Penn State Energy and Environment News Feed

Penn State Beaver earns international arboretum accreditation

| psu.edu

The Penn State Beaver campus has been recognized as an accredited arboretum by ArbNet, an international accreditation program based out of the Morton Arboretum of Chicago.

In brief: Co-existing with humans genetically changed bear population

| psu.edu

Critically endangered Apennine brown bears, which reside in central Italy, have significantly reduced genetic diversity compared to other bear populations around the world, according to a team that included Carolyn Mahan, professor of biology and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona.

Faculty in 90-seconds: Charles Anderson

| youtube.com

Professor of biology and associate department head of research and faculty success, Charles Anderson, talks about his research, goals and students in this 90-second interview.

College of Arts and Architecture Sustainability Symposium to return on April 9

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The College of Arts and Architecture's second annual Sustainability Symposium, set for Thursday, April 9, will offer programming to celebrate the college’s sustainability progress and envision future efforts.

Prepare PA announces four regional network meetings across Pennsylvania

Prepare PA will host four regional network meetings across Pennsylvania in March and April, bringing together current and prospective members of the PA Climate Network to help shape the direction and goals of the statewide initiative.

Q&A: Could light-powered computers reduce AI’s energy use?

| psu.edu

Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Xingjie Ni and his team recently developed a prototype device that can accelerate and dramatically reduce the energy cost of AI computation by routing light through an “infinity mirror”-like loop of tiny optical elements, encoding data directly into the beams of light and capturing the resulting light patterns with a microscopic camera.

College of Ag Sciences faculty awarded Pennsylvania Soybean Board grants

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Paul Esker and John Boney, faculty members in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, have received grants from the Pennsylvania Soybean Board. 

Master Watershed Steward’s lifelong passion helps restore riverbanks

| psu.edu

A longtime nature enthusiast, Stephen Hinds, of Delaware County, has spent the past few years volunteering with Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Steward program, working hands-on to restore and stabilize streambanks at Smedley Park, a county park near his hometown, using a technique known as “live staking.”

Feb. 18 sustainability webinar to feature environmental and field science careers

| psu.edu

Sustain Penn State will host its second spring career panel from 12:15–1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in partnership with the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Career Services. The panel will bring together Penn State alumni working in environmental science, geoscience, research and clean energy to share insights into careers that involve environmental experiments, field data collection, and systems-level thinking about the intersections between human society and the physical environment.

Behrend chemist earns NSF grant to advance study of combustion

| psu.edu

Jay Amicangelo, a professor of chemistry at Penn State Behrend, is using a three-year, $330,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to study hydrogenated radicals, which are unstable molecules thought to contribute to combustion. 

SAFES to present seminar series focusing on data centers in Pennsylvania

| psu.edu

The Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will hold its first talk in the new seminar series “Water, Energy, and Data Centers in Pennsylvania” on Feb. 24 at University Park. 

Feb. 18 seminar: Energy’s transition from coal to natural gas, renewables

| psu.edu

Atiya Islam, doctoral candidate in economics in the College of the Liberal Arts, will lead a seminar on the effects of policy on the shift from coal to natural gas and other renewables in electricity generation at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in 157 Hosler Building at University Park.