'Growing Impact' podcast discusses solar irrigation pump effects on FEW nexus
| psu.edu
A team of researchers is investigating a government policy that increases solar-powered irrigation pumps in India and how the use of solar irrigation pumps may impact India’s highly exploited groundwater reserves and the country’s food and energy production.
Growing Impact: Food-energy-water dynamics
| Featuring Daniel Brent, Michael G. Jacobson, Praharsh Patel
The groundwater levels in India are consistently dropping year to year. In fact, India uses more groundwater than any country in the world. However, it is also a nation that lacks water availability, and its population continues to grow. A team of researchers is analyzing how an Indian government policy aimed at installing and using solar irrigation pumps in agriculture may further lower groundwater levels, impact energy use, and help or hinder food production in India.
SI launches 2022-23 speaker and film series editions
| psu.edu
The Sustainability Institute at Penn State is launching the 2022-23 editions of its "Sustainability Showcase" speaker series and "Intersections" film series, which this year are integrating their programming around the theme of “Building Better Bonds.” The student-led series seeks to present the Penn State community with sustainability leaders and inspiring stories of building community around solutions to sustainability challenges.
Penn State microbiologist’s estate gift to establish new chair and lectureship
| psu.edu
Don Bryant, Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, is retiring after 41 years of research, teaching and service to the University, and is announcing an estate commitment that will establish an endowed chair and a lectureship in his name.
'Coffee Hour' to discuss youth movements and the politics of climate change
| psu.edu
Mark Ortiz, President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Geography at Penn State, will discuss the work of transnational youth movements to influence climate change policy and the movements’ distinct visions of climate justice on Friday, Sept. 9 in 112 Walker Building and via Zoom. Ortiz’s talk is part of the Fall 2022 "Coffer Hour" seminar series hosted by Penn State’s Department of Geography.
Boy’s discovery reveals highly complex plant-insect interaction
| psu.edu
A backyard discovery by 8-year-old Hugo Deans, son of Penn State Professor of Entomology Andrew Deans, eventually led to the revelation that oak galls — plant growth triggered by insects — are part of an elaborate relationship among ants, wasps and oak trees, turning a century of knowledge about plant-insect interactions on its head.
Estimating land loss in river deltas
| eos.org
Some deltas are susceptible to land loss during sea level rise, whereas others gain land because of changes in the courses of rivers. This article quotes Benjamin Cardenas, assistant professor of geosciences.
Cancer, environment event to take place on Sept. 29
| psu.edu
The Penn State Cancer Institute and the Institutes of Energy and the Environment announced a Cancer and the Environment Symposium and a poster session on Thursday, Sept. 29. All faculty, staff and students with an interest in the subject are invited to attend, but registration is required. The event will be in-person with some of the presentations available via streaming.
Green New Deal architect to speak Sept. 8 at University Park
| psu.edu
Rhiana Gunn-Wright, one of the architects of the Green New Deal, will visit Penn State's University Park campus to deliver a lecture titled “Climate Change is Everyone’s Fight — Including Yours!” at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 in 100 Thomas Building. The lecture is co-sponsored by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy and the Sustainability Institute.
Sustainability educator lends expertise on new front: State Game Commission
| psu.edu
At first glance, Haley Sankey doesn’t seem a likely candidate for the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s appointed board of commissioners. She’s an assistant teaching professor in the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute at Penn State. She teaches and advises in the Energy and Sustainability Policy program and has an extensive background in energy transitions and educating the next generation of leaders who are interested, as she says, "in doing better" for their future, their children’s future and for the planet.
Penn State Harrisburg celebrates success in “Greater Penn State” campaign
| psu.edu
Penn State Harrisburg has raised $44.9 million and helped the University to achieve record-breaking success in its recently concluded campaign, “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence.” June 30 marked the end of both the most successful campaign and the most successful fundraising year in the institution’s history.
New dual-title graduate degree in microbiome sciences now available
| psu.edu
Students interested in the study of microbiomes now can apply for the new microbiome sciences dual-title doctoral degree program, administered by Penn State’s Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Once a frozen haven, climate-driven rising temperatures are rapidly thawing the Arctic permafrost, posing a major threat to communities and infrastructure. Researchers are investigating how these changes will transform rivers, with potential consequences for erosion, sediment transport, and the entire Arctic landscape. Additionally, their project incorporates art to communicate these critical findings in an engaging way. Listen to the podcast.
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