Penn State Energy and Environment News

Virtual EarthTalks seminar examines anti-racism reckoning in higher education

| news.psu.edu

Gary King, professor of biobehavioral health and African American studies at Penn State, will discuss the diversity, equity and inclusion paradigm and the anti-racism reckoning in higher education at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be broadcast via Zoom.

Penn State, University of Freiburg to deepen ties at Virtual Materials Day

| news.psu.edu

Penn State and the University of Freiburg will showcase their close collaboration in the field of living materials during the upcoming Materials Day on Nov. 10-11, an annual event organized by the Materials Research Institute to highlight materials-related interdisciplinary science and engineering research at Penn State.

More precise nitrogen recommendations for corn to help farmers, cut pollution

| psu.edu

Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have developed an important component of a new system that corn growers can use to adjust nitrogen fertilizer applications based on site-specific measurements of cover crops and soil organic matter.

Ocean color satellites reveal glacier algae, insights for climate models

| news.psu.edu

The brownish-grey algae that darken the Greenland ice sheet in summer cause the ice to melt faster, but only recently have scientists measured these blooms in the field, and only at few sites. Ocean color satellites can help researchers map glacier algal blooms and better understand how biological organisms contribute to ice loss.

Climate impacts could put major fishery, food security at risk in East Africa

| news.psu.edu

Climate change could put a major fishery at risk in one of the world’s most vulnerable regions. Lake Tanganyika is home to small pelagic fish that feed millions of people in East Africa, but certain climatic changes could threaten fish stocks and regional food security, according to researchers.

Penn State Harrisburg to hold Faculty Research Day

| psu.edu

The Office of Research and Outreach at Penn State Harrisburg will hold Faculty Research Day from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8. via Zoom. Ann M. Schlenker, director of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory, will deliver the keynote address.

Ice melt projections may underestimate Antarctic contribution to sea level rise

| news.psu.edu

Fluctuations in the weather can have a significant impact on melting Antarctic ice, and models that do not include this factor can underestimate the global impact of sea level rise, according to Penn State scientists.

New water group for graduate students

| news.psu.edu

Penn State graduate students who are interested in water scholarship and research are invited to attend a fall kick-off meeting for an emerging water student group.

Four new faculty members join Department of Chemical Engineering

| psu.edu

Four new researchers are joining the faculty of Penn State’s Department of Chemical Engineering. 

Harvesting vegetation on riparian buffers barely reduces water-quality benefits

| news.psu.edu

Allowing farmers to harvest vegetation from their riparian buffers will not significantly impede the ability of those streamside tracts to protect water quality by capturing nutrients and sediment — and it will boost farmers’ willingness to establish buffers.

Coral’s resilience to warming may depend on iron

| news.psu.edu

The ability of the microalgae that live within coral cells to respond to warming water temperatures in part depends on the amount of iron available to it, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers.

Fracking bill analysis reveals how states may influence each other's policies

| news.psu.edu

Even though State governments routinely rely upon interest groups to help them as they craft legislation, researchers found that certain peer-leader states, like Pennsylvania and Colorado, have greater influence in shaping states’ fracking policies, in a study led by Penn State Professor of Geography Jennifer Baka.