Latest News

January 9, 2019

Every year, thousands of Penn State students enrich their academic experience and expand their view of the world by studying abroad. For students who haven't yet reaped the benefits of international learning — and even for those who have — Penn State's Office of Global Programs will showcase education-abroad opportunities during Study Abroad Week, slated for Jan. 14-18 at various times and locations on the University Park campus

December 20, 2018

Faculty in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are spearheading an initiative that will provide selected doctoral students with the opportunity for extensive study on gender and its relationship to agricultural production.

December 8, 2018

As a youngster growing up on a dairy farm in Perry County, Thomas Gabel's world didn't extend beyond the borders of Pennsylvania. "It was hard for me to imagine making a road trip a couple states over, let alone boarding a plane and traveling to another country," said Gabel, now a freshman majoring in agricultural and extension education in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

December 8, 2018

Michael Jacobson, professor of forest resources in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, will help lead the college's Ag2Africa programming, as well as collaborate with Penn State's Office of Global Programs in its efforts to build a Water, Energy, Food Systems (WEFS) initiative in Africa.

November 29, 2018

In the culmination of more than a decade of research on root traits conducted by Penn State plant scientists, about three tons of seed for common bean plants specifically bred to thrive in the barren soils of Mozambique will be distributed there Dec. 11.

November 15, 2018

November 12, 2018

A group led by David Hughes, associate professor of entomology and biology, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled "Pest and Disease Surveillance via High-Resolution Satellites."

November 1, 2018

Jacob Johnson, a doctoral candidate in forest resources and in international agriculture and development (INTAD) in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received a Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Award in recognition of his service to others.

October 29, 2018

Boubou Sangho and Gladys Freeman, recipients of the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, spent six weeks of professional development at Penn State's University Park campus in August and September.

September 10, 2018

Growing up in an urban area near Pittsburgh, Martha Pangburn had few interactions with those working in agriculture. "There aren't many farms where I live, so I never thought much about agriculture or farming," said the Quaker Valley High School senior. "Actually, I believed stereotypes like it's a simple, not-very-exciting way of life."

September 8, 2018

Imagine being on a rubber plantation in Malaysia, just a few feet away from a farmer as he prunes low-hanging branches on a rubber tree, or watching a food scientist at a cacao bean cooperative in Honduras as she demonstrates how cacao beans become chocolate.

August 31, 2018

Kerry Kaylegian, assistant research professor of dairy foods and extension specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, was inducted into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers New World Chapter on July 28 in a ceremony held in association with the American Cheese Society's annual meeting in Pittsburgh.

August 28, 2018

Studying for her dual-title doctoral degree in rural sociology and in international agriculture and development at Penn State, Paige Castellanos learned about the plight of families living in western Honduras, where many eke out a living in an economy marked by high poverty rates and subsistence agriculture.

August 17, 2018

Between 650,000 and 750,000 of Kyrgyzstan's 5 million citizens work outside of the country, making it one of the most remittance-dependent countries in the world, according to lead investigator Guangqing Chi, associate professor of rural sociology and demography and public health sciences in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education.

July 17, 2018

Developing lasting solutions to the problems of poverty, hunger and social injustice is the cornerstone of a new partnership between Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and Oxfam America, the U.S. affiliate of Oxfam, the global organization working to end the injustice of poverty in 90 countries around the world.

June 22, 2018

An international team of researchers has discovered evidence of 27 previously unknown viruses in bees. The finding could help scientists design strategies to prevent the spread of viral pathogens among these important pollinators.

June 5, 2018

In a perfect world, everyone would have access to nutritious, affordable food. However, as Rick Bates knows, there is no such thing as utopia when it comes to food security, as millions of people around the world have limited food resources. One of those places is Cambodia in Southeast Asia, one of the world's poorest countries, where the rural poverty rate is 24 percent, and 40 percent of children younger than 5 are chronically malnourished, making them vulnerable to significant health problems.

May 25, 2018

Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is leading a consortium of land-grant universities in the United States that have pledged support for continued reform and development of the agricultural and rural sectors in Ukraine, a sovereign state in Eastern Europe that was once referred to as "the breadbasket of Europe," a nod to its fertile soil and abundant grain fields.

May 14, 2018

Use of the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 could help to breed cacao trees that exhibit desirable traits such as enhanced resistance to diseases, according to Penn State plant scientists.

April 23, 2018

Visiting other countries to cultivate relationships and exchange information about innovative agricultural practices and research — with the intention of imparting that knowledge to clients back home — has been a long-standing endeavor of Penn State Extension educators.

March 28, 2018

For the past few decades, Israel has been a hotbed of innovation and technological exploration.

March 21, 2018

Faculty and graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences illustrated how their research touches every corner of the world during the inaugural Global Gallery, a symposium hosted by the International Agriculture and Development dual-title graduate program (INTAD) and its student association.

March 8, 2018

The USAID funded Women in Agriculture Network (WAgN): Honduras project is currently working with an indigenous women's non-government organization in western Honduras to promote gender equity. Implemented by Zamorano University (Honduras) and a team of Penn State faculty, the gender-integrated Farmer Field School provides a blend of horticulture technical skills and gender focused awareness.

March 2, 2018

Access to wood fuels for cooking must be considered when formulating policy to deal with food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, according to researchers who advocate expanding the effort to improve wood-fuel systems and make them more sustainable.

March 2, 2018

Penn State has for the seventh year been recognized among the nation's top producers of Peace Corps volunteers. With 54 undergraduate alumni serving overseas and working in fields such as agriculture, education, environment, health, community economic development and youth development, the University is No. 13 on the Peace Corps' 2018 rankings of colleges and universities in the large school category.