Penn State Energy and Environment News

Virtual Undergraduate Exhibition brings together nearly 200 students

| psu.edu

During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent cancellation of public events, organizers in the Office of Undergraduate Education still wanted to provide some avenue for undergraduates to gain the experience of communicating their research and be able to compete for prizes. Nearly 200 participants shared their research and creative work during the 2020 virtual Undergraduate Exhibition at Penn State.

A conversation with Multicultural Engineering Program Director Lauren Griggs

| onwardstate.com

"Making sure people's momentum continues to be present and evolve is what will help the STEM field be the best it can be."

Cover crop roots are key to understanding ecosystem services

| psu.edu

To judge the overall effectiveness of cover crops and choose those offering the most ecosystem services, agricultural scientists must consider the plants’ roots as well as above-ground biomass, according to Penn State researchers who tested the characteristics of cover crop roots in three monocultures and one mixture.

Researchers aim to create thriving agricultural systems in urbanizing landscapes

| psu.edu

A team led by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences researchers is almost a year into a five-year study aimed at creating economically and environmentally sustainable agricultural systems in the face of development pressures and other challenges of urbanization.

Water-energy-food research event to explore US-Colombian partnership

| psu.edu

As part of Penn State's ongoing support of research in the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, an online information session focused specifically on WEF nexus efforts in Colombia will be held on Aug. 6.

'Land and Water Revisited' to livestream for premiere

| psu.edu

"Land and Water Revisited," a look back at a 1962 movie on the ecological impact of people in the Teotihuacan Valley outside of Mexico City, will live stream at 7 p.m. on July 24 on YouTube Live from the State Theatre. The film will be introduced by the producers and followed by a livestreamed, 45-minute question-and-answer session with collaborators and families from the original film.

Center for Security Research and Education announces seed grant awardees

| psu.edu

The Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE) has selected 13 interdisciplinary projects through its spring 2020 seed grant program. CSRE is providing a total of $300,000 in funding for the projects, with an additional $300,000 in matching and supplemental funding from other colleges, departments, and institutes.

Coral researchers recognized for significant contributions to field

| psu.edu

Iliana Baums and her research team were recognized by members of the coral reef community as making significant contributions to coral reef research.

Penn State and University of Auckland announce 2020 joint collaboration projects

| psu.edu

In late 2019, Penn State and the University of Auckland launched the Joint Collaboration Development Program, a jointly financed seed-fund program with the aim to foster collaborative research and educational projects. The Office of Global Programs has announced that eight projects have been funded and will officially commence in June.

Penn State promotions in academic rank, effective July 1, 2020

| psu.edu

The following is a list of academic promotions for tenured and tenure-line faculty members at Penn State, effective July 1.

New institute to help address complex food-energy-water-land challenges

| psu.edu

The seed for Penn State’s Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science was planted well before the COVID-19 outbreak. The concept had been growing in the College of Agricultural Sciences for about two years when the pandemic emerged.

Penn State lab develops new procedures to improve high-quality scanning

| psu.edu

CQI developed new processes that resulted in a high-resolution scan 3D segmented rendering of a contrast-enhanced fetal mouse, which was chosen as the cover image for the journal Developmental Dynamics.