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Students and faculty in Penn State’s Material Sciences and Engineering Department can take the heat when the furnaces are blazing in Penn State’s glass-blowing studio.

A newly discovered structure of a sodium-based material allows the materials to be used as an electrolyte in solid-state batteries, according to researchers from Penn State and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The team is fine-tuning the material using an iterative design approach that they hope will shave years off the time from research to everyday use.

Batteries, earthquakes, Earth science modeling, water flow and natural gas leakage — these are the research topics of the five graduate students in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences who received honors in Penn State's 33rd annual Research Exhibition.

As a first-year student, Mensch was confident that she wanted to advocate for a cause. She decided to attend the night-time Luminaria Ceremony at Relay For Life. At the ceremony, luminaria bags line the walkways lit with candles, honoring those who have suffered or are suffering from cancer. She had her “this is it” moment and decided to get involved. Gradually, she assumed more leadership and held positions like the EMS Relay For Life chairperson, Greek recruitment overall, ultimately becoming the executive director in her senior year.

Penn State was approved to be a new chapter of a science-based program, called EnvironMentors, which aims to bring underrepresented students into the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).