Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation

10/10/2026

The Cocoziello Institute is proud to have been a part in early funding for LionGlass, to get it out of the lab and into commercialization!

10/08/2026

🏠 A Housing Action Plan for Pennsylvania

Join us on Thursday, October 15 at 4 PM in 101 Stuckeman Family Building for a presentation and discussion of Pennsylvania’s first-ever Housing Action Plan with Kevin Bush, Deputy Secretary for Housing at the PA Department of Community & Economic Development.

Unveiled this spring, the plan is a comprehensive, data-driven roadmap to address housing needs across all regions and income levels of the Commonwealth. It is a call to action, and this event is a chance for the Penn State community to join the conversation about how our expertise can help advance housing solutions across Pennsylvania.

Time will be set aside for discussion with Deputy Secretary Bush, so come ready to engage. This event is open to Penn State students, faculty, and staff, as well as the public.

Hosted by the Hamer Center for Community Design, the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation, and the Sustainable Communities Collaborative.

📅 Thursday, October 15
🕓 4:00 PM
📍 101 Stuckeman Family Building, University Park

10/02/2026

What does it take to build a stronger future for the built environment? For Ryan Maibach, it starts with bringing industry and academia together.
As a founding member of the Cocoziello Institute’s Industry Advisory Board, Maibach brings more than three decades of construction industry experience and a long-standing connection between Barton Malow and Penn State University to the Institute.
Read his story: https://cocoziello.psu.edu/news/building-partnerships-that-last/

The biggest challenges facing the built environment won’t be solved by industry alone—or by universities working in isolation.

10/01/2026

This week we are shining a spotlight on Dr. Patrick Dudas, a member of the Cocoziello Institute's Affiliated Faculty. Dr. Dudas is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Informatics and Intelligent Systems at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, is an associate director of the Center for Immersive Experiences, and has recently been named the Director of the Digital Twin Literacy Center in the Pattee Library.

The Digital Twins Hub and Digital Twin Literacy Center are housed under the Institute for Computational Data Centers and the Cocoziello Institute.

He holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Westminster College and both a master's degree and Ph.D. in information science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Dudas is passionate about creating advanced visualizations and storytelling methods that help researchers understand their data and make results more accessible. He has collaborated with researchers across meteorology, engineering, biomedical science and entomology, and currently supports Penn State's FRONTIER team advancing micro nuclear reactor research.

His areas of expertise include advanced visualization, AI, digital twins, and workforce development. He joined the Cocoziello Institute's affiliated faculty because it offers a premier platform for connecting real estate with emerging technologies — a natural fit for his interest in exploring AI and advanced visualization through the lens of digital twins.

09/28/2026

📸 A look back at our Cocoziello Tailgate & Watch Party from September 19.

Students, faculty, and industry partners came together for a family-friendly celebration to kick off the fall season! Food, drinks, tailgate games, glitter tattoos, and a whole lot of Penn State pride. 🐾🏈 We can't wait to do it again next season!

09/24/2026

📸 Relive Industry Challenge Day — one photo at a time!

Last week, the Cocoziello Institute hosted our very first Industry Challenge Day, bringing together students, faculty, and industry leaders for an afternoon of real, hands-on problem-solving in the built environment.

The room was filled with Penn State faculty and students across 6 different colleges, alongside industry members representing 4 different companies — all working side by side on real challenges. This year's four challenges shared a common thread: how do buildings, data, and the people who design and operate them get smarter over time?

This day was proof of what happens when research and industry meet in real time.

Swipe through the photos below to see the energy for yourself! 👉

09/18/2026

The Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation is all about identifying and solving the biggest challenges in the built environment

If you are new here and are asking, "what is the "built environment"?

It's a term we use a lot, so let's break it down! The built environment is every space we design, build, and interact with, think homes, schools, and hospitals, to roads, bridges, offices, parks, and the infrastructure that keeps our communities running.

We're focused on solving the built environment's biggest challenges, because where we live, work, learn, and connect shapes everything.

09/11/2026

This week, we welcomed Lance Shaner (Shaner Hotels), Nate Durkin (Cutting Edge Crane & Cutting Edge Tree Professionals, and Cameron Woodring (Sprouting Troops LLC) to the Cocoziello Institute for a visit!

Our guests toured faculty labs, robots included, and heard a presentation from Director Scarlett Miller on everything the Institute is working on. Great conversations followed about where computational systems, data, and real-world infrastructure intersect, especially as digital twins continue to scale across campuses and physical systems.

Thank you all for visiting, we look forward to continuing the conversation! 🤝

Thank you to Guido Cervone, Director of State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences for also being there to contribute more background about the interdisciplinary research being done at Penn State University.

If you are interested in becoming involved with the Cocoziello Institute, please reach out here: https://cocoziello.psu.edu/work-with-us/