Penn State Energy and Environment News

Penn State chemist Eric Nacsa receives 2024 NSF CAREER Award

| psu.edu

Eric Nacsa, assistant professor of chemistry, has been honored with a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The CAREER award is NSF’s most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty members who can serve as academic role models in research and education and lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Novel method to measure root depth may lead to more resilient crops

| psu.edu

As climate change worsens global drought conditions, hindering crop production, the search for ways to capture and store atmospheric carbon causing the phenomenon has intensified. Penn State researchers have developed a new high-tech tool that could spur changes in how crops withstand drought, acquire nitrogen and store carbon deeper in soil.

Architecture professor co-edits book on reducing carbon emissions of buildings

| psu.edu

Rahman Azari, associate professor of architecture in the Stuckeman School and founding director of the Resource and Energy Efficiency Lab in the school’s Hamer Center for Community Design, co-edited “The Routledge Handbook of Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment,” a handbook exploring the materials and greenhouse gas emissions associated with material manufacturing, construction, maintenance and demolition of a building.

EarthTalks: Bader to discuss neighborhood integration, segregation on March 25

| psu.edu

Michael Bader, associate professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, will give the talk, “The negative space of neighborhood change: the dynamics of neighborhood integration and segregation in the past four decades,” at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 25 in 112 Walker Building on the University Park campus. 

Leafhoppers' secret armor has inspired new invisibility cloaking technology

| earth.com

In the realm of science, sometimes the smallest creatures can provide the biggest insights. Such is the case with leafhoppers. This article features Penn State research.

9-year-old Arkansas girl catches rare pink grasshopper, names it Millie

| yahoo.com

Madeline Landecker was walking to her family barn in Benton, Arkansas, on Thursday when the 9-year-old aspiring veterinarian spotted a rare find — the elusive pink grasshopper. This article, originally published by NBC News, quotes Michael Skvarla, assistant research professor of arthropod identification.

Urban planning professor to speak on property speculation at next 'Coffee Hour'

| psu.edu

Rachel Weber, professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will present "Seizing the Means of Prediction: Why the Future Belongs to Property Speculators," at the Department of Geography's Coffee Hour lecture series. Her talk is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 22.

Mechanical engineering researcher Amrita Basak awarded NSF CAREER

| psu.edu

Amrita Basak, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, earned a five-year, $598,650 U.S. National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award for a project titled “Understanding Processing-Structure-Property Relationships in Co-Axial Wire-Feed, Powder-Feed Laser Directed Energy Deposition.” 

Backyard insect inspires invisibility devices, next gen tech

| psu.edu

Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. In a first, the team precisely replicated the complex geometry of these particles, called brochosomes, and elucidated a better understanding of how they absorb both visible and ultraviolet light.

Engineering science and mechanics researcher Andrea Argüelles awarded NSF CAREER

| psu.edu

Andrea Argüelles, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics in the Penn State College of Engineering, earned a five-year, $696,010 U.S. National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award for a project titled, “Advancing ceramic processing science through acoustic characterization.”

Virtual reality better than video for evoking fear, spurring climate action

| psu.edu

Experiencing worst-case climate scenarios in virtual reality may better motivate people to support environmental policies, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers.

Penn State Radiation Science & Engineering Center receives new neutron science device

| onwardstate.com

The device was a donation from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, a research institution in Germany.