Solar energy is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources — but it has some limitations, reports Penn State New Kensington student Kaleb Schaffer.
Schaffer, and three of his peers, have explored how solar power systems can sustain themselves given factors like extreme weather, temperature changes and materials degrading over time.
The project was in the range of work presented Tuesday at the 24th annual Research and Student Engagement Expo at the Penn State New Kensington campus in Upper Burrell.
Ultimately, the Harrison native found that monocrystalline silicon and perovskite panels improve efficiency and performance in low-light conditions, compared to glass panels.
“They end up producing a lot more light, and are more durable,” said Schaffer, 25, a senior studying electro-mechanical engineering technology. “AI and tracking systems have been implemented; now they always face the sun. It’s not a single axis.
“I think what you’ll start to see is that the old (glass) panels will last 15 to 20 years. The new ones will go for 30 to 50 years. It will make more sense for people to buy solar and be more efficient.”
The expo showcases research and creative projects completed by students through coursework or independent projects. It featured 47 projects and around 70 students, said Amy Rustic, reference and instruction librarian at Penn State New Kensington.
“That’s the benefit of being in this environment — they can work hands-on on research with faculty,” Rustic said. “This is a great opportunity to work on independent research with a faculty member and present to an audience that might not know much about their topic. They’re learning to communicate beyond the discipline.”
It will be one of the last student research expos at Penn State New Kensington.
PSNK, along with six other Penn State branch campuses, will close permanently at the end of the spring 2027 semester. Officials attribute the closure to declining enrollment, finances and a reported limited potential for growth.
But that didn’t stop or deter students and faculty from working on and presenting the projects.
“All the professors are doing a great job,” Schaffer said. “They stuck around. I’m impressed.”
Schaffer has held internships at EOS, a battery manufacturer in Turtle Creek, and ATI. He hopes for a job as an automation engineer at the ATI facility in Harrison.
Jayden Wise, a sophomore studying psychology, studied the “blind mind’s eye,” or aphantasia. Aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily visualize mental images.
“Aphantasia and the mind’s eye, we use it every day,” said Wise, of Atlanta, Ga. “When someone is (talking) with you, if I say envision a Mustang, or I saw a Mustang of a certain color, we use the mind’s eye to build a memory or build an image of it.”
Wise studied if verbal cues suppressed drawing creativity and detail. Thirty students participated in his study, half of whom drew a picture of a house for five minutes while repeating the word “the” once per second. The other 15 students pictured a house in their mind first, then drew it without the verbal repetition.
“People experiencing aphantasia build it from their working memory. People who can see that mind’s image can build it actively,” he said.
Wise’s research found that participants likely relied on spatial imagery, which remained intact even when visual-object imagery is impaired.
Drawing a house and the word “the” are familiar to people, he said, so future research could use more complex drawing tasks.
With Penn State New Kensington closing, Wise plans to transfer to the University of Pittsburgh this fall and pursue a master’s degree in social work.
“Penn State New Kensington was the environment I wanted to graduate from, but it pushed me to lean toward Pitt,” he said. “Because our campus community has dealt with the closure very well, we had no issues.”
Karee Jackson, 20, of Plum, is a junior studying criminal justice. She compared criminal and juvenile justice systems in Ireland and the United States. The name of Ireland’s national police force, Garda Síochána, translates to “guardians of the peace,” she learned.
“Ireland is more focused on rehabilitation, and the U.S. is more on punishment,” Jackson said. “I’m not saying one’s better or worse, but they are different. I focused on the policing, courts, corrections and juvenile justice system.”
Jackson plans a future job working to reduce recidivism rates in the Pittsburgh area.
“I want a job that helps people,” she said. “This is a great way to do that. Society has written them off as criminals without a second chance. I believe everyone should have a second chance.”
Jackson plans to stick it out at New Kensington and will be part of the college’s last graduating class next year.
“I think it will be really sad,” she said. “A lot of my peers are going to other campuses. The hallways will feel empty.”