Penn State Energy and Environment News

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.

Environmentalists renew fight to limit use of neonicotinoids in CT

| ctinsider.com

It would take more that a decade before environmentalists such as Rachel Carson sounded the alarm on the damage that DDT was doing to the natural world and more years until the U.S. banned it in 1972. This article quotes John Tooker, professor of entomology.

Calling researchers: Join Penn State's NSF I-Corps April cohort

| psu.edu

Penn State’s U.S. National Science Foundation I-Corps Short Course is accepting applications for its virtual April cohort. Participants must apply and complete a self-guided I-Corps prep mini-course by Friday, April 12.  

Scientists may have just caught 7 exotic 'ghost particles' as they pierced through Earth

| space.com

Devices buried deep within the south pole detected highly elusive tau neutrinos blasted toward Earth by powerful astrophysical events. This article features Penn State research and quotes Doug Cowen, professor of physics.

St. Tammany's ditches are fouled with untreated sewage. The mosquitoes are loving it.

| nola.com

All the sewage in the drainage ditches makes it so that the St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District can't kill mosquitoes faster than they can reproduce, according to a new study. This article quotes Jason Rasgon, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Endowed Chair in Disease Epidemiology and Biotechnology.

Improved life satisfaction may decrease illegal forest use in protected areas

| psu.edu

Improved life satisfaction reduces livelihood-based illegal forest use whereas traditional cultural practices increase illegal forest use for livelihood needs, according to research led by Edwin Sabuhoro, assistant professor of recreation, park and tourism management at Penn State.

Survey Research Center adds MetricWire to TRACE Portfolio

| psu.edu

Penn State's Survey Research Center recently acquired an enterprise-level MetricWire license to enhance its research capabilities and remain at the forefront of mobile data collection methodologies.

CRANET research highlights the ever-changing global workforce

| psu.edu

Penn State's Center for International Human Resource Studies produced an international report summarizing research that highlights the ever-changing global workforce. 

New device positions Penn State at the forefront of university research reactors

| psu.edu

The Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center (RSEC) recently received a small angle neutron scattering (SANS) device, a $9.8 million equipment donation from Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin in Germany. The arrival of the SANS equipment makes Penn State the first and only U.S. university research reactor to have SANS capability, according to RSEC researchers.

Presidential Public Impact Research Awards program holding informational webinar

| psu.edu

The Presidential Public Impact Research Awards (PPIRA) program at Penn State will hold an informational webinar and Q&A from 9-10 a.m. on Friday, March 15, via Zoom. PPIRA will recognize and support teams of two to four faculty members and their students across Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses who are interested in or are already conducting research that benefits their communities in pursuit of public impact.

Penn State finalizing plans for major renovations to Sackett Building, Hammond Building demolition

| statecollege.com

Penn State plans to begin work late this year for a project that will significantly renovate the historic Sackett Building and, eventually, demolish the much-maligned Hammond Building.

Sun and space: Harnessing cold universe and solar power for renewable energy

| psu.edu

As traditional energy methods increase in cost and take their toll on the environment, Penn State researchers are turning to two underutilized renewable resources, the sun and outer space, for solutions to generate electricity and passively cool down structures. A mechanical engineering research team developed and tested a dual cooling and power strategy that simultaneously harvests solar energy in a solar cell and directs heat away from Earth through radiative cooling.