of nanoparticles The case of the elusive Majorana: The so-called 'angel particle' still a mystery The case of the elusive Majorana: The so-called 'angel particle' still a mystery Transparency discovered in crystals with ultrahigh piezoelectricity Transparency discovered in crystals with ultrahigh piezoelectricity Research News A Wearable Gas Sensor for Health and Environmental Monitoring Jan 16 2020 By Walt Mills A highly sensitive wearable gas sensor for environmental and human health monitoring may soon become commercially available, according to researchers at Penn State and Northeastern University. Lithium whisker growth and stress generation in an in situ atomic force microscope–environmental transmission electron microscope set-up Jan 8 2020 By Walt Mills Lithium ion batteries often grow needle-like structures between electrodes that can short out the batteries and sometimes cause fires. Now, an international team of researchers has found a way to grow and observe these structures to understand ways to stop or prevent their appearance. The case of the elusive Majorana: The so-called 'angel particle' still a mystery Jan 3 2020 A 2017 report of the discovery of a particular kind of Majorana fermion — the chiral Majorana fermion, referred to as the “angel particle” — is likely a false alarm, according to new research. Majorana fermions are enigmatic particles that act as their own antiparticle and were first hypothesized to exist in 1937. They are of immense interest to physicists because their unique properties could allow them to be used in the construction of a topological quantum computer. 360 Virtual Tour of Our Labs From anywhere, from any device, visit some of our labs virtually. Walk through the Nanofab Lab, the MCL X-ray Diffraction Lab, and the NanoSEM Lab. History of Materials at Penn State Millennium Café Feb 11 2020 “Bridges Go Both Ways: Larning from Refugees in East Africa” I am a rural sociologist and gender specialist working in refugee settlements and camps in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. My pecific research focuses on biomass energy use by households for home cooking and sometimes heating. Frequently I am asked by scientists and engineers here in the US how cutting edge research can be brought to communities in remote locations like the ones in which I work. Today I will share a snapshot of the research I do, outline some critical insights about how to work across cultural and technological divides, and demonstrate the arenas in which Penn State faculty can learn from communities that enjoy fewer material resources. Presenter: Ruth Mendum | Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education Visit presenter's website “Beyond Yoda Heads: A Materials Approach to Functional 3D Printed Plastics” 3D printing can enable new form factors, on demand inventory, and facile distributed manufacturing to provide a new additive manufacturing paradigm. However, low cost printing with polymers has tended to lead to brittle materials that offer limited use in engineering applications. Here we describe several routes to select polymeric materials to provide enhanced mechanical properties from 3D printing as well as provide new functionality to 3D printed parts. Presenter: Bryan Vogt | Chemical Engineering Visit presenter's website The Millennium Café is held every Tuesday @ 10:00 in the 3rd floor Café Commons of the Millennium Science Complex. Stop by for freshly brewed science & coffee. Focus on Materials Magazine Quantum at Penn State - An overview of quantum information science, quantum materials, and quantum sensing. To receive a FREE printed issue , subscribe to "Printed Materials" and add/update your mailing address. View the ONLINE ISSUE HERE The Materials Research Institute A Culture of Interdisciplinary Research Penn State’s investment in its interdisciplinary research institutes, including the Materials Research Institute (MRI), has created a culture of strong collaborations across disciplines. At Penn State, many researchers have the support of both their academic departments and the university-wide institutes, such as MRI. By encouraging crosscutting research, MRI and its sister institutes open up traditional silos of knowledge to the stimulus of other viewpoints and new ideas. This mingling of disciplines, often called “convergence,” brings together the physical and life sciences with engineering and computation to solve the most complex problems facing society today and in the future. Request a Tour of the MSC Four Lab Solution: Theory, Synthesis, Fabrication, Characterization 2D Crystal Consortium (2DCC) The 2DCC-MIP is focused on advancing the synthesis of 2D materials within the context of a national user facility. Materials Characterization Lab The Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) is a fully-staffed, open access, analytical research facility charged with enabling research and educating the next generation of highly qualified researchers. Materials Computation Center Our primary goal is to support internal and external users working in computer-based simulations of materials across the various length and time scales. Nanofabrication Lab Our staff scientists and engineers will enable users to transition fundamental research in nanomaterials to innovation-driven multicomponent integrated devices and systems. New Capabilities & Emerging Materials Research 2D Materials and Coatings One atom-thick substrate of graphene with pristine interfaces between the two layers Materials-Related Institutes, Facilities, & Centers 2DLM ICAT ATOMIC CIMP-3D Energy Institute HESE CNS MRSEC PSIEE Institute for Computational and Data Sciences CDP Industry and University Collaboration Every organization has different priorities and resources. Directors of the MRI facilities recognize this and help your company leverage our labs in various ways. Find out more... © The Pennsylvania State University Materials Research Institute All rights reserved. The 2DCC-MIP is funded by NSF cooperative agreement DMR-1539916. MRI is not responsible for the content of external sites. Registration may be required for some sites. General inquiries: mri-info@psu.edu | Website inquiries: mri-web@psu.edu About MRI About the Institute Intellectual Property Academics Organization Millennium Science Complex History For MRI Faculty & Staff MRI Intranet MRI Information Technology Helpdesk Subscribe Free subscriptions to newsletters, print publications, and more Follow Us...