UNIVERSITY PARK – An international research partnership in which Penn State is involved has attracted more than 3,000 participants from 16 universities worldwide while tackling some of society’s most pressing problems, fueled by more than $30 million in research funds – a sum that continues to grow.
The Worldwide Universities Network, formed in 2001, is a global platform of leading universities that pool their resources and strengths to address topics of major significance, from climate change to wireless technologies, poverty, contemporary societies, and much more. Penn State is a founding member of the partnership.
Lee Kump, professor of geosciences at Penn State, has been involved with the WUN since its founding six years ago and said his work on climate change above the Arctic circle has benefited tremendously from his association with colleagues across the globe. In fact, a recent expedition of about 26 international scientists to the Arctic provided a collection of preliminary information that Kump said will support a major international research proposal to major oil companies. It is hoped that if a project is funded, it will allow scientists to scrutinize past intervals of polar warmth as a way to predict future climate change.
“There has been a considerable amount of investment in this from WUN schools and our ability to collaborate has helped us begin the vast task of tackling the multi-million dollar challenges that cross international borders,” Kump said.
Over the last six years, the WUN has not only been the force behind climate research, it also has helped to launch an International Center for the Study of Terrorism based at Penn State; established new research communities in areas such as stem cell, nanomanufacturing, and silicon technology; expanded the exchange of international scholars; and developed more learning opportunities for graduate and post-doctoral students.
“Our involvement in the WUN is helping to create new opportunities for our students and faculty on an international plane that would not otherwise have been possible,” said Eva Pell, senior vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School. “Through our work in the WUN, Penn State is making a serious beneficial impact in a number of key areas and we hope to expand our partnerships to address more critical worldwide issues.”
One example of recent progress by WUN researchers includes the development of new semiconductor devices inside microstructured optical fibers that could have applications in fields as diverse as medicine, computing, and remote sensing devices. These advances in optoelectronics are the result of joint research by Penn State Professor John Badding, and partners from the University of Southhampton. The collaboration has evolved into a steady exchange of data and materials between the two institutions and holds promise for continued real-world impact in the areas of materials and photonics.
Penn State faculty also are involved in pioneering work related to the systematic study of the Earth’s “critical zone” — the life-sustaining outermost surface of the planet. Understanding and predicting responses to global and regional change is necessary to mitigate the impacts of humans on complex ecosystems.
Kump said that in addition to his collaboration with other geologists and climatologists across the globe, his research group also has developed a good relationship with a Norwegian coal company that has already extracted well-preserved sediment cores from deep within the earth. Studying these rocks, which formed over 50 million years ago at a time when the Earth was experiencing a “super-greenhouse” effect, help scientists better predict future climates.
“A drilling expedition to extract cores of this type could have cost millions of dollars,” he said. “We now have access to that data.”
WUN scientists also are involved in research related to bioprocessing of food, regenerative medicine, alternative fuels, attitudes about science and technology, and entrepreneurism, to name just a few areas.
In August, WUN hosted an international conference on spintronics, which brought together global experts from both academe and industry. Spintronics is a field of study in which the magnetic moments of electrons are harnessed within electronic circuits. It also is an area where Penn State researchers are among the world’s leaders. Spintronic research is expected to have a major impact on advanced data storage, microelectronics, automotive sensors, communication and quantum computing in a way comparable to the development of the transistor 50 years ago.
“Collaboration internationally helps faculty to think more broadly about issues and to understand them more deeply, from a variety of perspectives,” Pell said. “These global partnerships have been facilitated greatly by new technologies and we are finding real success with partners who share our research agenda.”
In addition to joint research endeavors, the WUN also provides virtual seminars on a wide variety of topics to help scientists understand and analyze new developments in their fields. The WUN also has been responsible for funding a wide range of graduate student travel and has made a host of e-learning opportunities available.
For more information on the WUN or to see the universities currently involved in this international alliance and the projects under way, visit the Web.