Companies could make the switch to wood power
Some companies could economically convert their operations to wood boilers for heat and power, according to a team of forestry researchers.
Research
Research
Low-power tunneling transistor for high-performance devices at low voltage
12/12/13
A new type of transistor that could make possible fast and low-power computing devices for energy-constrained applications such as smart sensor networks, implantable medical electronics and ultra-mobile computing is feasible, according to Penn State researchers. Called a near broken-gap tunnel field effect transistor (TFET), the new device uses the quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons through an ultrathin energy barrier to provide high current at low voltage.
Breazeale Reactor to receive $1.36 million upgrade
12/11/13
Penn State's Breazeale Nuclear Reactor was recently awarded a $1.36 million Department of Energy grant to upgrade the facility to realize its fullest capabilities.
50 Years of Beatles: Christmas time is here again
12/10/13
Between 1962 and 1970, the Beatles recorded one musical masterwork after another, amassing some 27 No. 1 hits in the United States and the United Kingdom, while producing such timeless albums as "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band," "The Beatles (The White Album)" and "Abbey Road," among a host of others. Yet for today’s listeners, the Fab Four’s annual Christmas offerings are all but forgotten, hidden within the shadows of their unprecedented pop music achievements.
Boosting self-expression online may limit impulsive purchases
12/10/13
Long online transactions can take a toll on a person's self-control, but adding more self-expression and personal identity to those processes can help restore control, according to Penn State researchers.
Vaginally administered ED medication may alleviate menstrual cramping
12/5/13
Women with moderate to severe menstrual cramps may find relief in a class of erectile dysfunction drugs, according to a team of researchers led by Penn State College of Medicines Richard Legro.
A blast from its past dates the youngest neutron-star binary
12/4/13
X-rays streaming toward Earth from the region near a neutron star that is cannibalizing its companion star have revealed the pair to be the youngest X-ray binary yet known.
Probing Question: Is outsourcing of health care services bad?
12/4/13
"If you've had an X-ray taken at a hospital in the past decade, the chance that it was read by a radiologist elsewhere in the world is pretty high," says Jonathan Clark, assistant professor of health policy and administration. "That's because around 90 percent of hospitals in the United States now outsource some portion of their radiology services."
In the case of wholesale food distributors, it's all about location
12/4/13
In all but the shortest supply chains, food travels through wholesale distribution centers on its way from farm to consumer, and the location of these distributors can have a big impact on the efficiency of a food system. Now, a new mathematical model can help business owners and policy makers determine the optimal locations for such distributors, thanks to a research team led by an engineer in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
Shipboard newspapers as social media for early polar explorers
12/3/13
An associate professor of English at Penn State, Hester Blum is an expert in American literature, specializing in the 19th Century. Her book, The View from the Mast-Head, has been called the first to treat American sailor narratives as literary texts. Her current project, supported by a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a study of shipboard newspapers published aboard polar expeditions. “I am interested in the collective, confined literary culture of working men at the scene of their labor,” Blum writes.
Op-Ed: Made in Pennsylvania, but a model for America
12/2/13
The following is an opinion piece collectively authored by seven Pennsylvania university presidents, including Penn State President Rod Erickson. Each of these leaders believe Pennsylvania is on the verge of a reinvention of its manufacturing segment through science, engineering and innovation.
With that knowledge in mind, these seven presidents are embarking on an unprecedented collaboration and are asking other institutions to join them in supporting entrepreneurial efforts to make Pennsylvania a manufacturing powerhouse, and in doing so, create high-wage jobs.
Distinguished professor Brian Orland discusses human/environment relationships
11/27/13
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration in 2013, the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture produced a series of video interviews with its distinguished and Evan Pugh Professors. The sixth in the series is Brian Orland, distinguished professor of landscape architecture.
Ultra-bright gamma-ray burst shakes up theories of light production
11/27/13
One of the brightest gamma-ray explosions ever seen is the focus of five papers published recently in the journals Science Express and Astrophysical Journal Letters by research teams that include David Burrows, Penn State professor of astronomy and astrophysics.
Goals affect feelings of pride and shame after success and failure
11/27/13
When the St. Louis Cardinals lost the World Series, just how much shame did the players feel? According to researchers at Penn State and Australia's Central Queensland University, a person's goals at the outset of a competence-based task, such as a sporting event, can influence how much shame or pride he or she feels upon completion of the task.
Research finds positive long-term outcomes of cochlear implantation
11/26/13
Penn State Brandywine assistant professor of psychology Daniela Martin is on the frontline of significant, unique research. With the first generation of cochlear implant recipients reaching adulthood, Martin and her colleagues are out to discover the long-term psychological outcomes of this relatively new medical procedure.
50 Years of Beatles: 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' propelled band in U.S.
11/26/13
As pop-music masterworks go, the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is one of the most ambitious, self-conscious compositions in the fabled Lennon-McCartney songbook. It would also be the classic tune that would alter the group’s fortunes across the globe, as Penn State Laureate Kenneth Womack explains.