Connected habitats help wildlife fight disease, strengthen protective microbes
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In a new study of tropical amphibians, a team led by Penn State biologists found that amphibians in connected natural forests and aquatic habitats were more likely to host beneficial skin microbes that inhibit a deadly fungal pathogen.
Penn State strengthens water education network
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As questions about water quality grow more complex across Pennsylvania, Penn State is working to strengthen how research connects with communities. “The Confluence: Water Research and Extension In-Service Day” recently brought together researchers and Penn State Extension educators to learn, plan and network.
College of Ag Sciences alumna’s legacy: research and growing global impact
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Long before she led reforestation efforts in her native Lebanon, Maya Nehme was a graduate student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, researching ways to combat invasive species threatening forests. Even then, her vision extended beyond the lab — helping to inspire what would become the college’s international agriculture and development graduate dual-title degree program, known as INTAD.
Penn State Harrisburg to host Research and Discovery Day on April 22
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The Office of Research and Outreach at Penn State Harrisburg will host the annual Research and Discovery Day on Wednesday, April 22.
Penn State Engineering climbs to No. 28 in US News rankings of best grad schools
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Penn State's College of Engineering ranked No. 28 — rising three places from last year — for overall national engineering graduate programs in U.S. News & World Report's recently released 2026 "Best Graduate Schools" ranking. The college ranks No. 14 in the nation among public university programs, and it remains the No. 1 public university program in Pennsylvania.
Penn State biochemist Melanie McReynolds awarded Hypothesis Fund seed grant
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Melanie McReynolds, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been selected to receive a seed grant from the Hypothesis Fund. The Hypothesis Fund advances scientific knowledge by supporting early stage, innovative research that increases adaptability against systemic risks to the health of people and the planet.
Former Ag Sciences dean creates student experience funds
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Bruce McPheron and his wife, Marilyn, have made both a future pledge and an outright gift to support student experience opportunities in the College of Agricultural Sciences Department of Entomology and at the Frost Entomological Museum.
Rural sociology expert named new Population Research Institute director
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Brian Thiede, associate professor of rural sociology, of sociology and of demography, has been named the director of the Population Research Institute at Penn State.
Treetops glowing during storms captured on film for first time
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Penn State experts in meteorology and atmospheric science made their way down the nation’s eastern coast in June 2024 in search of corona discharges, a long-hypothesized atmospheric weather phenomenon where miniscule pulses of electricity dance at the tips of tree leaves, causing the canopy to glow in the ultraviolet (UV). They found them and captured the phenomenon on film for the first time.
April 22 talk: Using voluntary controls to reduce peak electricity demand
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Christina McGranaghan, an assistant professor of applied economics at the University of Delaware, will give the talk, “Taking a Load Off: Experimental Evidence of Preferences for Control with an Application to Residential Electricity Demand,” at noon on Wednesday, April 22.
Geography undergraduate researches satellite estimates of Antarctic meltwater
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A Penn State geography student is using satellite data to study uncertainty in Antarctic surface hydrology through undergraduate research in the Cryosphere and Climate Lab.
Seed from Midwest ginseng farms planted in eastern forests raises questions
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To meet global demand for American ginseng, the medicinal plant traditionally collected in the forests of Appalachia and traded and used internationally, the plant now is commonly cultivated on forest farms in the U.S. Northeast. But new research has revealed that much of the seed for that agroforestry enterprise is coming from field-based, artificial-shade ginseng farms in Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada — and it may be influencing the genetics of naturally occurring ginseng.