November 26, 2019
Fourteen Penn State faculty members in areas ranging from physics and engineering to entomology and plant science have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. A lifetime honor bestowed upon members by their peers, a total of 443 individuals are being recognized for their extraordinary achievements in advancing science.
November 25, 2019
A research team developing artificial-intelligence-based solutions for diagnosing and managing threats to crop health has received a grant to expand the technology to assist more smallholder farmers around the world. Co-led by David Hughes, associate professor of entomology and biology, the team developed a smartphone app that is capable of accurately diagnosing crop diseases without an internet connection.
November 25, 2019
The Student Startup Showcase featured Penn State student startups which had participated in the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program’s (PennTAP) Inc.U Competition or Invent Penn State’s Summer Founders program. Each of the student companies received $2,000 to help move their startups forward during the Oct. 3-4 conference, held at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
November 25, 2019
A transition from wild collection of herbs to forest farming needs to occur in Appalachia to make the opaque, unstable and unjust supply chain for forest medicinal plants such as ginseng sustainable, according to a team of researchers who have studied the market for more than a decade.
November 25, 2019
Patrick Drohan, associate professor of pedology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, gave a keynote address at the Catchment 2019 conference in Wexford, Ireland, in early November.
November 22, 2019
Justin Kurtz’s first encounter with the FFA transformed the way he thought about agriculture, the world and, most importantly, himself. Kurtz, an agricultural and extension education major in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, first began working on a farm at the age of 10 in Kent County, Maryland.
November 21, 2019
The detection of chronic wasting disease in wild deer in several parts of Pennsylvania has some deer hunters wondering whether they should continue with their fall traditions, but a food safety specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences urges them to carry on — but to take precautions.
November 20, 2019
Recent visitors to The Arboretum at Penn State may have noticed a bright blue construction fence surrounding about 3 acres of open meadow between the botanic gardens and the College Heights neighborhood. The fence delineates the future site of the Pollinator and Bird Garden, which will increase the size of the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens by about 60%.
November 20, 2019
Suzanna Windon and Linda Fetzer, of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, have been appointed to leadership roles with the AgrAbility for Pennsylvanians Project, also known as AgrAbility PA.
November 20, 2019
As the first collegiate chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, known as NWTF, the Penn State Spur Collectors club aims to provide opportunities for student hunters to make friends and to enjoy the outdoors, while supporting the national nonprofit’s mission of conservation of the wild turkey.
November 19, 2019
Dr. James H. Carson, a former resident physician at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Gail Graybill Carson, a 1986 graduate of the College of Agricultural Sciences, have created the Harold J. Carson Memorial Scholarship in the College of Agricultural Sciences to honor James "Jim" Carson’s father, a veteran and dairyman with a commitment to service, quality and excellence.
November 18, 2019
Folks worried that the spotted lanternfly will put a “bah humbug” into their holiday by taking up residence in their live Christmas tree should toss those concerns to the side like used wrapping paper, according to Penn State Extension experts.
November 15, 2019
Terry Etherton, head of the Department of Animal Science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award at the recent annual meeting of the Northeast Section of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) and the Northeast Branch of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) in Hershey.
November 15, 2019
Three organic-agriculture projects led by faculty members in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have received grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The funding, totaling more than $1.3 million, was awarded through USDA-NIFA's Organic Transitions Program.
November 14, 2019
Dennis Decoteau, professor of horticulture and plant ecosystem health in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is among four public university faculty honored by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities with national teaching awards recognizing excellence in agricultural sciences teaching and student engagement.
November 14, 2019
Jayson Harper, who had been interim director of the Fruit Research and Extension Center in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences since March 1, has been named to the post on a standing basis.
November 14, 2019
Penn State employees whose work duties require travel to, from and within the spotted lanternfly quarantine zone in southeastern Pennsylvania now have a brief reprieve from mandatory vehicle inspections. However, while employees will not have to check vehicles during the inactive period, they still are required to inspect equipment and products that were placed outside during the egg deposition period.
November 14, 2019
For many first-generation college students, study abroad experiences seem out of reach. However, a new course offered by the Environmental Resource Management program in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences aims to make that aspiration a reality.
November 14, 2019
On Dec. 4, 1944, in the jungles of the Philippines during World War II, Penn State alumnus Leon Kneebone, now age 99, found himself leading a platoon of 50 to 60 men on a scouting mission to help locate the Japanese position.
November 13, 2019
Rick Roush, dean of Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been elected as an Entomological Society of America Fellow, an honor that acknowledges his outstanding contributions to entomology in research, teaching, extension and outreach.
November 12, 2019
Urban development in the eastern U.S. results in an increase in flash flooding in nearby streams, but in the arid West, urbanization has just the opposite effect, according to a Penn State researcher, who suggests there may be lessons to be learned from the sharp contrast.
November 12, 2019
Emma Steely, a first-year environmental resource management student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica through her participation in the Pennsylvania School for Excellence in the Agricultural Sciences at Penn State.
November 12, 2019
John Carlson, professor of molecular genetics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, recently was named Mercator Fellow and Visiting Professor at Georg-August University of Göttingen in Germany.
November 11, 2019
This past spring a cohort of Penn State students participated in an innovative research study to examine the potential for Internet of Things devices on a farming community in Rwanda, to explore the potential impact of unmanned vehicles at a farm on the outskirts of the city of Kigali. The goal was to study farm workers and local community members, gathering their perceptions and concerns of advanced technology in a low resource context.
November 8, 2019
After being closed to the public for more than six years, Penn State's Frost Entomological Museum has reopened with new and improved exhibits, storage facilities, and research capacity, much to the delight of school groups and insect enthusiasts.
November 8, 2019
Groundbreaking took place Nov. 6 for a new agricultural engineering shop at Penn State's Fruit Research and Extension Center that will, when completed, enhance research to help growers improve efficiency, reduce costs and deal with labor shortages.
November 6, 2019
Siela Maximova, research professor of plant biotechnology, has been named a Global Faculty Fellow in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and a Land Grant University U.S.-Colombia Fulbright Scholar.
November 5, 2019
Growing up on her family’s Bicentennial Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Samantha Shirk’s life has always been rooted in agriculture. “I was fortunate to be born into an agricultural family,” said Shirk, whose parents have careers in agriculture — her father as a regional salesman for the poultry industry and her mother a client relations manager for Penn State Extension. “My parents and grandparents are proud to work in agriculture, and their passion was passed on to me.”
November 4, 2019
Using site-specific watershed data to determine the most cost-effective agricultural best management practices — rather than requiring all the recommended practices be implemented across the entire watershed — could make staying below the Chesapeake Bay’s acceptable pollution load considerably less expensive.
November 4, 2019
Agricultural diversity in the Northeastern U.S. — ranging from dairy farming to fruit and vegetable production to forest-product, nursery and greenhouse activities — and why it matters will be the focus of a web-based seminar presented by Penn State Extension at noon on Nov. 20.
