Vagelos Institute News

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.

With LEED Platinum certification, the Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology (VLEST) represents the highest standard in sustainable building design, underscoring Penn’s ongoing commitment to sustainable design and construction. Other recent building projects at the University of Pennsylvania have earned LEED Gold and Silver certifications. 

A team from the MXenes Synthesis, Tunability and Reactivity (M-STAR) Center for Chemical Innovation, including VIEST faculty members Zahra Fakhraai, Aleksandra Vojvodic, and researchers from their groups, have synthesized and characterized new two-dimensional materials containing up to nine different elements. These new materials have many promising next-generation applications, including consumer electronics, medical devices, and energy storage and conversion.

Research Corporation for Science Advancement has selected 13 outstanding postdoctoral scholars, including Vagelos Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Kunyu Wang, to participate in the second year of its RCSA Fellows Initiative. This initiative aims to increase faculty excellence in the physical sciences through a multiyear program of job search preparation, professional development, and community building.

Christopher Murray and four other Penn faculty have been elected 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows. They are among 471 researchers being honored this year across 24 scientific disciplines.

Kritika Jha, a Vagelos Institute Graduate Fellow and fourth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry, used her background in polymer-based chemistry to start AekoVera, a company that aims to knock down the barriers that prevent businesses from choosing more sustainable packaging options.

More than two dozen events held Feb. 10-14 will give students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn about energy-related research and work at Penn and beyond.