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- 'Dire Predictions' book offers
easy guide to global warming science
Global warming, increasing greenhouse gases and melting ice sheets are all dire predictions
by the Nobel-Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but understanding
the scientific assessments, future impacts on our lives, and the things we can do to mitigate
the situation is not easy. Now, in a new book, two Penn State climate scientists present the
information from the most recent IPCC reports in easily understood, sometimes amusing explanations
and illustrations.
- Researcher guides design of Smithsonian exhibit on soil, life on Earth
A Penn State soil scientist helped to lead the design of a new temporary exhibition that opened
this weekend at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. "Dig
It! The Secrets of Soil" exhibition reveals the complex world of soil and how this hidden
ecosystem supports nearly every form of life on Earth.
- Hoadley named Fulbright Scholar
Christopher M. Hoadley, Penn State associate professor of instructional systems and information
sciences and technology, has been named a Fulbright Scholar for the 2008–2009 academic
year.
- Building robots to collect ice sheet data
Penn State researcher Derrick Lampkin has developed with colleagues at Georgia Tech University
an autonomous robot to collect data from remote locations in the Antarctic's ice sheets.
- New book out by Penn State Altoona professor of environmental studies
Brian Black, associate professor of history and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona,
recently published a two-volume reference book set “Great Debates in American Environmental
History.”
- New scholarship honors Forest Resources Director Strauss
A new Trustee Scholarship to assist students in Penn State's School of Forest Resources will
honor the school's retiring director, Charles H. Strauss.
- Employees urged to think outside box for sustainable strategies
Participants in Penn State's second Forum for the Future this month were urged to think differently
by creating new opportunities for people to make a difference in improving the environment.
- Researchers generate hydrogen without
the carbon footprint
A greener, less expensive method to produce hydrogen for fuel may eventually be possible with
the help of water, solar energy and nanotube diodes that use the entire spectrum of the sun's
energy, according to Penn State researchers.
- Pennsylvania State University Awarded NOAA
Sea Grant Institutional Program Designation
NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program has designated Penn State University’s
Behrend College campus in Erie, Pa., as the Institutional Sea Grant Program for the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
- New initiative helps recruit elite faculty and staff
Penn State is now part of a national organization that will allow it to better recruit top-notch
faculty and staff from across the country.
- Book explores fuel issues for engineers
Bruce G. Miller, associate director, EMS Energy Institute, and David A. Tillman, chief engineer
of fuels and combustion, Foster Wheeler NA, are the co-editors of "Combustion Engineering
Issues for Solid Fuel Systems," published by Elsevier.
- The
most dangerous nature reserve in the world
The guardian.co.uk online news magazine featured an article about Dr. K.C. Kim and his enduring
efforts to preserve Korea's demilatarized zone (DMZ) as a nature reserve.
- Penn State researchers' integration of
maps and weather data featured by Ivanhoe Broadcast News
Penn State research that integrates National Weather data with GIS was recently featured by
the Ivanhoe Broadcast News. The article "Saving
Lives When Wildfires Burn" also includes a video.
- Earth and Environmental
Systems Institute's Environmental Scholars Announced
Six graduate students who are pursuing research in interdisciplinary environmental sciences
have been selected as EESI Environmental Scholars for the 2008-09 academic year.
- Brenizer wins ASEE nuclear engineering award
Jack Brenizer, the J. "Lee" Everett Professor in Engineering and chair of
the Nuclear Engineering Program, has been named the 2008 Glenn Murphy Award winner.
- Wooly-Mammoth
Gene Study Changes Extinction Theory
A large genetic study of the extinct woolly mammoth has revealed that the
species was not one large homogenous group, as scientists previously had
assumed, and that it did not have much genetic diversity.
- Reducing demand can lower
electric bills, lessen chance of blackouts
A 5-percent reduction in electricity use will lower the market price of electricity, cut consumers'
bills and lessen strain on the grid when demand shoots up along with the mercury this summer,
say energy experts in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
- A
Survivor in Greenland: A Novel Bacterial Species in Found Trapped in 120,000-Year-Old Ice
A team of Penn State scientists has discovered a new ultra-small species of bacteria that has survived
for more than 120,000 years within the ice of a Greenland glacier at a depth of nearly two miles.
- Northwest Pa. farmers grow camelina for biofuel with PSU help
Northwestern Pennsylvania farmers are forming a co-op with the help of Penn State Cooperative
Extension to produce a promising biofuel raw material -- camelina, a Mediterranean native
plant whose seeds are 40 percent oil and can be used in manufacturing biodiesel.
- Consumers Step up to Help Honey Bees
With the nation's production of fresh fruits and vegetables being threatened by the mysterious
disappearance of honey bees, several companies and consumers have stepped up to support honey bee
research and education about the malady, known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
- Research goes on as honey bee losses rise in U.S., fall in Pa.
Colony Collapse Disorder, diseases, parasitic mites and other stressors continue to take a devastating
toll on U.S. honey bee populations, but Pennsylvania beekeepers on average fared better than
their counterparts nationally during this past winter.
- Forester commits $2 million for faculty chair in silviculture research
Penn State alumnus and pioneer forester Joseph E. Ibberson has committed $2 million
to endow a new faculty chair in the School of Forest Resources, part of the College of Agricultural
Sciences.
- Hybrid vehicle team captures several first-place
awards; finishes 6th
The list of categories where Penn State came out on top in the culminating year of Challenge
X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility, is impressive.
- Only The Nose Knows: Penn State Odor Lab Sniffs Out Ag Problems
A member of the odor-assessment team bends over the machine, positions his nose in the cup and
signals the operator seated at a computer terminal a few feet away that he is ready. With a couple
of keystrokes, she directs the device - an olfactometer about the size of an ATM machine in a convenience
store - to release a carefully calibrated puff of air and odor.
- Penn State scientist elected to The Royal Society
Peter Hudson, the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Biology and director of the Huck
Institutes of Life Sciences at Penn State, was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society.
- Simple model cell is key to understanding cell complexity
A team of Penn State researchers has developed a simple artificial cell with which to investigate
the organization and function of two of the most basic cell components: the cell membrane and
the cytoplasm -- the gelatinous fluid that surrounds the structures in living cells.
- EPA recognizes Penn State as top green power purchaser
Penn State has once again made the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of the top
college and university Green Power Partners. The University is being recognized for its voluntary
purchase of 83,600 megawatt-hours (MWh) of green power.
- Penn State Extension helps Pa. residents navigate gas-leasing maze
For the past few years, Penn State Cooperative Extension has offered workshops and information
to help landowners navigate the legal and practical issues of leasing their land for natural
gas exploration and extraction.
- STATERs encourage Penn Staters to go
green and keep campus clean
It's not hard to find members of STATERs -- a new campus-recognized student recycling organization --
in a crowd of thousands who are tailgating at a Penn State football home game.
- Penn State scientists elected to National
Academy of Sciences
Richard Alley, the Evan Pugh professor of geosciences, and Barry Marshall,
the Francis R. and Helen M. Pentz Professor of Science, are the newest Penn State members of
the National Academy of Sciences.
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
elects 2 Penn State scientists
Jainendra K. Jain, the Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics, and James
Kasting, distinguished professor of geosciences, have been named members of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Penn State places first in Shell Eco-marathon contest
A team of engineering students from Penn State snagged a first-place finish recently in the 2008
Shell Eco-marathon.
- Energy Efficiency Forum Update
PSIEE recently sponsored an energy efficiency forum with the purpose of identifying a pathway toward
a campus-wide energy efficiency effort. The forum highlighted the importance of the efficiency
issue, identified our strengths in addressing the way energy is used and managed at the University
Park Campus, and to charted out a way to collectively attack the endeavor.
- Critical Zone Observatory Meeting Will Focus on Soil Formation, Water Flow
The Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory project, recently awarded a new $4.3-million NSF grant,
will have its kick-off meeting in the EES Building Monday and Tuesday (April 28, 29). The meeting will feature a public talk by Larry
McKay, Jones Professor of Hydrology at the
University of Tennessee. His talk is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. in 114 EES Building.
- GEOG 497C - Environmental Issues Across the Americas - May 5th Deadline
The Fall 2008 class starts with Field School in Peru that runs August 7-22, 2008. The registration
deadline to enroll in the class is May 5th. Students can contact either Denice Wardrop (dhw110@psu.edu)
or Joe Bishop (jab190@psu.edu) for more information.
- Climate Ethics and Real Climate Make Time Magazine's Top 15 Green Websites
Two websites created by Penn State researchers, Real Climate and ClimateEthics, were named in
Time Magazine's list of top 15 green websites. The list was published in Time's April
28, 2008 Special Environment Issue.
- Gyspsy
Moth Management Made More Efficient, Cost Effective
A computer model that provides land managers with a more efficient and cost-effective approach
for controlling gypsy moths and other invasive pests has been created by biologists at Penn State
University and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
- Pratt & Whitney establishes
partnership with Penn State
Pratt & Whitney has announced the establishment of strategic university partnerships
with Penn State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.
- ConocoPhillips, Penn State partner on nationwide energy prize program
ConocoPhillips and Penn State are launching the ConocoPhillips Energy Prize, an awards program
that seeks to recognize new ideas and original, actionable solutions that can help improve the
way the United States develops and uses energy.
- Penn State engineer named KAUST Investigator
Bruce Logan, the Kappe professor of environmental engineering at Penn State, is
one of 12 scientists to receive a Global Research Partnership (GRP) Investigator award
from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
