Sustainability film highlights structural inequality in pandemic health outcomes
| psu.edu
SustainPSU is hosting an online screening of “Fire Through Dry Grass,” a documentary profiling the experience of residents in a New York City nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The film illustrates the structural inequalities faced by low-income communities, disabled communities, and communities of color that affected differences in health outcomes during the pandemic.
Penn State Ag Sciences professor conducts virtual exchange with Latvian University
| psu.edu
Noel Habashy, assistant teaching professor of international agriculture and development at Penn State, recently completed an Experiential Digital Global Engagement project with students from his course “INTAG 100N: Everyone Eats: Hunger, Food Security and Global Agriculture” and partners from Riga Stradiņš University, Latvia.
Porous plastic sheets can cool buildings by radiating light to space
| psu.edu
An international team of researchers co-led by Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Penn State Evan Pugh University Professor and Charles G. Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, developed porous plastic sheets that can lower room temperatures through radiative cooling.
Inuit leaders to discuss climate-changed Arctic in panel, movie premiere
| psu.edu
The Penn State Climate Consortium’s February Climate Conversations Café will feature Inuit leaders who will discuss the challenges of a rapidly changing Arctic on Friday, Feb. 28, at Penn State University Park. The event is connected to the U.S. premiere of the film “A Century After Nanook,” which will take place on Saturday, March 1, at The State Theatre in State College.
Who are immigrants to the US, where do they come from and where do they live?
| theconversation.com
In 2023, approximately 51 million foreign-born people lived in the United States. Almost three-quarters were in the country legally. Half of the rest had some legal protection from deportation. This article was written by Jennifer Van Hook, professor of sociology and criminology at Penn State.
Microplastics: Sources, health risks, and how to protect yourself
| by Hlengilizwe Nyoni
Plastic is everywhere, and it is essential to modern life. Yet it comes with a hidden cost: microplastics, tiny pollutants that have become a growing concern for both the environment and human health.
‘Growing Impact’ explores monitoring environmental activity with fiber optics
| psu.edu
The latest episode of “Growing Impact” delves into how fiber optic cables can be used to monitor environmental changes and detect hazards like flooding and sinkholes.
International Love Data Week 2025 to be held Feb. 10-14
| psu.edu
"Love Data Week" at Penn State, Feb. 10–14, will feature various events, thought-provoking discussions and opportunities to explore the significance and power of data. The Big Ten Academic Alliance is inviting the BTAA community to cast votes in a data visualization competition, with submissions from Penn State competing for the title of "BTAA Data Viz Champion."
Applications sought for 2025 M. G. Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards
| psu.edu
Proposals are now being accepted for the 2025 M. G. Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards. Current graduate and undergraduate students are invited to submit proposals to conduct research between May 2025 and March 2026 on topics that focus on aspects of Indigenous knowledge.
New Kensington to host Research and Student Engagement Expo on April 15
| psu.edu
Penn State New Kensington will host its annual Research and Student Engagement Expo alongside its Career Connections Day, located inside the campus’ Athletics Center, on April 15, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Growing Impact: Seismic sensing with fiber optics
| Featuring Tieyuan Zhu
The Earth can shift suddenly, with sinkholes and landslides posing serious risks to people and property. Scientists are now using existing fiber optic cables in cities to detect potential geohazards before they strike. This innovative approach is expanding to monitor flooding and even track human movement, unlocking new possibilities for data collection and understanding our world.
Anthropologist Nina Jablonski to deliver 2025 Darwin Day Lecture
| psu.edu
Nina Jablonski, Atherton Professor and Evan Pugh University Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Penn State, will deliver the 2025 Darwin Day Lecture at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14.