Troy Ott, interim director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has been named dean of the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, effective July 1.
A new study by Penn State researchers has found that using not one but multiple pest treatments may help honey bees survive the winter and make it to spring.
Jeffrey Hyde, most recently a professor and administrator at Texas A&M University, has returned to Pennsylvania to become director of Penn State Extension and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences. He started in his new role on April 25.
Attendees from within and beyond the University recently convened at Penn State for the Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems Symposium, where they had the opportunity to learn about current research, share ideas for collaboration, and grow networks.
Inspired by the students who helped her when she was new at Penn State, Benelli Risser is paying it forward by participating in the Agricultural Advocates program, where she can apply her schoolwork and passion to help others.
Two renowned pollinator scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences have co-authored a book that sheds light on one of the Earth’s most invaluable resources: bees. Christina Grozinger, the Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State, and Harland Patch, assistant research professor in the Department of Entomology and director of pollinator programming at the Arboretum at Penn State, wrote, “The Lives of Bees: A Natural History of Our Planet’s Bee Life.” The book is the latest in the series, “The Lives of the Natural World.”
A research team in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has received a grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to fund a novel project investigating the molecular and physiological processes that support corn kernel development.
Jacquelin Spring has been named the 2024 student marshal representing the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State’s spring commencement.
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences recently honored three of its alumni with 2024 Outstanding Alumni Awards: Vijay Nandula, Shah Chowdhury and Hunter Swisher.
A nationwide team of agricultural scientists, including researchers at Penn State, has launched a decision aid that provides an unbiased, science-based interpretation of soil test phosphorus and potassium values for crop fertilization, with an eye toward potentially saving farmers millions of dollars annually while reducing excess nutrient losses to the environment.
During its annual meeting on April 3, the Penn State chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the agricultural honor society, honored faculty and students from the College of Agricultural Sciences.
For third-year Penn State student Cheyenne Bastian-Brown, advocacy for the agriculture industry has become more than a passion. It’s now her professional path. Leveraging her background combined with opportunities and experiences made possible through Penn State — including her role as the 2024 Pennsylvania State Honey Queen — Bastian-Brown is committed to helping the public understand the importance of agriculture in their daily lives and to helping advance agricultural education.
At the inaugural “Pennsylvania Partners for Climate Smart Commodities Summit,” held in February on Penn State’s University Park campus, a diverse group of stakeholders came together to discuss how climate-smart agriculture offers innovative solutions to help farmers adapt and safeguard their livelihoods.
The wide world of insects is open for exploration at the Frost Entomological Museum at Penn State. Visitors to the facilities can get up-close and personal with weird and wonderful creatures from around the world, ranging from Pennsylvania pollinators to fossils or invasive species.
Spring frosts can have devastating effects on apple production, and a warming climate may be causing trees to blossom early, making them more susceptible to the damaging effects of extreme cold events. Growers’ attempts to prevent the flowers from freezing by attempting to heat the canopies of their orchards largely have been inefficient. To deal with the worsening problem, Penn State researchers devised a frost protection cyber-physical system, which makes heating decisions based on real-time temperature and wind-direction data.
For the first time, Penn State students could experience Antarctica’s wonders through an embedded course, “Antarctica: Human Impacts on a Fragile Environment,” offered this past fall.
A team comprised of faculty from five departments in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and the Department of Biology in the Eberly College of Science, funded by a $262,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has created a novel program to train doctoral degree students to conduct interdisciplinary research on the relationship between soils, plants and consumers.
Honey yields in the U.S. have been declining since the 1990s, with honey producers and scientists unsure why, but a new study by Penn State researchers has uncovered clues in the mystery of the missing honey.
A team of Penn State graduate students recently secured first place in the national 2023 Entomology Games, marking the first time a school from the eastern division earned the honor.
A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will enable Penn State Extension to offer a program designed to bring together beginning and retiring farmers in Pennsylvania, with an eye toward facilitating the transition of farms from one generation to the next.
Senior Brandon Bixler has packed a lot of experiences into his four years at Penn State. From conducting undergraduate research in Nepal to being named a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, Bixler credits the support of faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the agricultural and extension education major with making his journey possible.
Second-year student Sylvie Alexander, an environmental resource management major in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, spent last summer conducting research on the Flathead Indian Reservation located in western Montana. Her work was sponsored by the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and collaborators from the University of Minnesota have received a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study parasite issues related to organic dairy cattle.
Food insecurity often remains a hidden struggle among college students, including those attending Penn State. However, a new initiative in the College of Agricultural Sciences is aimed at tackling this issue — a food pantry designed to provide support.
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has awarded three faculty members with funding to support the development of innovative course curricula through the college’s Harbaugh Faculty Scholars program.
Some scientists believe the Paramos, a grassland ecosystem found in the northern Andes Mountains of South America, are “the world’s fastest evolving and coolest biodiversity hotspot,” according to Estelle Couradeau, assistant professor of soils and environmental microbiology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. This ecosystem — which is the prime headwater for lower tropical ecosystems and downstream urban centers in the Andean and the Orinoco-Amazon regions — is in jeopardy, she explained. Couradeau will lead a National Science Foundation-funded international team conducting research on how climate change will affect soil microbes in the ecologically fragile and important Paramos ecosystem in Colombia’s Andes Mountains.
A team of Penn State researchers has received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to spearhead a new initiative to create novel monitoring systems for insect populations, many of which are experiencing dramatic changes across the globe due to changes in land use, pollution and climate change.
Using a novel method to detect microbial activity in biological soil crusts, or biocrusts, after they are wetted, a Penn State-led research team in a new study uncovered clues that may lead to a better understanding of the role microbes play in forming a living skin over many semi-arid ecosystems around the world. The tiny organisms — and the microbiomes they create — are threatened by climate change.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has named Penn State as the lead institution for one of five new Vector-Borne Disease Regional Training and Evaluation Centers.
Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are studying the effects of beech leaf disease, spearheading efforts to learn more about the disease and how to combat it.
