Geography doctoral student receives grant to study Indigenous crops in Taiwan
| psu.edu
Penn State geography doctoral student Yu-Chen Chuang was awarded a Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant to advance her research on the conservation of Indigenous crops and traditional farming knowledge in Taiwan.
Higher grocery prices linked with worse food insufficiency, mental health
| psu.edu
As grocery prices continue to rise, a study by researchers at Penn State found that in addition to increased spending, the price hikes are associated with higher risk of food insufficiency and worse mental health conditions.
Extension program helps agricultural businesses address workforce challenges
| psu.edu
More than 60 Pennsylvania agricultural businesses have received free assistance with hiring, training and retaining employees through Penn State Extension’s AgWorks program. The program continues to offer individualized consultations and workforce-related webinars through May 2027.
Industry Challenge Day: Building a better future, together
| psu.edu
Penn State’s inaugural Industry Challenge Day brought together nearly 40 faculty, students and industry leaders from across six colleges and five industries to tackle challenges facing the built environment. Hosted by the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation, the event sparked conversations around building performance, construction data, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, with ideas moving toward future research and collaboration.
Nine Rock Ethics Institute fellows explore interdisciplinary ethical challenges
| psu.edu
Working with Penn State faculty, the undergraduate fellows will investigate questions ranging from whether AI can help patients understand medical treatments to how maps can represent Indigenous experiences of environmental contamination and what happens when public spaces are privatized. Their research also addresses intelligence, empathy, environmental restoration, media ethics and neuroscience.
Community input strengthens urban flood adaptation model
Urban flooding causes significant social, environmental and economic losses every year. In Baltimore, those losses have increased in frequency and intensity since flooding record began in 1748, and are expected to continue doing so as the climate changes. Traditional flood prevention approaches, which use concrete and other impervious surfaces to direct flow, often fail in urban settings because they impede rainwater infiltration.
Penn State GIS Day 2026 to take place Nov. 16
| psu.edu
Penn State University Libraries will observe GIS Day, an annual event celebrating the technology of geographic information systems, on Nov. 16.
Resident experience matters in estimating neighborhood walkability, study shows
| psu.edu
Geography researchers at Penn State compared observable characteristics of walkability to residents’ perceived walkability and self-rated health in San Francisco and found resident input, not just infrastructure, matters when determining the walkability of neighborhoods in a city.
Geography doctoral candidates to share research at Oct. 30 Coffee Hour
| psu.edu
Four doctoral graduate students in Penn State’s Department of Geography will deliver research talks as part of the department’s Graduate Student Coffee Hour series at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.
ICDS announces 26 co-hires in support of AI initiatives
| psu.edu
The Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences recently appointed over 20 new co-hires with the goal of enhancing artificial intelligence research, education, literacy and visibility across the University and beyond.
Penn State CTSI announces early-stage investigator training awardees
| psu.edu
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute has announced the latest cohort of scholars selected for its Early-Stage Investigator Training Program. Funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the program provides foundational support for early-career faculty to develop the methodological and career-development skills needed to lead rigorous research programs.
Q&A: Building responsible nuclear infrastructure through security and simulation
| psu.edu
Matt Zerphy, assistant dean for operations and professor of practice in nuclear engineering at Penn State, has received a grant to support a mutual partnership between Penn State and the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Sofia, Bulgaria, and incorporate simulation tools into the curriculum of UNWE’s nuclear security master’s program.