Mary Fetzer

ADHD is often described as a childhood disease. Indeed, it is most often diagnosed in children around the age of 7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But very often, of course, ADHD does not end in childhood. In fact, a 2020 research review found that, globally, more than 366 million adults have ADHD.
We wanted to talk to some adults with ADHD — including several who were first diagnosed in middle age — to learn about the impact of the diagnosis on their lives.

ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder, but it has taken decades to define what it is, who it affects and what can be done about it.
We wanted to explore the 121-year evolution of the ADHD diagnosis. Here’s what we found:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has elected a Penn State engineer to its College of Fellows. Dipanjan Pan, Dorothy Foehr Huck & J. Lloyd Huck Chair Professor in Nanomedicine and professor of nuclear engineering and of materials science and engineering, was inducted at the 2023 AIMBE ceremony held March 26-27 in Washington, D.C. Pan is also affiliated with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and with the Huck Institutes.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Measuring temperature and nitrogen levels in soil is important for agriculture systems but detecting them apart from one another is difficult to do. Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, led researchers in the development of a multi-parameter sensor that can effectively decouple temperature and nitrogen signals so that each can be measured accurately. The results were recently published by Advanc...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Measuring temperature and nitrogen levels in soil is important for agriculture systems but detecting them apart from one another is difficult to do. Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, led researchers in the development of a multi-parameter sensor that can effectively decouple temperature and nitrogen signals so that each can be measured accurately. The results were recently published by Advanc...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Additive manufacturing technology, also known as 3D printing, provides the opportunity to create customized medical devices. However, the capabilities to design and print the smart, flexible materials this type of equipment requires remain lacking, according to researchers at Penn State and The University of Texas at Austin.
Those researchers are working to change that. A $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Leading Engineering for America’s Pro...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Four Penn State graduate students won best student paper awards at recent international meetings of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA).

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Buried unexploded munitions can pose a threat to human health and the environment, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE). The USACE identified more than 400 active or former military sites exceeding 10 million acres across the nation that are potentially contaminated with underwater unexploded ordnances (UXOs), dating from the 18th century to 2013, when the report was made. Kyle Dalton, a doctoral student of acoustics at Penn State, is working to make suc...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The coming decades present a host of challenges for built environments, including a rising global population, increasing urbanization, crumbling infrastructure and climate change. To become more livable for more people, smart materials will need to become smarter, adapting and responding to what’s going on aro...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sweat contains biomarkers that help doctors make health diagnoses. Wearable sensors can be used to monitor a person’s perspiration rate and provide information about the skin, nervous system activity and underlying health conditions. But not all sweat is created equal, and some cannot be measured with current sensors. A newly developed superhydrophobic biosensor could be used as a diagnostic tool to detect such types of sweat.

Jessica Menold, Joseph Najem and Xiang Yang received awards from the 2023 Air Force Office of Scientific Research
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Three College of Engineering faculty received awards from the 2023 Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Research Program (YIP). Jessica Menold, Hartz Family Career Development Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering Design and Innovation and the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Joseph Najem, assistant professor of ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A fly or a hummingbird can sustain wing damage, compensate for aerodynamic asymmetries and continue to fly. Two Penn State mechanical engineers will use a $320,000 grant to develop equipment that enables them to study such locomotion controls in nature and potentially engineer bio-inspired robots. The grant is sponsored by the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Credit: Jeff Xu/Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Bill Burgos, professor of environmental engineering at Penn State, has been selected for induction as a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Alumni are selected for their career accomplishments and contributions to the profession of civil engineering, according to Virginia Tech’s website.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Rongming Chu, associate professor of electrical engineering in the Penn State School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, was awarded a $191,650 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. The grant, part of the $59 million Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP), will be used to equip Chu’s power semiconductor device characterization lab.