UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Students choose to study abroad for a variety of reasons, such as exploring new cultures and developing valuable skills for the future. This summer, Megan Brown, of Archbald, is finding that studying abroad also can be a great way to gain hands-on research experience.
Brown, a senior agricultural and biorenewable systems management major in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is spending two months in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. She is part of the International Partnership for Responsive Infrastructure using Sustainable Multifunctional Materials, or iPRISM, and is conducting research at the University of Freiburg.
iPRISM is an international research internship funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. For Brown, the program offers an opportunity to work in world-class research facilities and network with highly renowned experts.
“I applied for this internship because I’ve enjoyed doing research, and I felt this was the right time to explore the world before heading into my senior year,” Brown said. “I also have a personal interest in projects that improve systems while lowering environmental impact, which directly aligns with iPRISM’s goal to minimize energy consumption from building operations by using bioinspired materials.”
iPRISM is a partnership between the Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Materials Systems (LiMC2) at Penn State and the livMatS Center of Excellence at the University of Freiburg.
Brown’s adviser, Stephen Chmely, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, is the associate director of LiMC2. He noted that Brown consistently demonstrates exceptional curiosity and technical skill in his lab, particularly through her research on sustainable 3D printing with lignin, organic polymers that form structural materials in plants’ support tissues.
“Programs such as iPRISM are exactly why LiMC2 exists — to connect our talented students with global partners like the livMatS Center,” he said. “Seeing an outstanding student such as Megan take the foundation she’s built at Penn State and apply it to complex, bioinspired materials on an international stage perfectly embodies the collaborative, forward-thinking spirit of our center.”
iPRISM is open to Penn State and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, students pursuing degrees, including agricultural sciences, engineering and architecture. The program is new and has a cohort of about six students each year. Students are assigned different research topics and guided through the experience with a graduate mentor.
During the internship, Brown is conducting research on the movement of cypress cones in response to changing stimuli like humidity and temperature. She explained that, unlike most cone species, the Italian Cypress cone does not experience full reversible hygroscopic motion. In other words, after a cypress cone opens, it will not naturally return to its originally closed form. This summer, Brown is looking into the reasons for this atypical response.
“I lucked out with the group of people selected for the program this year,” she said. “We’ve become pretty good friends through this shared experience, and it is nice to have a support system here.”
Brown noted that iPRISM offers the ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance. The program directors encourage the cohort to explore and immerse themselves in different cultures. During this trip, Brown visited Paris, France; Lucerne, Switzerland; and Zurich, Switzerland.
Brown said the faculty in the college take time at the start of each semester to promote their labs and research. She credited networking through campus research with leading her to the iPRISM program.
“I took advantage of this promotion to consider my options and have conversations with professors about their work,” she said. “Eventually, I found a lab that I was interested in with a great adviser, Dr. Chmely. I realized I could see myself working in a lab to create a product that could truly help the environment someday.”
Brown is weighing several options for life after graduation, including graduate school and moving directly into research and development work. She said she believes her study-abroad experience will help her decide what comes next.
“This experience allows me to grow my network internationally, which is something many people may not have and gives me a huge leg up,” she said. “That in and of itself is probably the most professionally beneficial aspect of this experience, aside from cultivating and refining my technical skills.”
For students interested in research internships, Brown recommended getting involved in research on campus as early as possible to gain the most experience.
“Traveling to a new place with new people and a new job can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be as long as you prepare yourself for change,” Brown said. “After all, change is a good thing.”