UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Allison Beese, professor of materials science and engineering and of mechanical engineering at Penn State, has been named the senior associate director of Penn State’s new National Security Institute. She will begin her appointment on May 15.
The National Security Institute will enhance research outside the scope of Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), a Department of Defense-designated University Affiliate Research Center that supports all the U.S. Armed Forces and other government agencies, to address the critical current and future security challenges facing the nation and the world.
As senior associate director, Beese will play a key role in assisting the institute’s inaugural director, Karen Thole, to bring together interdisciplinary teams of researchers working in the defense and national security space, secure federal and industrial funding, build and maintain long-standing partnerships with government agencies and industry, and develop an education and workforce pipeline to meet the current and future needs of the nation in this critical research field.
“I am delighted to see Dr. Beese stepping up to this critical role, especially given her expertise in additive and advanced manufacturing, which will be a key pillar of the new National Security Institute,” said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State. “Her experience with federal agencies and industry and her proven track record in leading cross-college initiatives make her a key addition to this leadership team.”
Beese is an expert in additive and advanced manufacturing whose research into the mechanics of materials focuses on advanced manufacturing, especially related to national supply chain resilience, point-of-need fabrication and the repair and replacement of parts on demand; materials for extreme environments, like those needed in hypersonic, nuclear and high-temperature technologies; and machine learning-aided material discovery and optimization.
Beese joined the Penn State faculty in 2013. She currently serves as director of the additive manufacturing and design graduate program, co-director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing Through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) and associate head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State. She received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State and her doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“I look forward to working with Dr. Thole and Dr. Read to lead a coalition of academia, industry and federal entities to advance national security-oriented research and educate the next generation workforce, positioning the United States to deploy national security solutions in the decades to come,” Beese said. “The National Security Institute offers new avenues to position Penn State research teams for success in fields critical to reducing risk, protecting our communities and promoting peace and stability around the world.”