September 15, 2021
At a time when many municipalities are seeking to control urban stormwater by investing heavily in green infrastructure — such as water-quality ponds, infiltration basins, porous pavement and riparian plantings — a new study suggests that these expensive efforts may not have much of an impact.
September 15, 2021
A computer software package widely used in the Midwest to strategically position riparian buffers and other structures aimed at protecting water quality on agricultural land can be used effectively in the eastern United States, with some limitations, Penn State researchers report in a new study.
September 13, 2021
The Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE) announced its 2021–22 Seed Grant Program. The funding is intended to foster basic and applied interdisciplinary energy and environmental research that leverages faculty expertise across the University. The deadline to submit proposals is 5 p.m. on Nov. 19.
September 13, 2021
Two entomologists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will receive prestigious awards from the Entomological Society of America during its 2021 annual meeting, which will take place in person and online Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in Denver, Colorado.
September 7, 2021
Ben McGraw, an associate professor of turfgrass science at Pennsylvania State University, surveyed dead turf on a Pennsylvania golf course Friday. The turf recently had been attacked by fall armyworms.
September 2, 2021
Farmers using no-till production — in which soil never or rarely is plowed or disturbed — can reduce herbicide use and still maintain crop yields by implementing integrated weed-management methods, according to a new study conducted by Penn State researchers.
September 2, 2021
Kathy Hill, associate professor of education (science education) in the College of Education and director of the Center for Science and the Schools (CSATS), and Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Center for Pollinator Research (CPR), are leading a team that has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The grant will allow the team to partner with elementary school teachers in Pennsylvania to develop cross-disciplinary curricula to support their students in understanding pollinator research in the areas of food, agriculture and natural resources.
August 2, 2021
The application of manure after the growth and demise of legume cover crops in rotations is a recipe to increase nitrous oxide releases during ensuing corn growth, according to a team of Penn State researchers who conducted a new study. They suggest that innovative management strategies are needed to reduce these emissions.
July 16, 2021
A variety of research and educational programs related to agriculture and natural resources will be in the spotlight on several tours to be offered during Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 10-12 at Rock Springs.
July 8, 2021
Elizabeth Boyer, professor of water resources in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is the 2021 recipient of the Alex and Jessie C. Black Award for excellence in research.
June 21, 2021
As a high school junior, Alyssa Curry thought she wanted nothing to do with Penn State when her parents suggested that she consider the school for college.
June 18, 2021
The Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE) has awarded seed grants to 22 groups of interdisciplinary researchers at Penn State for the 2020-21 award cycle. IEE established a Seed Grant Program in 2013 to foster basic and applied research addressing IEE’s research themes. Since then, IEE has awarded grants to more than 148 interdisciplinary projects across 15 Penn State colleges and campuses.
June 17, 2021
Seven Penn State faculty teams have received seed grants for biodiversity research as part of the 2021 “Mainstreaming Biodiversity in a Decade of Action” symposium, developed by Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research, in collaboration with Penn State’s Sustainability Institute (SI).
June 9, 2021
Watershedwide nutrient credit trading has been suggested as a mechanism for reducing pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay, but a new study by Penn State researchers suggests that the high cost of producing nitrogen credits through the establishment of riparian buffers on Pennsylvania farmland currently does not provide an incentive for buffer establishment.
May 25, 2021
In her 20 years of bee research, Christina Grozinger had not faced a data management problem quite like the one she encountered in 2020. Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology at Penn State, studies ways to counteract declining bee populations, and her research requires her to acquire, send and analyze data across teams in a precise way.
April 19, 2021
The Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES) in the College of Agricultural Sciences has announced a partnership with the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences to help faculty leverage the computing services of the Research Innovations with Scientists and Engineering (RISE) team.
April 16, 2021
A Penn State-led research team has received a nearly $950,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to create the next generation of an online decision-support tool designed to help conserve pollinator populations across the United States.
April 15, 2021
Technology is not the only means of achieving net-zero carbon emissions. Economics can also supply the needed incentives for individuals and businesses to reduce their carbon footprints. Sir Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford and fellow in economics at New College, Oxford, will discuss the need for a carbon price as a means of lowering emissions at a talk at noon on Monday, April 19. The seminar, which is free and open to the public, will be broadcast via Zoom.
April 7, 2021
While most students are aware of Penn State’s walk-up and randomized coronavirus testing, there’s other testing strategies happening beneath the surface of campus. Wastewater testing for the coronavirus has been part of Penn State’s layered testing strategy since before the 2020-21 school year. Starting in July 2020, a team of university professors and experts began sampling wastewater from both on-campus and off-campus areas in State College, according to Heather Preisendanz, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
March 4, 2021
Faculty who are awarded the Distinguished Professor title are acknowledged leaders in their fields of research or creative activity, have demonstrated significant leadership in raising the standards of the University, and have demonstrated excellent teaching skills, contributing significantly to the education of students who subsequently have achieved recognition of excellence in their own careers.
March 1, 2021
The Thriving Agricultural Systems in Urbanized Landscapes project, funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, is working to create economically thriving and environmentally beneficial agricultural systems in urbanized landscapes.
February 26, 2021
As Dellinger Run wends its way toward Chiques Creek, it stretches through 56 acres of farmland in Rapho Township, where owner Mark Heller enjoys watching the ducks and fish that swim in the stream.
February 26, 2021
A million-dollar grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will pay the total costs of riparian buffers and other conservation practices on farms in three contiguous watersheds in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster, Lebanon and Dauphin counties.
February 19, 2021
Wild bees are more affected by climate change than by disturbances to their habitats, according to a team of researchers led by Penn State. The findings suggest that addressing land-use issues alone will not be sufficient to protecting these important pollinators.
February 19, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically exposed the economic vulnerability of U.S. businesses, primarily because they are so interconnected: when one region experiences a labor shortage or supply interruption, adverse effects reverberate throughout the global economy. Researchers at Penn State and the Korea Rural Economic Institute have developed a model to help visualize the interconnectedness of businesses and industries over geographic space, which potentially can show supply-chain vulnerabilities to future shocks, such as pandemics or climate-change impacts.
February 19, 2021
The economic value of insect pollinators was $34 billion in the U.S. in 2012, much higher than previously thought, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State. The team also found that areas that are economically most reliant on insect pollinators are the same areas where pollinator habitat and forage quality are poor.
February 19, 2021
Winter survival of honey bee colonies is strongly influenced by summer temperatures and precipitation in the prior year, according to Penn State researchers, who said their findings suggest that honey bees have a "goldilocks" preferred range of summer conditions outside of which their probability of surviving the winter falls.
February 19, 2021
Growing the right crop in the right place within an impaired watershed can achieve significant water quality improvements, according to Penn State researchers, who conducted a novel study in the drainage of a Susquehanna River tributary in an agricultural area in southeastern Pennsylvania.
February 4, 2021
SAFES' Spring 2021 workshop series will take place on Thursdays at 3 p.m. The series supports faculty researchers and administrators in expanding their knowledge of external funding opportunities and internal Penn State programs that can support new interdisciplinary research collaborations.
January 22, 2021
Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, will be honored by the National Academy of Sciences for helping the world understand how to address the crisis of global declines in pollinator populations.
