UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new exhibition that highlights the multidisciplinary work researchers from the Stuckeman School and the College of Engineering at Penn State are doing to create sustainable housing solutions on Earth and beyond by using 3D printing processes will open at 6 p.m. on Nov. 3 in the Willard G. Rouse Gallery as part of the school’s Lecture and Exhibit Series.

Titled “From Earth to Mars and Back,” the exhibition builds on work the research team initiated for the 2019 NASA 3D Printed Mars Habitat Challenge, in which the team — dubbed Den@Mars — finished second. Featured in the show are a collection of images from teaching experiences at the undergraduate and graduate levels, research experiments from different parts of the design and 3D printing processes, and full-scale prototypes of practical applications of additive manufacturing technologies to build concrete structures on Earth and Mars.

Organized by José Pinto Duarte, Stuckeman Chair in Design Innovation and director of the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, and Shadi Nazarian, associate professor of architecture, the exhibit was curated by Julio Diarte, adjunct lecturer of architecture and a 2020 alumnus of the architecture doctoral program.

“Interdisciplinary research is one of Penn State’s great strengths and this exhibition is an opportunity to take a look inside different aspects of the collaboration between architecture and engineering researchers in the development of technology to 3D print buildings,” said Duarte.

The work displayed in the exhibition showcases the results of research within the Additive Construction Lab, housed in the Civil Infrastructure Testing and Evaluation Laboratory, that focuses on using 3D printing at the construction scale to create sustainable housing options that could revolutionize the construction industry and address larger societal issues, such as homelessness.

From Earth to Mars and Back is free and open to the public and will run through Jan. 19.