Energy and mineral engineering to host annual research showcase Oct. 3
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The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering will host its annual research showcase, “Rising to the Challenge,” from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Graduate State College Regency Ballroom in State College.
Penn State entomologists join project to track historical parasite populations
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Supported by a $4.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, a multi-institutional project will draw on Penn State entomological expertise and collections to document and digitize the historical population dynamics of arthropod parasites, such as ticks, lice and mosquitoes.
Penn State researchers lead the way in Water-Energy-Food research in Africa
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Three Penn State researchers — Rachel Brennan, in the College of Engineering, and Mike Jacobson and Brian Thiede, in the College of Agricultural Sciences — recently received $250,000 in University Strategic Plan seed funding to address global Water-Energy-Food challenges.
Four new faculty members join Department of Chemical Engineering
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Four new faculty members joined Penn State’s Department of Chemical Engineering this academic year.
Researchers develop novel process to fabricate battery materials
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By discovering a way to combine lithium salts with ceramics, researchers in the Penn State College of Engineering and the Penn State Materials Research Institute may have created a new class of materials for longer-lasting batteries. According to researchers, the composite nature of the batteries could make recycling easier, reducing landfill waste.
Penn State-led Global Building Network at forefront of building performance
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A large-scale interdisciplinary effort led by Penn State, called the Global Building Network, is underway to create high-performance buildings, which are buildings capable of achieving net-zero carbon-based energy usage while increasing occupant performance and reducing health risks.
Penn State professor co-chairs roadmap to guide synthetic biology investments
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Howard Salis, associate professor of biological engineering and chemical engineering at Penn State, helped to draft a technical roadmap recently published by the public-private Engineering Biology Research Consortium that will guide future investments in synthetic biology, including encouraging partnerships to enable these innovations to make the most positive societal impact.
New IEE leaders mindful of energy, environmental challenges
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Bruce Logan and Erica Smithwick have been named associate directors for the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.
Sense of smell, pollution and neurological disease connection explored
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A consensus is building that air pollution can cause neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, but how fine, sooty particles cause problems in the brain is still an unanswered question. Now a team of Penn State researchers, using mice, have found a possible way, but more research is still needed.
Penn State promotions in academic rank, effective July 1, 2019
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The following is a list of academic promotions for tenured and tenure-line faculty members at Penn State, effective July 1.
Penn State EnvironMentors team wins first place in national competition
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A team of Penn State faculty, students and local high schoolers took first place at the 2019 EnvironMentors National Science Fair in Washington, D.C. EnvironMentors is a program that pairs university faculty and undergraduates with underrepresented high schoolers who want to gain research experience before college.
Faculty-edited book on environmental news coverage wins research award
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A lack of research on how news media from around the world covers climate change inspired Penn State scholar Juliet Pinto to join colleagues in studying environmental coverage from Latin America and the Caribbean. “News Media Coverage of Environmental Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean,” published by Palgrave Macmillan, won the 2019 AEJMC-Knudson Latin America Prize.