A new era of economic prosperity in Happy Valley

This year’s Materials Day made a last-minute pivot from an in-person meetup to a virtual forum, but the event was no less impactful. Speaking to attendees on Oct. 13, Clive Randall, the director of the Materials Research Institute (MRI), highlighted Penn State’s accomplishments and goals.  “Materials touches every domain in society,” he said, “particularly from […]

The Penn State ARL was developed in 1945 – in the wake of World War II – by Dr. Eric Walker and 100 engineers from Harvard University. During the war, Dr. Walker had been appointed associate director of Harvard’s Underwater Sound Laboratory — which was one of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s National Defense Research Committee […]

Note: To minimize risk associated with the Delta variant of COVID and keep people safe, MRI is moving forward with a simplified VIRTUAL Materials Day using an engaging virtual networking hub.  Penn State’s Materials Day is an event that connects Penn State talent with companies and shares Penn State’s latest research and discovery with industry, […]

“Something special is happening in Happy Valley,” Hunter Swisher, founder and CEO of Phospholutions, says. “Since the inception of Invent PSU, and thanks to the numerous members of the community that [prior to Invent PSU] were engaging and supporting startups, State College has now become a hub for innovators to imagine and pursue their ideas,” […]

A few weeks ago, I started interviewing Penn State alumni to find out how Penn State prepared them for their success in thriving local companies. Each of the people I interviewed said something very similar: Penn State gave them the foundation, but it was Happy Valley and its “special sauce” of tech opportunities combined with […]

In less than a month, Penn State’s annual Materials Day convenes as a hybrid event both virtually and on the University Park campus. On October 12-13, the event will focus on the intersection of materials, manufacturing and sustainability with poster sessions and keynote addresses at University Park’s HUB-Robeson Center on October 12, followed by a […]