Sept. 25 talk to highlight importance of resilient water infrastructure
| psu.edu
Roberto Fernández, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State, will give the talk “Living with Water” on Sept. 25 in the Earth and Engineering Sciences Building at University Park. The talk will also be available via Zoom.
Darrell Schlom to deliver 2026 Taylor Lecture in Materials on Sept. 25
| psu.edu
The theme of the 2026 Nelson W. Taylor Lecture in Materials is “Extending materials science into the impossible.” The lecture, by Darrell Schlom, Tisch University Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University, will be held 8:15-11:30 a.m. on Sept. 25 in the HUB-Robeson Center’s Heritage Hall.
Flight of imagination
| pennstatermag.com
An array of Penn State alumni, faculty, and students have played an essential role in NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission, a groundbreaking exploration of Saturn’s largest moon in search of a new understanding of the origins of life on Earth.
Biobehavioral health professor Keith Aronson to retire after 25 years at Penn State
| psu.edu
After 25 years at Penn State, Keith Aronson, associate director of the Social Science Research Institute, director of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State and research professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Health, will retire at the end of the year.
College of Agricultural Sciences hosts Ukrainian scholars
| psu.edu
Managed by Ag Sciences Global in the college, the Woskob International Research in Agriculture Scholar Program is the Woskob New Century Fund’s flagship educational exchange program. It covers visiting scholars’ travel and living expenses. The program gives Ukrainian instructors a semester-long opportunity to expand their knowledge and expertise by attending classes and working with the college’s faculty.
Penn State Sustainability to screen 'Hungry to Learn' on Wednesday, Sept. 30
| psu.edu
Penn State Sustainability’s Intersections Film Series will launch its 2026-27 season with a screening of “Hungry to Learn” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The film highlights the widespread issue of food insecurity among college students and its impact on student success, while also spotlighting emerging solutions.
Penn State hosts roundtable on Opportunity Zones, housing affordability
| psu.edu
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials joined representatives from local, state and federal government, nonprofit, and private sectors for a Sept. 9 discussion hosted by the School of Public Policy.
Stuckeman School to host interdisciplinary symposium on AI use in arts, design
| psu.edu
The Stuckeman School in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture is hosting an interdisciplinary symposium on artificial intelligence use in the arts and design fields March 26-27, 2027, at the Nittany Lion Inn.
Engineering professor receives DOE Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award
| psu.edu
Jean Paul Allain, Lloyd and Dorothy Huck Chair in Plasma Medicine and professor of nuclear engineering at Penn State, has been awarded the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for his work as the inaugural director of the DOE’s Office of Fusion and associate director for Fusion Energy Sciences in the Office of Science.
Pollard Lecture set for Oct. 8
| psu.edu
Dorothee Kern, from Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Scripps Research, will present the 2026 Ernest C. Pollard Lecture in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, titled “The Protein Dance: From Experiments to AI Predictions,” at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, in 008 Mueller Laboratory at Penn State University Park. This free public lecture is sponsored by the Penn State Eberly College of Science.
One Health Microbiome Center announces 2026 award recipients
| psu.edu
The One Health Microbiome Center recognized five Penn State researchers and trainees with its 2026 awards for contributions to microbiome science, leadership, community engagement, creativity, research and mentorship.
Tiny wrinkles bend physics to change how electricity moves through graphene
| psu.edu
Small bends in graphene’s two-dimensional, or one-atom-thick, structure can change the material’s electrical properties, according to a new study. Harnessing this property may allow scientists to one day power more responsive sensors and ultrathin electronic devices.