February 25, 2026
Penn State students Kellyn Roth and Rayner Raynor joined more than 16,500 of their peers in channeling a passion for service into THON’s fight against childhood cancer. Their commitment at THON reflects the work they’ve been doing all along to lift others up, serve families and strengthen communities through Penn State Outreach.
February 25, 2026
On Valentine’s Day, the Palmer Museum of Art became a tasting room and a classroom all at once. “The Art of Chocolate: A Guided Tasting Experience,” presented by the Arboretum at Penn State in partnership with Penn State’s Cacao and Chocolate Research Network, paired research with sensory discovery and chocolate with cheese.
February 25, 2026
Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Health researchers will continue monitoring household sewage at dozens of municipal plants around the commonwealth for foodborne illness pathogens, with new funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The grant, anticipated to amount to more than $500,000 over five years, will complement related work funded by the FDA since 2016.
February 25, 2026
Microbiome — referring to the community of microorganisms inhabiting a specific organism — science may help solve problems facing agriculture, but prior research findings have not yet been translated to practical recommendations for growers, according to a team of scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences that has offered some ways to accelerate the transition.
February 24, 2026
Andrew Patterson, John T. and Paige S. Smith Professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences, has been elected as a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology.
February 24, 2026
Penn State researchers and their colleagues found that vegetative buffers, like shrubs or grasses, likely reduces the amount of specific pesticides from reaching a stream. However, the buffers are not protective against all pesticides entering waterways.
February 23, 2026
Daniel F. Perkins, professor of family and youth resiliency and policy in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named a distinguished professor by Penn State’s Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.
February 17, 2026
Ran Li, assistant professor of agricultural economics, will discuss the effectiveness of the mobile app Too Good To Go as a potential complement to public food assistance by reallocating surplus food into low-cost consumption opportunities. His talk is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in 157 Hosler Building on the Penn State University Park campus.
February 17, 2026
Penn State Extension recently was awarded a competitive national grant to build a microcredentialing system aimed at strengthening the agricultural workforce and formally recognizing job-ready skills.
February 16, 2026
First responders and farm workers looking to build safety and preparedness for farm emergencies can attend an upcoming Penn State Extension workshop on April 11 covering hazardous materials, livestock behavior, biosecurity and applications during a farm visit.
February 16, 2026
Those interested in learning how to leverage local data and knowledge to set priorities, identify effective approaches to change, and craft action plans that align with community values and promote equity in land-use planning can attend an upcoming Penn State Extension webinar.
February 16, 2026
Recently, students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences earned top honors at two national turfgrass industry competitions, claiming multiple first-place finishes and $25,000 in awards.
February 16, 2026
Penn State's Office of Faculty Affairs has named 14 new distinguished professors for 2026, recognizing outstanding academic contribution to the University.
February 13, 2026
Penn State’s Block and Bridle Club won three awards at the National Block and Bridle Club’s 105th Convention, which took place Feb. 3-5 in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s event was hosted by Middle Tennessee State University in conjunction with CattleCon, the largest annual event and trade show for the U.S. cattle industry.
February 12, 2026
Zachary Newsome, a graduate student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named a 2025 Dr. James Watson Fellow by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
February 12, 2026
Biting into a tart green apple is a different taste and sensory experience than sucking juice from a lemon. Now, Penn State researchers have found that while some of that sour taste and experience difference comes from individual perceptions, the acids themselves vary in sourness, even at the same concentrations.
February 11, 2026
Paul Esker and John Boney, faculty members in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, have received grants from the Pennsylvania Soybean Board.
February 10, 2026
Anyone interested in developing healthy habits and increasing stamina can benefit from a free Penn State Extension virtual walking program called “Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania.” The statewide program will take place from April 6 through June 1.
February 10, 2026
The Penn State Alumni Association's Virtual Speaker Session connects Penn Staters to University faculty who are leaders in their respective fields. The next event in the series is set for noon on Tuesday, Feb. 24, and will focus on the Penn State Extension Master Gardener Program, a statewide, volunteer-driven program that advances the land-grant mission of translating research-based horticultural science into meaningful community education and service.
February 10, 2026
A longtime nature enthusiast, Stephen Hinds, of Delaware County, has spent the past few years volunteering with Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Steward program, working hands-on to restore and stabilize streambanks at Smedley Park, a county park near his hometown, using a technique known as “live staking.”
February 10, 2026
The Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will hold its first talk in the new seminar series “Water, Energy, and Data Centers in Pennsylvania” on Feb. 24 at University Park.
February 6, 2026
Noel Habashy, associate teaching professor and coordinator of the international agriculture minor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was a recipient of the 2025 United States Department of Agriculture Excellence in College and University Teaching in Food and Agricultural Sciences Award in the regional category.
February 6, 2026
The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences recently celebrated 26 faculty and staff members who have been with the college for 25 years.
February 6, 2026
David Huff, professor of turfgrass breeding and genetics at Penn State, recently earned the Research Innovator Award through the College of Agricultural Sciences for the research and entrepreneurial leadership that led to the founding of his startup, PennPoa. To launch his turfgrass startup, Huff utilized Penn State entrepreneurial resources.
February 5, 2026
Implementing novel management practices in dairy farming, one of the commonwealth’s major agricultural industries, could help alleviate a large source of both nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a multidisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State.
February 5, 2026
Ten graduate students have been named finalists for the 2025-26 J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which helps graduate students refine their research communication skills while gaining recognition for their scholarship and competing for cash prizes. The final round of Penn State’s Three Minute Thesis competition will take place on Saturday, March 28, at the Nittany Lion Inn.
February 4, 2026
During his 2026-27 budget address to the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Feb. 3, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a $30 million allocation for the commonwealth’s newly created performance-based funding model — money that would be shared between Penn State and the other state-related universities — in addition to flat funding for the University's general support appropriation.
February 4, 2026
To better equip organic farmers to control weeds, a team of Penn State agricultural scientists received a four-year, $935,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how promoting soil microbes to infect and kill weed seeds might reduce problematic weed species.
February 4, 2026
Jennifer Koehl, assistant teaching professor and undergraduate program coordinator in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been chosen to receive the college’s Community of Advising Excellence Award.
February 3, 2026
February is American Heart Month, a time when the nation raises awareness about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. To recognize this observance, Penn State Extension is offering several in-person workshops and webinars focused on small lifestyle changes to improve heart health.
