Penn State Energy and Environment News Feed

Teaching excellence lauded in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences

| psu.edu

Exceptional educators in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have been honored with the college’s 2025 teaching awards, recognizing their impact in and out of the classroom.

In brief: Like living cells, oil-in-water droplets reach out with 'arms'

| psu.edu

In a study of oil-in-water droplets, which may offer a glimpse into how matter transitioned to life, found that the droplets respond to chemical cues by forming arm-like extensions that are similar to the ones used by living cells to sense and explore their environment.

Penn State Harrisburg research enterprise sees record growth, measurable impact

| psu.edu

Penn State’s research enterprise exceeded $1.44 billion in research expenditures in fiscal year 2024-25 — marking another year of record University-wide growth — and Penn State Harrisburg made crucial contributions to that momentum. Building on the strength of the University’s expanding research impact, the college reached its own record levels of productivity this year, contributing $9.8 million in research expenditures, a 32% increase over the previous year.

Professor of Statistics Murali Haran named editor-in-chief of JABES

| psu.edu

Murali Haran, professor of statistics in the Eberly College of Science, has been named editor-in-chief of the Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics (JABES) for a three-year term starting in 2026.

AI-enabled monitoring system could help keep dairy calves healthy

| psu.edu

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) — a type of pneumonia — is the leading cause of death for dairy calves after they become accustomed to food other than their mothers’ milk, resulting in economic losses at over $1 billion annually for the U.S. cattle industry. To detect BRD in dairy calves before they show obvious symptoms and reduce those costly losses, a team of researchers, funded by a new three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, intend to create a system that uses modern sensing technologies and advanced artificial intelligence.

Forest and wildlife technology programs to open at Penn State Altoona

| psu.edu

Associate degree programs in forest technology and wildlife technology – currently located only at Penn State Mont Alto and DuBois, respectively, and offered through Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences – have been approved to open at Penn State Altoona, maintaining these unique and historic offerings at Penn State for a new generation of learners.

$3.2M to fund flu-bacteria interaction study in 3D-bioprinted lung platform

| psu.edu

To investigate the interactions between the influenza virus and bacterial microbe infections and how these interactions impact the lungs, a team co-led by researchers at Penn State and Duke University School of Medicine has been awarded a four-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Seven Eberly College of Science faculty named highly cited researchers in 2025

| psu.edu

Seven Penn State Eberly College of Science researchers were recognized recently as highly cited researchers by the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Group.

Two College of Ag Sciences faculty earn spots on highly cited researchers list

| psu.edu

Francisco Dini-Andreote and Andrew Patterson in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are among the most highly cited researchers in 2025, according to the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Group.

NSF grant to support planning of sustainable space technology center

| psu.edu

A multi-institution team led by researchers at Penn State received a U.S. National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center planning grant to begin the process of establishing the Center for Research in Emerging Sustainable Space Technologies.

2025 Roy Awards recognize materials research with potential far-reaching impact

| psu.edu

Six materials researchers at Penn State have received the 2025 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, recognizing a wide range of research with societal impact. The award is presented by the Materials Research Institute for recent interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State that yields innovative and unexpected results.   

Penn State Hershey researchers find link between skin cancer rates and farmland

| alleghenyfront.org

Researchers that found that Pennsylvania counties with more farmland and herbicide use also have more melanoma, and not just among farmers.