Clive A. RandallView profile
Professor
Clive A. Randall is an Evan Pugh University Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director of the Materials Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. He has held these prestigious positions while also serving as Technical Advisor for the Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics, which he co-founded in 2013 after previously directing the Center for Dielectric Studies from 1997 to 2013. Evan Pugh University Professor (highest faculty honor at Penn State) Director, Materials Research Institute Technical Advisor, Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics Dr. Randall received his B.Sc. with Honors in Physics in 1983 from the University of East Anglia and his Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from the University of Essex in 1987, both in the United Kingdom. His academic journey has established him as a leading figure in materials science research. Professor Randall's research focuses on the discovery and compositional design of functional materials for electrical energy transduction and storage. His work encompasses defect chemistry and crystal chemistry's impact on phase transition behavior, electromechanical devices based on electrostriction and piezoelectrics, supercapacitors, thermoelectrics, and microwave materials. He pioneered the Cold Sintering Process, enabling ceramic densification at temperatures between 100°C and 300°C, which has revolutionized ceramic-polymer composite manufacturing. His research bridges fundamental material science with practical industrial applications, particularly in electronics and energy storage technologies. Piezoelectric and dielectric materials development Cold Sintering Process innovation Defect chemistry analysis Electroceramic materials for energy applications Solid-state battery research Dr. Randall has received numerous prestigious awards recognizing his contributions to materials science, including the American Ceramic Society Fulrath Award, Spriggs Phase Equilibria Award, IEEE UFFC-S Ferroelectrics Recognition Award, and the Richard Brook Award (2025). He is a Fellow of multiple prestigious organizations including the American Ceramic Society, IEEE, National Academy of Inventors, and the European Ceramic Society. Over 540 technical papers with more than 39,000 citations h-index of 102 26 patents in electroceramics Multiple R&D 100 Award-winning technologies His research group has secured substantial funding from diverse sources including the National Science Foundation, U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Department of Energy, Office of Naval Research, U.S.-Israel Binational Scientific Foundation, NASA, and significant private sector partnerships. The Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics under his leadership serves as a hub for industry-academic collaboration, with major manufacturers of multilayer ceramic capacitors regularly partnering with his team. His Cold Sintering Process research has attracted new industry partners seeking lower-cost manufacturing pathways for advanced materials. Professor Randall leads the Materials Research Institute, overseeing extensive research infrastructure and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across Penn State. His research philosophy emphasizes using extreme application needs to direct fundamental studies that enable practical material advances. His work on fast firing approaches and quality control techniques has been widely adopted by the capacitor industry, while his Cold Sintering Process opens new possibilities for integrating diverse material families into common platforms.










