Past Events: Penn State Energy and Environment Calendar Archive

Foundation Relations and the Limited Submissions Office will conduct a workshop via Zoom to explain the funding opportunity and process for the W.M. Keck Foundation: Science & Engineering/Medical Research competition. Workshops are scheduled for November 16: 3:00-4:30 pm or November 17: 9:00-10:30 am.

Claire Masteller, Washington University in St. Louis, presents "How rivers remember: the effects of flow history on sediment mobility in gravel-bed rivers" as part of the ​Department of Geosciences Colloquium Series.

Foundation Relations and the Limited Submissions Office will conduct a workshop via Zoom to explain the funding opportunity and process for the W.M. Keck Foundation: Science & Engineering/Medical Research competition. Workshops are scheduled for November 16: 3:00-4:30 pm or November 17: 9:00-10:30 am.

Penn State GIS Day strives to bring together those who are working with GIS, geospatial technologies, remote sensing, maps, and location-based research on campus together to foster greater geospatial awareness on campus, within the community, and beyond.

This talk introduces the initiatives of the New Building Institute to promote deep energy reductions at the whole-building level and institutionalizing best practices in advanced codes and policies. NBI is a national, non-profit organization that works collaboratively with building industry market players, including governments, utilities, building professionals, manufacturers, and equity advocates. NBI aims to eliminate operational carbon emissions in new construction by 2030 and cut existing building consumption in half (from a 2003 CBECS baseline) by 2040.

The chondrocranium is a transient structure primarily composed of cartilage that forms in all vertebrates to support the embryonic brain and other sense organs prior to the formation of the bony skull. Embryologists of the early 1900s studied the anatomy of the chondrocranium and produced 3D models of hand reconstructions of relatively thick histological sections. More recent studies of the chondrocranium are based on thin histological sections but reconstructions remain imperfect.

Water Insights is an interdisciplinary seminar series on water science, water management, and water policy sponsored by the Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES). Speakers include researchers, water managers, and water policy makers from Penn State, other universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Abstract:

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is a useful framework for addressing complex transdisciplinary natural resource and environmental challenges in integrated, innovative ways. This webinar series explores using and operationalizing WEF nexus approaches for finding solutions to these challenges. The series focuses on examples and solutions by linking and using WEF nexus approaches to timely interventions, technologies and issues of importance, especially in the context of COVID-19 and climate change.

Chronic Wasting Disease in Pennsylvania presented by Andrea Korman, Chronic Wasting Disease Biologist, PA Game Commission, and Blaine Groshek, State Game Warden To request a Zoom link, please contact Ellen Rom, exr2@psu.edu.

Fires burn in all terrestrial ecosystems on the globe, and wildfires are getting larger, more destructive and deadly. Both humans and climate are contributing to this trend. The Fall 2021 EESI EarthTalks series, “Fire in the Earth System,” will address humanity’s long relationship with fire, how humans and climate create conditions conducive to megafires, and how policy makers and land managers can address the fire problem. The seminars, which are free and open to the public, take place from 4 – 5 p.m. on Mondays via Zoom.

Anaerobic soil disinfection (ASD) has been demonstrated as an effective pre-plant non-chemical treatment for control of soilborne diseases in many cropping systems including tomato. However, there is little information regarding the efficacy of ASD in Pennsylvania high tunnel systems. ASD combines the incorporation of organic amendments, flooding, and soil sterilization into a single tactic and elicits microbial changes that are antagonistic to soilborne pathogens. These changes are influenced by the organic amendment addition, soil temperatures, and treatment duration.

The National Academies’ Committee to Advise the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) (“the Committee”) is using its convening authority to support USGCRP’s engagement with a wide range of potential users in its work.

The online conference "Cracking the Nut 2021: Building Resilient Food, Water, and Energy Systems" is announced for November 15-18, 2021 and will focus on how public and private sector initiatives can create resilient systems that support rural and agricultural development. For this, three topics will be discussed; (a) applying technology and digital solutions, (b) leveraging private sector and multi-stakeholder investments and (c) ensuring inclusion of vulnerable populations.

This presentation will give an overview of The Franklin Institute, the most visited museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and leading science center in the country. You will hear examples from the Institute and other science centers of how to create programs and leverage partnerships between universities and science centers.

Why is transforming the energy infrastructure to renewables different from, or the same as, other global challenges such as addressing overpopulation, poverty, and sanitation?

Webinar will cover consensus on what commitments are needed to reduce global carbon emissions and some of the current commitments entities both public and private have in place. Specific examples of initiatives, programs and successes will be shared with participants. Presenters: Rob E. Cooper, Senior Director for Energy and Sustainability, Penn State University Office of Engineering, and Meg Boyle, PhD, Dept. of Geography, Penn State University   OVERVIEW:

Abstract: Energy development, be it drilling an oil and gas well or building a wind farm, is a classic "not in my backyard" or "NIMBY" activity. Landowners leasing their land typically welcome this development, while neighbors and community groups often vociferously oppose it as an objectionable activity. A frequent response of regulators, developers, and other project proponents is to dismiss this opposition as baseless.

The public conversation about vaccines has changed a lot since the COVID-19 pandemic began. What are the causes of vaccine skepticism, and how and why has it changed so much since the first vaccines were released in December 2020?

Dr. Paquito Bernard, associate professor in the Department of Physical Activity Sciences at Université du Québec à Montréal, will discuss bidirectional associations between climate change impacts and physical activity behaviors. Bernard will present the respective mitigation and amplification roles of physical activity in climate change perspectives and how health psychology can take part in addressing this threat by promoting climate action. This event is sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology. Registration is not needed.

In March 2020, SAFES launched the “Impacts of COVID-19 on Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Systems” Seed Grant. PIs and team members from these innovative projects will provide brief updates on the outcomes and further research directions. The impact of COVID-19 on consumers' attitudes towards local food and the environment (Martina Vecchi, PI) How Fast Can We Develop an Agricultural Decision Support System to Assess the Impact of COVID-19 on Crop Production in Pennsylvania? (Yuning Shi, PI)