SAFES grants to address Critical Issues Initiatives in College of Ag Sciences
| psu.edu
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, through its Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science, known as SAFES, recently announced its latest awards to accelerate the advancement of its Critical Issues Initiatives.
Penn State ranks 23rd in US, 92nd globally in 2027 QS World University Rankings
| psu.edu
Penn State is tied at No. 23 in the U.S. out of 184 nationally ranked institutions in the 2027 QS World University Rankings. Penn State also tied at No. 7 among U.S. public institutions, and at No. 5 among Big Ten universities, and is once again the top-ranked public university in Pennsylvania. Internationally, Penn State is tied at No. 92, placing the University in the top 6% worldwide among the 1,504 institutions ranked overall by QS.
College of Agricultural Sciences bestows Laureate Awards
| psu.edu
Five staff members in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences were recently recognized for their exemplary service during the annual Staff Laureate Awards reception.
Cocoziello Institute hosts inaugural Built Environment Showcase
| psu.edu
The Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation hosted its inaugural Built Environment Showcase this spring at the Nittany Lion Inn, bringing together more than 250 faculty, students, researchers and industry leaders. The showcase demonstrated the institute’s role in connecting research, education and industry collaboration to advance innovation across real estate, construction and infrastructure.
Huck administrator earns international recognition
| psu.edu
Research Professor Camelia Kantor, director of strategic initiatives at Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has been selected as a 2026 Future of the Field honoree by the Society of Research Administrators International.
Fund honoring late meteorologist to assist in global student experience
| psu.edu
Jenni Evans, a world-renowned meteorologist whose research transformed the scientific understanding of tropical cyclones and strengthened storm forecasting worldwide, considered her students’ success her proudest accomplishment. The newly established Jenni Evans Fund in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science will ensure that those successes continue in perpetuity.
Microplastics are everywhere in Pennsylvania’s water – but the tide may be turning
| by Nathaniel Warner, Lisa Emili, Raymond Najjar
Researchers have long known that plastic pollution reaches the ocean. But how much plastic is trapped, and where, before it reaches the ocean is far less understood.
Q&A: Can plants help reverse climate change?
| psu.edu
Sarah M. Assmann, Waller Professor of Biology at Penn State, is working to better understand how plants respond to environmental signals — and is applying that understanding to develop crops more resilient to environmental stress. In this Q&A, Assmann discussed how plants cope with environmental stress, as well as how more resilient crops could not only increase agricultural food security but also help cool the warming climate.
Digital twins could help melt the mystery of Alaska’s thawing permafrost
| psu.edu
Researchers at Penn State have developed an artificial intelligence-powered modeling framework that uses fiber-optic sensors to monitor and predict permafrost degradation in the Arctic, offering a new tool for monitoring the stability of buildings and roads in this warming climate.
Heritage voices: The archaeology of indigenous South America
| archaeologypodcastnetwork.com
On this month’s episode, Jessica talks with Dr. José Capriles Flores (Associate Professor of Anthropology at Penn State). We talk about Dr. Capriles’ journey from visiting Tiwanaku as a child with his late biologist and ornithologist mother to studying zooarchaeology and environmental archaeology across extremely varied ecosystems in South America today.
Master Watershed Steward’s enthusiasm for the environment takes root in projects
| psu.edu
Ken Pledger, of Cumberland County, has spent the past few years volunteering with Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Steward program, putting in more than 500 hours of service working on a variety of tree-planting, stream testing and other environmental projects across the county.
Penn State guide to urban soil management to support safe, productive land use
| psu.edu
A just-released Penn State publication, “Guide to Urban Soil Management for Gardening, Farming, Horticultural Placements, and Green Infrastructure,” provides a comprehensive, science-based framework for assessing, testing and managing soils in urban environments to support safe, productive and sustainable land use.