An effort to get ahead of eastern wildfire risks
| alleghenyfront.org
The Eastern Fire Network will convene experts from six institutions to set a research agenda on the risks and impacts of wildfire in eastern states. This interview features Erica Smithwick, Distinguished Professor of Geography and Ecology.
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Domestication has changed the chemicals squash flowers use to attract bees
| psu.edu
Domestication has changed the chemicals squash flowers use to attract bees, according to a new study from researchers at Penn State.
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Margarita López-Uribe
Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor and Associate Professor, Entomology -
Jared Ali
Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures to begin Jan. 24
| psu.edu
The Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures in the Eberly College of Science, a series of free public lectures now in its 32nd year, will return to Penn State on Jan. 24. This year’s lecture series, titled “Unexpected pairings: Addressing today’s biggest societal questions using different disciplinary approaches,” will explore how researchers in the college approach some of today’s biggest societal questions using different approaches.
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Charles Anderson
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Tom Stewart
Tom Stewart -
Helen Greatrex
Helen Greatrex -
Joseph Cotruvo
Joseph Cotruvo -
Suvrath Mahadevan
Suvrath Mahadevan -
Santhosh Girirajan
Santhosh Girirajan
Center for CO2 storage begins 2026 with interdisciplinary momentum
| psu.edu
The Center for CO2 Storage Modeling, Analytics, and Risk Reduction Technologies has grown to involve faculty researchers across Penn State. Plans for a workshop in 2026 are taking shape.
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Sanjay Srinivasan
Department Head and Professor, John and Willie Leone Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering (EME) -
Anne Menefee
Assistant Professor, John and Willie Leone Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering (EME) -
Seth Blumsack
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Hannah Wiseman
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Tieyuan Zhu
Penn State Extension AI tool, Tilva, expands access to research-based guidance
| psu.edu
Penn State Extension has unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered tool, called Tilva, at the 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show, aimed at giving farmers around-the-clock access to research-based guidance.
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Jeffrey Hyde
Director of Extension and Associate Dean, Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education -
David Hughes
$1.6M to fund international study on built environment, malaria
A team of researchers from Penn State and Warwick University has been awarded a $1.6 million international Belmont Forum’s Collaborative Research Action project by the U.S. National Science Foundation and UK Research and Innovation’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Led by Penn State researchers, the project will explore how building design, infrastructure and development decisions can help reduce malaria risk worldwide.
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Governor recognizes Penn State program for 30 years of geospatial data service
The Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) program, established by Penn State in 1995, is celebrating 30 years of helping the commonwealth use data to make better decisions, from protecting the environment to planning for emergencies.
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Q&A: Growing novel ultra-pure materials for tomorrow’s electronics
| psu.edu
Qihua “David” Zhang, postdoctoral researcher in the Two-Dimensional Crystal Consortium at Penn State, recently earned the 2025 American Vacuum Society’s Thin Film Division Distinguished Technologist Award for his contributions to growing specialized materials with extreme purity and precision.
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Stephanie Law
Associate Professor and Norris B. McFarlane Faculty Career Development Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
Q&A: Environmental protection benefits the American economy and public health
| psu.edu
The impacts of environmental protection on public health and the economy outweigh the costs of implementing and enforcing environmental regulations, according to Penn State researchers who conducted a cost-benefit analysis using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
$1.74M grant to fund Eastern Fire Network
| psu.edu
As large wildfires become more frequent in the eastern U.S., a new research initiative based at Penn State will develop big-picture goals for future study. Erica Smithwick, director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at the University, will lead the effort.
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Institute for Computational and Data Sciences funds eight mid-scale seed grants
| psu.edu
The Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences' Mid-Scale Seed Grant Program has awarded eight teams of Penn State researchers for projects that will contribute to one or more of the institute's research hubs or affiliated centers.
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Nathan Brown
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Kostas Papakonstantinou
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Tamy Guimarães
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Margaret Busse
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Gamini Mendis
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Aron Laszka
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Anirudh Subramanyam
Assistant Professor, Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering -
Vasant Honavar
Professor and Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology, College of Information Sciences and Technology -
Xiaofeng Liu
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Li Li
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Chaopeng Shen
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Roberto Fernández
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Roman Dibiase
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Matthew Fantle
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Guido Cervone
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Charles White
Charles White
Feedback loops accelerate warming, other atmospheric changes in Arctic
| psu.edu
Using two instrumented planes and ground-based measurements from a two-month long field campaign to compare chemical processes in two regions in the Arctic — and the largest oil field in North America — to surrounding areas, researchers at Penn State have painted a comprehensive picture of the chemical processes taking place in the Arctic and found that there are multiple, separate interactions impacting the atmosphere.
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