UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Six Penn State materials researchers have received the 2024 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, recognizing a wide range of research with societal impact. The award is presented by the Materials Research Institute (MRI) and recognizes recent interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State that yields innovative and unexpected results.
The award includes four categories: Early career faculty, non-tenure faculty, post-doctoral scholar and graduate student. It exists thanks to a gift from Della and Rustum Roy, who are both late alumni of Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and were long-serving faculty in the college.
This year’s winners, listed below, were announced at the 2024 Materials Day event in October.
Graduate student awardees
Mingyu Yu, doctoral candidate, materials science and engineering
Yu's research focuses on creating ultra-thin, high-quality semiconductor materials using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), a technique that builds materials one atom at a time by directing beams of atoms onto a surface in a vacuum. This method produces smooth, flawless films that can cover large surfaces, like wafers used in computer chips. Wafer-scale materials are difficult to make, but MBE offers a promising solution, according to Yu. By refining the process, testing material properties and using computer simulations, Yu’s work aims to enable faster, more efficient electronics.
"Through our work with MBE technology, we solved the challenge of growing high-quality 2D semiconductor films at wafer scale and successfully deposited these materials onto 3D semiconductor wafer,” Yu said. “We also discovered a new 2D semiconductor material. These achievements are highly significant for the advancement of semiconductor materials and devices.”
Michael Miller, doctoral candidate, biomedical engineering
The human gut has a thick layer of mucus covering the intestinal cells that plays host to millions of bacteria that both aid digestion and defend against infection. Miller's research focuses on creating materials that replicate the gut microbiome, including the mucus, intestinal wall and bacterial community. They use non-natural amino acids to make a gel-like substance that shares similar physical properties with native gut mucus. Using this, they can model the growth and interactivity of bacteria found in the gut and estimate how drugs move through the gut microbiome.
“A model gut microbiome like we have created is a broad benefit to studying gut health,” Miller said. “This material format improves the repeatability of studies on digestion, drug delivery to intestinal tissue, or bacterial community response to different stimuli. In the future, it can also be modulated to more accurately represent disease conditions that affect the gut microbiome. Continued work will ideally quicken the development of new therapies to improve quality of life for those with many digestive diseases and disorders.”
Post-doctoral scholar awardee
Ying Han, postdoctoral researcher in engineering science and mechanics
Han’s research uses powerful transmission electron microscopy to study materials at the atomic level. This tool allows Han and his team to see how the internal structure of materials changes and how those changes affect their performance. By understanding these details, they can improve the design of advanced materials, such as high-performance alloys and semiconductor devices. For example, they examine specific atomic patterns in complex alloys to make them stronger or more durable and analyze how different materials are combined in semiconductors to refine their production processes.
“Modern technological advancement demands increasingly sophisticated materials and devices with precise control down to the atomic scale,” Han said. “My research bridges fundamental materials science with practical applications, contributing to the development of stronger alloys, more efficient electronic devices and improved energy storage systems. By understanding and engineering materials at the microscopic level, we can create more durable and efficient components for next-generation electronics, energy systems and structural applications, ultimately advancing technological capabilities across multiple industries.”
Non-tenure line research faculty and research staff awardee
Maria Hilse, assistant research professor, MRI
Hilse’s research focus is on the synthesis and characterization of unique materials that are extremely thin, such as one- and two-dimensional nanostructures, films and heterostructures using MBE. This method works in conditions similar to the vacuum of outer space and allows precise control over these ultra-thin films' thickness. By using this approach, she develops new types of one- and two-dimensional materials, explores how they grow at the atomic level and investigates their unique properties. She is especially interested in quantum materials, which exhibit unusual behaviors due to strong quantum mechanical effects. These materials have the potential to revolutionize electronics and optoelectronics, offering improved performance for technologies in energy and environmental applications.
“My research to the controlled synthesis of high-quality quantum materials enables myself and my many external collaborators to study novel physics at the fundamental level,” Hilse said. “We do this through the 2D Crystal Consortium – Materials Innovation Platform that’s part of MRI. Together, we build up a base of new knowledge to serve as the foundation for future innovation and technology. This includes work to add more capabilities to electronic devices, increasing their efficiency while simultaneously reducing energy losses and therefore mitigating the environmental impact of our technology-driven society.”
Early career faculty awardees
Hee Jueng Oh, assistant professor of chemical engineering
Oh’s team creates advanced polymer membranes to tackle some of the world’s most critical and complex separation challenges in energy, environmental protection and health care. They design specialized polymers that are highly selective, develop innovative membrane structures that did not exist before and study how the chemical and physical properties of these materials affect the movement of molecules through them. Efficiently separating molecules supports everything from traditional industrial processes to future carbon-free technologies.
“Chemical separation is important for modern society because designing polymer membranes that can transport target molecules with high selectivity and productivity is critical for our access to clean water, air, energy, environment, food and medicine,” Oh said. “From a fundamental point of view, we study the relationship between polymer chemistry, processing, structure and transport properties for separation science. These fundamental studies are critical for designing membranes for liquid, gas and vapor separations, energy storage, resource recovery, critical element recovery, selective removal of unwanted molecules from various chemical streams, biomedical devices, controlled drug delivery and barrier materials for food and packaging.”
Feifei Shi, assistant professor of energy engineering
Shi’s research group focuses on improving energy technologies to make them more efficient, sustainable and widely available. They study how materials interact inside batteries to boost performance, extend their lifespan and make them more stable. The team also works on refining manufacturing techniques to produce batteries that are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. In addition, they investigate how to prevent corrosion in high-temperature systems, like molten salt reactors, to ensure the durability of next-generation energy storage technologies. Another key area of their work involves developing innovative ways to extract and recycle critical materials — such as lithium, cobalt and nickel — reducing environmental impact and ensuring a sustainable supply of these essential resources. By combining these efforts, her team aims to create advanced, eco-friendly energy storage solutions that help drive the shift toward a low-carbon future.
“Our group's research can significantly impact society by improving the performance, affordability and sustainability of energy technologies,” Shi said. “As batteries play a critical role in powering everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy systems, our work could help make these technologies more efficient, longer lasting and widely accessible. Ultimately, this research supports a cleaner, more reliable energy infrastructure, which can lead to lower energy costs, reduced pollution and a stronger, more sustainable economy for the average person.”