Research Institutes

Penn State’s interdisciplinary institutes promote collaboration across departmental boundaries to focus research strengths on vital scientific questions and pressing societal needs.

• Penn State Cancer Institute: focal point for all cancer-related investigators and connects discovery to practices and population sciences.
• Clinical and Translational Science Institute: develops and implements new methods to predict, prevent, and treat human disease.
• Institute for Computation and Data Sciences Links to an external site.: brings researchers together to develop and apply innovative high-performance computation methods.
• Institute of Energy and the Environment: aims to advance the energy and environmental research missions of the University.
• Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences: catalyst for multidisciplinary education and innovations in materials.
• Materials Research Institute Links to an external site.: catalyst for multidisciplinary education and innovations in materials.
• Social Science Research Institute: promotes research encompassing the skills and perspectives needed to solve complex social problems.

Additional Research Units

• Applied Research Laboratory Links to an external site.: focuses on the innovation, maturation, and implementation of new technologies in defense, national security, economic competitiveness, and quality of life. 
• Sustainability Institute Links to an external site.: supports the sustainability movement at Penn State as consultants and coaches who guide and bolster sustainability efforts at the University.
• Rock Ethics Institute Links to an external site.: promotes engaged ethics research and ethical leadership from its home in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts.