Latest News

August 4, 2021

The discovery of a gene that regulates the angle of root growth in corn is a new tool to enable the breeding of deeper-rooting crops with enhanced ability to take up nitrogen, according to an international team of researchers, led by Penn State.

July 20, 2021

Aaron Wiedemer, a senior majoring in food science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has an envious area of study: chocolate. He will be taking his research abroad in fall 2021 with the help of the Marshall Plan Scholarship. The Marshall Plan Scholarship is designed for students working on part of their bachelor’s or master’s degree thesis. Students enrolled in any American university are eligible to apply.

July 19, 2021

Computed tomography — CT scanning — which combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around an organism and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images of its bones, is providing new insight into an old initiative to characterize fishes in Africa’s Lake Malawi. The process, demonstrated in a new study using the high-resolution X-ray computer system in Penn State’s Center for Quantitative X-Ray Imaging, is important because it will lead to the identification and management of more of the fish species in Africa’s second largest lake, according to lead researcher Jay Stauffer Jr., distinguished professor of ichthyology in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

July 19, 2021

A virtual international agriculture course is helping students at both Penn State and Lviv Polytechnic National University in Lviv, Ukraine, grow a deeper understanding of local and global food security.

July 19, 2021

Penn State researchers responsible for PlantVillage, a mobile app that helps farmers diagnose crop diseases and monitor pests, have been lauded for their work to help African farmers overcome challenges related to desert locusts and COVID-19.

June 23, 2021

May 11, 2021

Penn State and the University of Freiburg launched a pilot program to create collaborative, integrated virtual classroom courses by providing development and implementation money to faculty teams. Two projects were selected. The first project focuses on declines in insect biodiversity and abundance, while the second focuses on implications, challenges, and solutions for integrating renewable energy systems into the grid.

April 27, 2021

Catherine Cutter, professor of food science and assistant director of food safety & quality programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is the recipient of Penn State's 2021 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award. Nominators praised Cutter’s dedication to international food safety and improving public health.

April 5, 2021

A Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences alumna is a senior member of an organization that has received the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.

March 22, 2021

Ottar N. Bjørnstad, distinguished professor of entomology and biology and J. Lloyd & Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair of Epidemiology at Penn State, have been elected to the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters. Bjørnstad was recommended as a result of his significant contributions to the fields of population ecology and quantitative epidemiology.

March 17, 2021

The conference, known as “GLAG21,” featured educators representing diverse contexts from all over the world who discussed the event's theme, “Taking Action,” in the context of advances in global food, fiber and natural resources. This year’s event had record attendance, noted Foster, drawing 948 participants from all 50 U.S. states and 40 nations.

March 17, 2021

Improving the economic and household nutrition prospects of women farmers and their families in Cambodia is a key focus of a new partnership between Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the National University of Battambang and the World Bank.

March 11, 2021

Faculty and graduate students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will showcase their international research during the third annual Global Gallery, a symposium hosted by the international agriculture and development dual-title graduate program, known as INTAD, and its student association.

February 26, 2021

In support of its mission to provide sustainable solutions to world problems — while preparing the next generation of leaders — Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has joined the Global Challenges University Alliance 2030. The alliance, referred to as GCUA, is a network of more than 15 universities worldwide that have a shared vision of contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through international collaboration and research.

February 24, 2021

A technology that uses dielectric heating and radio frequency energy to destroy destructive pests lurking within wood products is closer to reaching the marketplace after a recent commercial trial at Penn State’s University Park campus.

February 3, 2021

A previously unknown root trait allows some cereal plants to grow deeper roots capable of punching through dry, hard, compacted soils, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest that harnessing the inherited characteristic could lead to crops better able to deal with a changing climate.

January 19, 2021

The finding of relatively high levels of the antimicrobial compound clovamide in the leaves of a disease-resistant strain of cacao has significant implications for breeding trees that can tolerate black pod rot, according to Penn State researchers who conducted a novel study.

January 12, 2021

Providing the country’s apple farmers and cider producers with information on cider production technologies and marketing, global trends and developments, and consumer preferences was at the core of three yearly seminars in Kiev, Ukraine, led by Penn State Extension.

January 12, 2021

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus Colombia seed grant program has announced the selection of three research projects led by faculty from Penn State and Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano (UTADEO), in Bogotá, Colombia, to support research and development work with three departments in Colombia. This multi-institutional, collaborative program is aimed at building long‐term partnerships among Penn State and Colombian partners and is supported with funds from Penn State Global Programs and the Office of International Programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences, and by grants to UTADEO from the Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy of Bogotá, Colombia, and the Colombian Institute of Educational Credit and Technical Studies Abroad.

January 12, 2021

A call to support research aided by Penn State on how COVID-19 has changed the lives of young people was answered by more than 6,000 youth in at least 50 countries. The global, interdisciplinary research initiative is designed to support youth and empower them to play an active role in addressing the challenges left in the pandemic’s wake

January 12, 2021

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences announced recipients of its 2020 Staff Laureate Awards during a recent virtual collegewide staff meeting. The awards program, which recognizes and honors five staff members for their contributions to the college, is coordinated by the staff advisory committee to the dean and administered by the college’s human resources office.

November 17, 2020

Biochar — a charcoal-like substance made primarily from agricultural waste products — holds promise for removing emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater. That’s the conclusion of a team of researchers that conducted a novel study that evaluated and compared the ability of biochar derived from two common leftover agricultural materials...

November 17, 2020

Dairy cows, exposed for a few years to drinking water contaminated with heavy metals, carry more pathogens loaded with antimicrobial-resistance genes able to tolerate and survive various antibiotics. That’s the finding of a team of researchers that conducted a study of two dairy herds in Brazil four years after a dam holding mining waste ruptured, and it spotlights a threat to human health, the researchers contend.

November 16, 2020

While women represent a significant portion of the global agricultural workforce, they face many roadblocks to success, including limited access to land, technological advancements, education and financing. They also often are excluded from household-level and policy decisions that determine their future. These barriers, and ways to overcome them, are explored in a new publication, “Routledge Handbook of Gender and Agriculture,” co-edited by faculty in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

October 16, 2020

Students in the international agriculture minor — commonly referred to as INTAG — in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are learning more about global hunger by attending the 2020 World Food Prize Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium, which is taking place virtually this week.

August 25, 2020

The risk of transmitting the livestock virus PPRV, which threatens 80% of the world’s sheep and goats, increases with certain husbandry practices but not herd size. A new study, led by researchers at Penn State, investigated how transmission of PPRV might change at different scales and identified specific husbandry practices associated with increased odds of infection.

August 22, 2020