Penn State Energy and Environment News Feed

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.

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.

Research team to study food resilience in the face of catastrophic global events

| news.psu.edu

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all become aware of how a global crisis can affect our access to food. But imagine the food security impacts of an even worse scenario — an all-out nuclear war, a large asteroid strike, or a supervolcano eruption.

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.

Battling disease with ultraviolet light

| psu.edu

Bill Bahnfleth, co-principal investigator (PI) and professor of architectural engineering, is joining co-PI Suresh Kuchipudi, clinical professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, to study the ability of optical radiation to disinfect surfaces and reduce transmission of viruses.

Geographers bring expertise on geospatial data, modeling to COVID-19 research

| psu.edu

Penn State geographers are taking part in a variety of projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Computer models may add sizzle to plans to make cultivated meat alternatives

| psu.edu

Penn State chemical engineers suggest that using computers to analyze the metabolic needs of livestock animal growing cells – or genome-scale metabolic modeling -- could help food scientists design processes and growth media that produce meat at scales suitable for commercialization.

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.

Gene-editing protocol for whitefly pest opens door to control

| news.psu.edu

Whiteflies are among the most important agricultural pests in the world, yet they have been difficult to genetically manipulate and control, in part, because of their small size. An international team of researchers has overcome this roadblock by developing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing protocol that could lead to novel control methods for this devastating pest.

Libraries virtual exhibition highlights human impact on our planet

| psu.edu

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day in April 1970, a new online exhibition, “Earth Archives: Stories of Human Impact,” explores the intersection of the environment, human activity, and the documentary record.

Architectural engineering professor receives NSF CAREER grant

| psu.edu

Donghyun Rim, assistant professor of architectural engineering, was recently awarded a $500,000, five-year Early Career Development Program grant from the National Science Foundation. With this grant, Rim will study modeling and experimental validation of airborne nanoparticles in indoor environments.