News

<p>Medical imaging is no longer in Kansas, Toto, as a team led by Penn State researchers brings traditional black and white diagnostic images of X-rays and traditional CT scans into technicolor. The researchers developed novel contrast agents that target two proteins implicated in osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease commonly characterized as wear-and-tear arthritis.</p>

October 25, 2024

New technique allows technicolor imaging of degenerative joint disease

<p>Three Penn State Online MBA students attended the 2024 homecoming game — including one in an unconventional way.</p>

October 25, 2024

Penn State Online MBA students make sure their friend doesn’t miss Homecoming

<p>Anivesh Sinha is one of the graduate research assistants working with a team of faculty and students from five Commonwealth Campuses, with funding from a University Presidential Public Impact Research Award, to help Pennsylvania nonprofit organizations improve their cybersecurity practices.</p>

October 24, 2024

Grad student works with research team to strengthen nonprofits’ cybersecurity

<p>Since 2017, ClearWater Conservancy and the Sustainable Communities Collaborative have collaborated on projects that address the nonprofit organization’s needs while providing Penn State students with real-world experiences. This semester, graduate-level graphic design students have been redeveloping the organization’s visual identity and providing recommendations for additional aspects of design in print and digital media.</p>

October 24, 2024

Graphic design students help ClearWater Conservancy develop new visual identity

<p>Voice assistants (VAs) like Alexa and Siri continue to gain popularity in households and on personal devices. According to digital trends research company Emarketer, the number of VA users will surpass 150 million in 2025. Despite the ubiquity, companies haven’t been able to work around users’ strong negative reactions to advertising on these applications. A research team, including scholars from Penn State, may have a solution.</p>

October 24, 2024

More user control may help ease negative reactions to ads on voice assistants

<p>An old physical phenomenon, known as the Hall effect, has revealed some new tricks, according to a team co-led by researchers at Penn State and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They reported their findings, which they said have potential implications for understanding fundamental physics of quantum materials and developing applied technologies such as quantum communication and harvesting energy via radio frequencies, in Nature Materials.</p>

October 24, 2024

Room temperature electrical control could heat up future technology development

<p>Twenty-four students from the College of Information Sciences and Technology attended the annual Grace Hopper conference, which celebrates women and nonbinary technologists from around the world. </p>

October 23, 2024

IST students attend annual Grace Hopper Celebration

<p>A team led by researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine re-engineered immune cells with a light-activated switch that modulates protein function and cellular behavior. When exposed to blue light, the cells change shape, infiltrating solid tumors grown in the lab and killing them.</p>

October 23, 2024

Re-engineered, blue light-activated immune cells penetrate and kill solid tumors

<p>Though often compared in size to round objects — peas, golf balls or even softballs — hailstones do not fall from the sky as smooth spheres. A new approach for modeling hailstorms that uses more realistic hailstone shapes could improve our understanding of hazardous weather, according to a team led by scientists at Penn State.</p>

October 22, 2024

Lumpy, bumpy hail: Realistic hail shapes may improve modeling of severe weather

<p>Penn State University Libraries will observe GIS Day — an annual event celebrating the technology of geographic information systems — on Nov. 18 and 19. This year’s sessions focus on geospatial presentation, networking opportunities and student engagement, with the theme “Geographers Take Action.” The event is co-sponsored with the Department of Geography.</p>

October 21, 2024

Penn State GIS Day activities focus on the theme “Geographers Take Action”

<p>Penn State University Libraries will observe GIS Day — an annual event celebrating the technology of geographic information systems — on Nov. 18 and 19. This year’s sessions focus on geospatial presentation, networking opportunities and student engagement, with the theme “Geographers Take Action.” The event is co-sponsored with the Department of Geography.</p>

October 21, 2024

Penn State GIS Day activities focus on the theme 'Geographers Take Action'

<p>Margery E. Hoffman, widow of 1982 Penn State civil engineering doctoral alumnus Paul C. Hoffman, has committed a $1.05 million estate gift to establish an endowment to benefit graduate students in civil engineering in her husband's memory.</p>

October 21, 2024

$1.05 million estate gift to establish graduate fellowship in civil engineering

October 21, 2024

Upcoming events supporting graduate student success, Oct. 23-29

<p>A project led by Penn State researcher Felecia Davis that explores Black culture, its relationship to technology, and concepts of translation in architectural design is featured in the “Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design” exhibition that opened Sept. 28 at the Craft Contemporary arts museum in Los Angeles.</p>

October 21, 2024

Work by Stuckeman architecture researcher featured in Los Angeles exhibition

<p>For graduate students, college can be a trying and difficult time. Students are often far away from their lifelong support system of families and friends. An effort that began three years ago in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is elevating the experiences of graduate students within the college.</p>

October 21, 2024

EMS graduate student network continues to improve experiences for peers

<p>A team of researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and collaborators from five different institutes has created a 3D atlas of developing mice brains, providing a more dynamic understanding of how the mammalian brain develops. This atlas provides a common reference and anatomical framework to help researchers understand brain development and study neurodevelopmental disorders.</p>

October 21, 2024

Researchers develop 3D atlas of the developing mammalian brain

<p>The availability of an artificial intelligence system's training data can promote transparency and accountability of that system, according to Penn State researchers.</p>

October 18, 2024

Showing AI users diversity in training data boosts perceived fairness and trust

<p>Twenty-two new species of gall wasps have been identified and named for the first time, thanks to new research led by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences graduate student.</p>

October 18, 2024

Penn State entomology graduate student identifies 22 new species of gall wasps

<p>Twenty-two new species of gall wasps have been identified and named for the first time, thanks to new research led by a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences graduate student.</p>

October 18, 2024

From Catwoman to Han Solo, newly discovered wasps named after famous thieves

<p>Flathead catfish — native to the Mississippi River basin — were first detected in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania in 2002, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In the two decades since then, the invasive species has spread throughout the river basin. The impact of the large predator on the waterway’s food webs and ecology was unknown, but now a team including researchers from Penn State is beginning to understand what Susquehanna flatheads are eating and how their presence is affecting native aquatic species in the river.</p>

October 18, 2024

Invasive flathead catfish impacting Susquehanna’s food chain, researchers find

<p>A new technique allows astronomers to home in on planets beyond our solar system that are in line with each other and with Earth to search for radio signals similar, for example, to ones used to communicate with the rovers on Mars. Penn State astronomers and scientists at the SETI Institute spent 28 hours scanning the TRAPPIST-1 star system for these signs of alien technology with the Allen Telescope Array. Although the team didn’t find any evidence of extraterrestrial technology, their work introduced a new way to search for signals in the future.</p>

October 17, 2024

Are nearby planets sending radio signals to each other?

<p>A rare, extremely luminous X-ray outburst has been observed in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is a close neighbor of our own Milky Way galaxy. The observations, made by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and other telescopes, were described by an international team of astronomers led Penn State scientists on the Swift team.</p>

October 17, 2024

Rare, ultra-luminous nova spotted in the Small Magellanic Cloud

<p>With cold and flu season on the horizon, University Health Services encourages students to stay current on COVID-19 and flu vaccines. Both vaccines are available by appointment at UHS.</p>

October 16, 2024

Students are encouraged to get updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines

<p>Three projects from researchers in the Penn State Stuckeman School that focus on the use of mycelium, the root of fungus, as sustainable architectural components are featured in the “Fungi Futures: Exploring Mycelium in Product Design and Crafts” exhibition in the gallery of the (con)Temporary CRAFTS STUDIO in Bremen, Germany.</p>

October 15, 2024

Fungi Futures exhibition showcases work of Stuckeman architecture researchers

October 14, 2024

Upcoming events supporting graduate student success, Oct. 16-22

<p>People who experience depression and concussions simultaneously have significantly worse symptoms for both conditions and disruptions to brain connectivity, according to a study by researchers at Penn State.</p>

October 14, 2024

Co-occurrence of depression and concussions amplify symptoms of both conditions

<p>A team of researchers from Penn State College of Medicine found that misfolded versions of a protein exhibit tissue-specific toxicity linked to cell degeneration that may be linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study is a step forward in understanding the physiological processes that may contribute to ALS development and progression and identifies a potential therapeutic target, the researchers said.</p>

October 11, 2024

Toxic protein may contribute to ALS development

<p>The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State named 110 graduate students as recipients of the 2024-25 University Graduate Fellowships and Distinguished Graduate Fellowships. The students were honored on Oct. 3 at a reception held at the Bryce Jordan Center. </p>

October 10, 2024

University fellowships awarded to 110 graduate students

<p>Graduate students took away positive experiences participating in Penn State’s inaugural Three Minute Thesis competition this past spring. </p>

October 09, 2024

Three Minute Thesis competition provides lasting impact for graduate students

<p>A team led by Penn State researchers recently developed an electronic tongue capable of identifying differences in similar liquids, such as milk with varying water content; diverse products, including soda types and coffee blends; signs of spoilage in fruit juices; and instances of food safety concerns. They found that results were even more accurate when artificial intelligence used its own assessment parameters to interpret the data generated by the electronic tongue.</p>

October 09, 2024

A matter of taste: Electronic tongue reveals AI inner thoughts

<p>Several graphic design students from the Stuckeman School were recognized for their designs in the University and College Designers Association's 2024 Design Awards competition, which honors designers, design educators, photographers and illustrators across the United States.</p>

October 08, 2024

Stuckeman graphic design students win multiple national design awards

<p>Rates of babesiosis, a tick-borne parasitic disease, increased an average of 9% per year in the United States between 2015 and 2022 and four in 10 patients were found to be co-infected with another tick-borne illness such as Lyme disease, according to a new study led by researchers at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Penn State College of Medicine.</p>

October 08, 2024

Rates of a tick-borne parasitic disease are on the rise

October 07, 2024

Upcoming events supporting graduate student success, Oct. 9-15

<p>Graduate students attended the Global Careers Institute on Sept. 27 and 28, co-hosted by Penn State Global and Penn State Great Valley. At this professional development event, prominent Penn State alumni shared about their work experience in various countries and networked with students to help them prepare for success in the global marketplace.</p>

October 07, 2024

Highlights from the Global Careers Institute for grad students at Great Valley

<p>Liam Geyer, a fifth-year Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate student majoring in cybersecurity analytics and operations, leveraged his involvement in the Competitive Cybersecurity Organization at Penn State to land internships and full-time employment. </p>

October 07, 2024

Student engagement leads to career opportunity for IST graduate student

<p>Honey bees are not native to the U.S., leading to concerns that managed honey bee populations might negatively impact wild bees. However, a Penn State research team found that of the 33 genera of native bees studied, only a small number seemed to be negatively affected by the presence of honey bees.</p>

October 07, 2024

Adding fall blooming plants may help both managed and wild bees in cities

<p>Batteries power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles, with their performance hinging on the critical interface between the electrode and electrolyte. Penn State and industry researchers have developed a method to observe this interface at a higher resolution, which could potentially reveal new ways to improve battery efficiency and lifespan. </p>

October 04, 2024

Revamping an old technique to see battery design in a new way

<p>A compound found in African wormwood — a plant used medicinally for thousands of years to treat many types of illness — could be effective against tuberculosis, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State.</p>

October 01, 2024

Plant compound used in traditional medicine may help fight tuberculosis

September 30, 2024

Upcoming events supporting graduate student success, Oct. 2-8

<p>Zita Oravecz, associate professor of human development and family studies in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development, is leading a four-year, $3.1 million National Institute of Aging-funded study to study the early signs of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias that may appear approximately 20 years before an official diagnosis.</p>

September 30, 2024

$3.1M grant to fund study on early signs and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

September 26, 2024

Industry job search workshop series to highlight tips for graduate students

<p>Rates of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the immediate pre-pandemic period, according to new research led by a team from the Penn State College of Medicine. The pronounced increase in SUID cases correlated with a resurgence of seasonal respiratory viruses, particularly RSV, suggesting that the shift in SUID rates may be associated with altered infectious disease transmission.</p>

September 26, 2024

Rates of sudden unexpected infant death changed during the COVID-19 pandemic

<p>Beginning Oct. 8, Penn State University Libraries will offer three free workshops for students and employees on maps, GIS, aerial imagery and data visualization. No previous knowledge of maps or GIS is required.</p>
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September 25, 2024

Libraries to offer fall workshops on maps and GIS topics

<p>Using high<strong>-</strong>speed X-ray imaging, a team of researchers led by Christopher Kube, associate professor of engineering science and of acoustics at Penn State, captured footage of a cross-section of liquid metal as it cooled. Their results confirmed longstanding hypotheses in the field that through local pressure changes, ultrasonic vibrations encourage air bubbles to increase in number, enlarge, migrate to the surface of a melt pool and pop — increasing the quality of the finished product.</p>
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September 25, 2024

Bubbling up: Uncovering melt pool dynamics in metal manufacturing

<p>The sixth annual Penn State Health Administration Virtual Case Competition will take place Oct. 21-24 via Zoom. The competition is designed to help students in health administration, health policy, public health or related fields develop public speaking skills, gain experience working in teams, practice problem solving, engage in strategic thinking, practice and demonstrate professionalism, build networks and gain leadership experience.</p>

September 25, 2024

Health administration case competition to challenge students across the U.S.

<p>Recreation, park and tourism management researchers at Penn State conducted a survey of 267 households near Mkomazi National Park in northern Tanzania and found that food security was much more important than financial or educational security in motivating people to engage in poaching or illegal grazing in the park.</p>

September 25, 2024

Lack of food — not money — drives poaching in East African national parks

<p>To better guide farmers managing nitrogen in the soil, a team of Penn State agricultural scientists conducted a new study on dairy manure management strategies for ecosystem services in no-till crop systems. In findings recently published in Agronomy Journal, they report a new strategy that achieves multiple conservation goals while maintaining corn yield: injecting manure into a growing cover crop in early spring.</p>

September 25, 2024

Injecting manure into growing cover crops can cut pollution, support corn crops

<p>Using high-entropy materials, a team led by Penn State scientists created more efficient thermoelectric materials than previously possible, and the advancement could someday help make the technology as efficient as other renewable energy sources like solar. </p>

September 24, 2024

Waste heat to green energy: Approach boosts thermoelectric generator efficiency

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