Q&A: What are the impacts of road salt on the environment, vehicles and more?
| psu.edu
For this Q&A, Bill Burgos, Penn State professor of environmental engineering in the College of Engineering, spoke about why road salt — one of the most common tools for de-icing roads and walkways in Pennsylvania — is used, what its impacts are and what some alternatives might be.
Applications sought for 2026 M.G. Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards
| psu.edu
Penn State graduate and undergraduate students are invited to submit proposals for the 2026 M.G. Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards by March 16, and faculty volunteers are needed to review proposals. Students can receive up to $2,500 for research conducted between May 2026 and March 2027 that focuses on Indigenous knowledge.
Libraries’ maps, GIS hybrid workshops open for spring 2026 registration
| psu.edu
Penn State University Libraries’ Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information will offer six free, hybrid workshops to the University-wide community on topics related to maps and geographic information systems beginning Feb. 24.
‘Grass2Gas’ may be key to sustainable Pennsylvania dairy farms, study suggests
| psu.edu
Implementing novel management practices in dairy farming, one of the commonwealth’s major agricultural industries, could help alleviate a large source of both nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a multidisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State.
Geography 'Coffee Hour' to feature talk on race, waste and toxic capitalism
| psu.edu
Pavithra Vasudevan, assistant professor of African and African Diaspora studies and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at the University of Texas at Austin, will present at the Department of Geography's 'Coffee Hour' at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, in 112 Walker. The talk will also be accessible via Zoom.
The science behind the storms
| psu.edu
Penn State researchers spent six weeks chasing storms during the first hail research campaign in the United States in four decades. Named the In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail In the Plains, or ICECHIP, it was the largest, most sophisticated international collaborative hail research campaign to date.
Lüften sounds simple – but ‘house-burping’ is more complicated in Pittsburgh
| theconversation.com
A German habit has been trending in recent weeks: ‘lüften,’ or airing out your home. It can help older, damp homes in the US – if circumstances are right.
Winners of the Leonhard Center’s arts, engineering contest announced
| psu.edu
The Leonhard Center for Enhancement of Engineering Education has announced the winners of its inaugural Arts and Engineering Competition. The competition celebrates the creativity and innovation at the intersection of art and engineering.
Helping soil microbes kill weed seeds to aid organic farmers
| psu.edu
To better equip organic farmers to control weeds, a team of Penn State agricultural scientists received a four-year, $935,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how promoting soil microbes to infect and kill weed seeds might reduce problematic weed species.
Brandywine joins the Commonwealth Arboreta Network
| psu.edu
Penn State Brandywine is deepening its connection with nature and sustainability through its membership in the Commonwealth Arboreta Network.
Cocoziello Institute explores sustainable design, development at Ellis Preserve
| psu.edu
Students and faculty from Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation recently traveled to Ellis Preserve in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, to explore one of the region’s most ambitious examples of sustainable, mixed-use development.
Town hall on Feb. 12 to address research environment
| psu.edu
Penn State’s research community is invited to attend a Research Town Hall at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12.