Smart materials could pose solution for big-data bottleneck in future cities
| news.psu.edu
An interdisciplinary research team at Penn State recently published a perspective article in Science highlighting smart materials that can sense environmental changes and respond accordingly — without externally transferring data — as one avenue to help manage enormous amounts of data generated by robust sensing networks.
Propulsion expert joins aerospace engineering faculty
| psu.edu
David Hall joined the College of Engineering’s Department of Aerospace Engineering as an assistant professor in January.
Seminar to discuss landscape diversity, food sovereignty in Indigenous Australia
| news.psu.edu
Rebecca Bird, professor of anthropology at Penn State, will discuss the importance of controlled burning as a way for Indigenous communities to increase dietary quality and foster environmental justice and autonomy during a seminar at 11:15 a.m. March 24.
EarthTalks: Chief sustainability officer to discuss initiatives at Penn State
| news.psu.edu
Paul Shrivastava, chief sustainability officer, director of the Sustainability Institute and professor of management at Penn State, will discuss how Penn State is attempting to institutionalize sustainability at the University, in Pennsylvania and around the world, at a talk on March 29.
What’s the hype about 5.8%? I’m worried about the other 94.2%
| by Erica Smithwick
A recent analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that annual carbon emissions declined by 5.8% in 2020 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. From a historical perspective, a 5.8% reduction is huge—nothing like it has occurred in our lifetimes. But from a COVID-19 perspective, how can it be so small?
Webinar: 'Who Decides on Resilience for Energy Systems?'
| news.psu.edu
February’s energy supply interruptions in Texas and other parts of the southeastern U.S. have raised a number of questions about the resiliency of the nation's energy systems. A panel of energy experts from Penn State and industry will discuss energy resiliency at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, via Zoom.
Only a handful of US foundations quickly pitched in as the COVID-19 pandemic got underway, early data indicates
| theconversation.com
Two scholars of philanthropy and geography who reviewed the numbers see cause for concern about the agility and priorities of grantmakers during a crisis.
New master's fellowship to train food microbiologists in big-dataset analyses
| psu.edu
A new fellowship for underrepresented graduate students offered by the Department of Food Science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will prepare four master’s degree candidates interested in food microbiology to analyze large-scale datasets.
EarthTalks series examines design of buildings, cities to avoid global hothouse
| news.psu.edu
Lisa Iulo, associate professor of architecture and director of the Hamer Center for Community Design at Penn State, will discuss strategies for designing the built environment across scales and systems to avoid a global hothouse at 4 p.m. Monday, March 22.
CESU workshop to highlight opportunities to work with federal agencies
| news.psu.edu
Researchers whose work addresses natural and cultural resource management topics can learn about partnering opportunities with federal agencies at the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Program Workshop on March 30.
2021 Water Forum to take place on March 24, 25
| news.psu.edu
The 2021 Water Forum will take place virtually on the afternoons of March 24 and 25, and is an opportunity for the Penn State water community to come together to hear from outside speakers and get updates on and contribute to key Penn State water initiatives.
EarthTalks series examines climate ethics, social systems and human health
| news.psu.edu
Mark Sentesy, assistant professor of philosophy and classics and ancient Mediterranean studies at Penn State, will discuss the ethics of climate change on Monday, March 15.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is abundant and stable, making it difficult to convert into something useful without a lot of energy. Researchers are using advanced computational modeling to find a catalyst that can efficiently transform CO2 into valuable products. This could turn CO2 from a climate issue into a valuable resource. Listen to the podcast.
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