Vagelos Institute News

Eric Schelter, Hirschmann-Makineni Professor of Chemistry, has received a 2026 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award from the U.S. Department of Energy for his “fundamental chemical studies of energy-critical metals leading to new methods for their selective and sustainable separations.” The Lawrence Award honors U.S. scientists and engineers, at mid-career, for exceptional contributions in research and development supporting the Department of Energy and its mission to advance the national, economic and energy security of the United States.

An article in Penn Today highlights The Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag)— a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center led by Penn that aims to build sensing, communication, and response systems for agriculture. The Director of IoT4Ag is Vagelos Institute faculty member Cherie Kagan, who is the Stephen J.

Vagelos Institute faculty members Deep Jariwala and Rob Riggleman have been named 2026 Fellows of the American Physics Society, an honor recognizing exceptional contributions to physics and service to the physics community.

Penn’s sixth Energy Week, taking place Feb. 23-27, features events that highlight cross-disciplinary research at Penn and bring in leading industry experts.

The research group of Vagelos Institute faculty member Eric Schelter, Hirschmann-Makineni Professor of Chemistry, is working toward new technologies to streamline separations of the rare earth elements. Their work has been highlighted in Chemistry World, the news magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 

Vagelos Institute faculty member Karen Winey, Harold Pender Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and in Materials Science and Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Prof. Winey was honored for contributions to understanding and advancing polymer nanocomposites and ion-containing polymers.

VIEST faculty member Robert Carpick, John Henry Towne Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, joined host Ira Flatow on Science Friday to talk about the tribology of ice and curling. 

VIEST faculty member Dohyung Kim, Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been named a 2025 Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The Fellowship, one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for early-career researchers, provides $875,000 over five years to support pioneering work in science and engineering. 

The Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology has achieved the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest standard, a rare distinction and just the second Penn building to do so.