5 questions with a Happy Valley CEO: Juan Mario Gomez with Xact Metal
Sometimes in business, it’s all about how the stars align. Xact Metal’s CEO Juan Mario Gomez spent decades working as an executive with GE before leaving to pursue a more entrepreneurial environment. A seemingly kismet meeting started what’s now a fast-growing company. After leaving GE, Gomez connected with Invent Penn State and the Happy Valley […]
Not just a number: Navengage helps every student find their voice
In 2021, total enrollment in Penn State University was more than 88,000. Imagine being one voice in that large crowd and trying to find your way. At institutions large and small, it’s all too easy for students to feel as though they’re just another number, despite the college or university’s best efforts. But what if […]
Penn State Professor James Adair’s True Calling
HappyValley Industry recently sat down with James Adair, professor of materials science and engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmacology. Named Invent Penn State’s “Inventor of the Year” in 2018, Adair is part of a team working on an innovative cancer treatment that could be a real game-changer. Adair, who grew up in Jupiter, Florida, during the […]
Gorilla Glass Inventor Advancing Glass Science at Penn State
Dr. John Mauro is more than just an innovator in his field. The associate head for graduate education, materials science and engineering is creating a legacy. He “enabled a generation of inventors for a whole class of materials,” according to one nomination that ultimately earned Mauro the 2021 Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal Award for […]
Revolutionizing the Manufacture of Medicine and More
Making new drugs, vaccines and gene therapy can take up to a decade or longer, and cost hundreds of millions of dollars or more. The process is complex and it requires many steps to go from conception to market. And a new platform from ChromaTan, a startup with roots in Happy Valley, is poised to […]
Penn State’s Learning Factory Challenges Students to Solve Real-World Problems
Research shows that project-based learning better prepares students for their futures. In the engineering world, it’s not enough to simply have theoretical knowledge and technical breadth. You also need that spark of innovation and creativity that often only comes when you mix education with real-world experience. Enter the Learning Factory. What started as a shop […]
From “Right Place, Right Time” to 2,000+ Customers Worldwide
Happy Valley innovation and ingenuity is a driving force in this Ben Franklin Technology Partners’ success story, but timing played an equally important role in the rise of SoftGenetics. “It was kind of kismet,” chuckles co-founder John Fosnacht. “My partner Dr. Jonathan Liu and myself had just sold a weld sequencer to a leading cancer […]
