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Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is seeking teams to develop innovative research programs using Twitter data. Proposals are invited for pilot projects aimed at using Twitter data in social science research.

Nearly 15 percent of all chewing gum varieties sold promise to provide health-enhancing supplements to users, so Penn State researchers studied whether two vitamin-supplemented products were effective at delivering vitamins to the body. Their results validate the concept of gum as an effective delivery system for at least some vitamins.

The Office of Research and Graduate Education is soliciting proposals for the Strategic Networks and Initiatives Program (SNIP) at three levels of grants. At all levels, funding will be awarded to collaborative interdisciplinary teams seeking to investigate focused research problems in pursuit of large-scale extramural grant opportunities.

During a Sept. 30 ceremony held at the residence of Penn State President Eric Barron, Penn State trustee Keith E. Masser and his wife, Helen E. Masser, signed documents to create a professorship in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and a scholarship in the Penn State College of Medicine.

In an innovative study that promises to reduce production costs for the most potent form of vitamin K — Menaquinone-7, Penn State researchers have developed a novel method to enhance the fermentation process that creates the supplement by agitated liquid fermentation in a biofilm reactor.

Warm, wet weather is predicted to continue through the rest of September and most of October in the mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Great Lakes regions, and those soggy conditions likely will result in a subdued foliage display, according to a Penn State forest expert.

A longtime champion of global engagement will serve as the first Global Faculty Fellow in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. 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.

These awards should be used for presenting original research at national or international meetings. Please note that either an oral or poster presentation is required to be eligible for these funds. One travel award per degree is allowed. Awards are limited to $500 for domestic travel and international travel.

Companies that invest heavily in research and development are more likely to benefit from locating near dissimilar businesses, while companies that invest less in technology are better off near businesses in their own industry, according to new research by a team of economists. The findings can help business owners and policy makers design better business strategies and economic policies.

Those interested in learning about or participating in microbiome research at Penn State are invited to attend a networking event sponsored by the University's Microbiome Research Center. The gathering will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 2 in the Huck Life Sciences Building, third floor bridge. The goal of the event is to facilitate collaborations and new ideas. Prizes will be given for the best poster and lightning talks.

The State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Apple Program recently awarded nearly $233,000 in funding to support new and ongoing fruit research and extension projects in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

With support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service, the Cacao and Chocolate Research Network (CCRN) at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 Visiting Scientist Program. The program will support five visiting scientists to work with Penn State faculty and international collaborators to advance research that is critical to the development of the fine flavor cacao/chocolate industry in Latin America and the Caribbean. These visiting scientists will spend six months at Penn State or at a partner institution working on one of the following topic areas: advanced sensory evaluation, the fine flavor cacao market, or issues related to cadmium accumulation in cacao. Exchanges will take place within the January 2019 to May 2020 timeframe, with exact dates to be determined jointly by the visiting scientist and his/her Penn State faculty mentor.

The College of Agricultural Sciences Graduate Student Competitive Grant Program is sponsored by the College of Agricultural Science’s Office for Research and Graduate Education. This program is a unique opportunity available to graduate students advised by College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) faculty. The program serves as professional development for all CAS graduate students by providing funds to support master or doctoral research. It is anticipated that up to $40,000 will be awarded during this funding cycle.

Mark Guiltinan, professor of plant molecular biology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, recently was named the J. Franklin Styer Professor of Horticultural Botany.

Andrew Read has been appointed director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State effective Jan. 1, 2019. Read is an Evan Pugh University Professor of Biology and Entomology, Eberly Professor of Biotechnology and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics.

Twelve entrepreneurial teams from Penn State have been selected to participate in the National Science Foundation I-Corps program. The teams receive up to $3,000, which can be used to attend industry trade shows, visit potential customers, develop prototypes and cover customer discovery expenses.

A newfound peace has spurred the hunt for disease-resistant wild cacao within the nation’s borders. What scientists find could help the country expand its role in the global trade.

Despite many decades of annual brook trout stocking in one northcentral Pennsylvania watershed, the wild brook trout populations show few genes from hatchery fish, according to researchers who genotyped about 2,000 brook trout in Loyalsock Creek watershed, a 500-square-mile drainage in Lycoming and Sullivan counties celebrated by anglers for its trout fishing.

Penn State’s research expenditures reached a record high for the second consecutive year in fiscal year 2017-2018, according to Vice President for Research Neil Sharkey. The $927 million total represents a $64 million increase over last year’s figure, and includes a record $562 million in federal funds and $365 million from a combination of private funders, the Commonwealth, and University sources.

For scientists who dedicate years of time, energy and resources to their research, they can find that sharing their knowledge through the media can be challenging.