Fourteen interdisciplinary research teams receive 2026 IEE seed grants
Fourteen interdisciplinary research teams have received funding through the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s (IEE) 2026 Seed Grant Program. The program supports basic and applied research that lays the groundwork to pursue external funding and is guided by IEE’s five strategic research themes. This year, the program awarded seed funding to more than 40 researchers across 10 colleges and campuses and 21 departments and units.
Heather Grab named Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor in Entomology
| psu.edu
Heather Grab, assistant professor of entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been awarded the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professorship in Entomology.
Guoray Cai named Dewey Walker Professor in Information Sciences and Technology
| psu.edu
Guoray Cai has been appointed to the Dewey Walker Professorship in Information Sciences and Technology. The professorship supports an outstanding faculty member whose work advances interdisciplinary contributions in information systems solutions.
Seven-figure gift endows directorship of real estate innovation institute
| psu.edu
Longtime volunteers Peter and Sharon Cocoziello have come forward with a new gift to name and support the Advance Realty Investors Director of the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation.
EPA faces backlash over drinking water monitoring plan
| newsweek.com
The EPA released a new drinking water monitoring plan which fails to include review of microplastics, despite calls from 176 organizations.
How Penn State Beaver is helping farmers respond sooner to animal health challenges
| psu.edu
Penn State Beaver is helping strengthen animal health and agricultural resilience across western Pennsylvania through the Keystone Animal Diagnostic Center, which gives farmers and veterinarians closer access to critical and timely testing.
New entrepreneurship, commercialization structure to grow research impact
| psu.edu
Penn State’s Office of the Senior Vice President for Research will implement a strategic reorganization, effective July 1, designed to strengthen the University’s ability to drive research commercialization, community-engaged research and statewide economic impact.
Addressing workforce challenges to strengthen US power grid
The nation's electric grid faces mounting pressures from aging infrastructure, growing energy demand and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. A team led by Penn State researchers is working to address a less visible but equally critical challenge: the future workforce needed to keep the power flowing.
Plastic bottles could find new life in batteries as graphite
A plastic bottle tossed into a recycling bin could one day help power an electric vehicle, smartphone or renewable energy storage system, according to a team of Penn State researchers.
Thawing ground, future questions: Decoding Arctic climate in a Pennsylvania lab
| psu.edu
To a group of faculty and student researchers at Penn State, changes in Arctic soil carry critical information about one of the most pressing environmental challenges on Earth: the thawing of Arctic permafrost.
New design approach may help slash the price of ultra-durable concrete
| psu.edu
A research team of engineers at Penn State has developed a new design approach for optimizing internal fibers that could help cut the cost of ultra-high-performance concrete by up to 75%, while maintaining the material's exceptional strength and durability.
Q&A: What can archaeology teach us about democracy and autocracy?
| psu.edu
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz, assistant professor of anthropology, and an interdisciplinary research team recently collaborated on an article published in the journal Science Advances that sought to better understand how ancient civilizations in the Americas, Europe and Asia developed more democratic- or autocratic-leaning practices.