Gov. Shapiro issues proclamation celebrating Penn State’s Ag Progress Days
| psu.edu
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro issued a public citation highlighting the impact and important role Penn State’s Ag Progress Days plays in supporting the state's agricultural industry through education, research and innovation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Rock Springs as the permanent Ag Progress Days site.
Creating chemical reactions that run on oxygen, produce only water as waste
| psu.edu
Synthetic mimic of a protein drives a chemical reaction that requires only oxygen and produces only water as waste, the new research lends insight to how enzymes work and could help build the foundation for the development of environmentally clean chemistry.
USDA grant to help uncover opportunities and challenges facing rural governments
| psu.edu
A new $590,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will help fund an ongoing project to survey county governments across the U.S. to better understand the challenges they face in providing services and enacting policies that improve economic growth and well-being in rural communities.
Earth science and policy student spends summer exploring Arctic geothermal options
| psu.edu
Declan Goldhawk knew he wanted to spend the summer expanding on what he’s learning in college while branching out into unfamiliar territory. A 10-week internship in Alaska — a place he’s never been — researching geothermal energy at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power checked both boxes.
Soilless farming system design can determine microbial growth, impact on crops
| psu.edu
Vegetable production from soilless farming, a fast-growing segment of modern agriculture, addresses water scarcity, land limitations and food security, but microbial management remains a challenge, according to a team of researchers at Penn State, who conducted a study of bacteria in five soilless farming systems.
Washington’s wildfires are a warning for the entire U.S.
| scientificamerican.com
Dry conditions and climate change are putting forests across the country at risk for disaster.
NSF funding supports Two-Dimensional Crystal Consortium's next chapter
| psu.edu
The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded Penn State’s Two-Dimensional Crystal Consortium $4.6 million over four years to support its transition toward long-term sustainability while the national user facility continues providing researchers across the country with access to specialized materials, equipment and expertise. These users conduct cutting-edge research to develop faster, more energy-efficient electronics, photonics, quantum technologies and computing systems.
Penn State’s Ag Progress Days returns with activities, demos and exhibits
| psu.edu
Penn State’s Ag Progress Days returns with a full schedule of demonstrations, activities and learning experiences highlighting Pennsylvania agriculture. The expo will take place Aug. 11-13 at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs in Ferguson Township, Centre County.
Chemical engineering professor honored for work on plant-based tissue scaffolds
| psu.edu
Amir Sheikhi, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering and associate professor of chemical engineering at Penn State, recently received the 2025 Early Career Investigator Award from the journal BioResources for his research team’s work on all-cellulose cryogels with tunable architectures.
State grant funds Harrisburg program to train teachers for air quality research
| psu.edu
A new state grant will enable Penn State Harrisburg to help prepare teachers to lead hands-on air quality monitoring projects in their classrooms, giving students opportunities to engage in authentic scientific inquiry while helping schools implement Pennsylvania's new science and technology standards.
Doctoral student leads grain processing project for Team Pennsylvania
| psu.edu
Penn State graduate student Kehinde “Kenny” Kolapo is finding innovative ways to make a difference for Pennsylvania agriculture and beyond.
Drone cameras can measure pigments indicating surface health of drylands soils
| psu.edu
Composed of cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, algae, fungi and bacteria, biocrusts play major roles in storing carbon, cycling nitrogen, preventing erosion and supporting ecosystems on Earth's surface. To better understand the status of these complex biological communities, a team led by researchers at Penn State developed a novel approach for assessing the health and function of biocrusts.