In preparation for this event, the SAFES Institute has organized the SAFES Water Extension and Research Seminar Series and provide opportunities for both researchers and extension professionals to share ideas on how to work together to elevate their programming.
Please see the schedule of events below.
Opportunities for research and extension at the Musser Gap Greenway and Penn State Fuller's Overlook
Date/Time : Friday, February 27, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: 342 Erickson Food Science Building
Mike Toolan, Musser Gap Conservation Director, and Corey Gracie-Griffin, Director for Fuller's Overlook, will kick off this series with 'Opportunities for research and extension at the Musser Gap Greenway and Penn State's Fuller's Overlook'. Please join us to learn about unique water research and extension opportunities available at both Fuller's Overlook and Musser Gap.
Growing Research and Extension Opportunities: Overview of Soils Research cluster lab
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 17, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: 342 Erickson Food Science Building
Katya Bazilevskaya will provide an overview of the unique water research and extension opportunities at the Soil Clusters Lab.
The Pasto Agricultural Museum and the Eberly College Office of Science Outreach
Date/Time: Thursday, March 19, 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Location: 342 Erickson Food Science Building
Pre-Recorded Resources
Institutes, Centers, and Consortia (I/C/C) at Penn State
Recorded on February 11, 2025: Creation and Governance of Institutes and Centers
There are over 300 institutes, centers, and consortia (I/C/C) at Penn State. How do these get created? How do they function? The Huck Institute organized a panel discussion in February 2025 to talk about I/C/C creation and governance. The relevant portion for our purposes is a 15-minute segment starting at 08:17 that deals with what centers and institutes are and how they get started at Penn State. (Huck's goal for the panel was to prepare faculty to develop large proposals for "center grants" and to design effective organizational and governance frameworks for their centers, so the discussion goes on to highlight the experiences of different centers at Penn State, e.g., the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, the Neuroscience Institute, etc.)
See timestamps below for a more detailed breakdown of the topics covered during the 08:17-22:20 portion:
- 8:17 The roadmap for creating a new institute or center at Penn State
- 10:52 Interdisciplinary institutes under the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research (OSPVR)
- 11:22 Steps to establish a new institute or center
- 14:50 College-level institutes/centers
- 18:14 Huck governance structure
- 19:27 Policy (RAG05) for establishing research institutes, centers, and consortia
- 20:37 Approval process for establishing an institute, center, or consortium
- 21:18 Pilot initiatives (e.g., fora) as an alternative or stepping stone to a full-fledged institute or center
The Emerging Contaminants Analytical Laboratory (ECAL) - Capacity for PFAS Analysis
Recorded on April 24, 2025: PFAS Analytical Capabilities at Penn State
This talk from Odette Mina and Hlengilizwe Nyoni was part of the SAFES Institute's PFAS Seminar Series organized during the spring of 2025. In the first 12 minutes, Odette Mina gives an overview of the Emerging Contaminants Analytical Laboratory (one of Penn State's core facilities) and introduces the lab's PFAS analytical capacity. For questions about the lab and how to work with them, please reach out to Odette Mina (oom5021@psu.edu).
- 1:22 How is the Emerging Contaminants Analytical Laboratory (ECAL) different from a commercial lab?
- 3:50 Introduction to PFAS
- 5:04 Where are PFAS found?
- 5:40 Overview of analytical methods for PFAS
- 7:50 Sensitivity of ECAL's PFAS detection capability relative to EPA's drinking water regulations
- 8:55 Examples of PFAS research projects ECAL has worked on
- 9:35 Quality assurance and quality control protocol
- 10:54 How to work with ECAL
- 11:50 More details on the analytical equipment and methods (very technical!)
Lab Capacity for Microplastics Analysis
Recorded on April 3, 2025: Overview of Microplastics Analytical Capacity at Penn State
This talk from Odette Mina and TJ Zimudzi was part of the SAFES Institute's Microplastics Seminar Series organized during the 2024-25 academic year. Odette gives an overview of the Environmental Contaminants Analytical Laboratory (ECAL), then she and TJ review the physical and chemical characterization techniques for microplastics in a wide range of environmental and biological matrices. The talk covers ECAL's quality assurance and control, standardized procedures for sample preparation, detection and identification, as well as small-scale, research-focused characterization techniques at the Materials Characterization Lab (MCL). See more detailed topic coverage in the timestamps below:
- 1:24 Overview of the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Laboratories (EESL)
- 2:12 Introduction to the Emerging Contaminants Analytical Laboratory (ECAL)
- 2:55 Difference between working with ECAL versus a commercial lab
- 5:00 Introduction to microplastics and trends in microplastics publications
- 6:00 Microplastics in human tissue
- 9:20 Plastic chemistry
- 10:35 Sources of microplastics
- 11:05 Matrices where microplastics are found (all of which ECAL can handle)
- 12:20 Analytical challenges for microplastics
- 14:05 Analytical resources and capabilities at ECAL
- 14:50 Sample prep
- 18:10 Laser direct infrared (LDIR) imaging
- 22:35 Pyrolysis GC-MS
- 25:10 Quality assurance/quality control protocol
- 26:05 Key considerations for working with ECAL
- 27:50 TJ's talk begins
The Energy and Environmental Sustainability Laboratories (EESL)
Link to recording: https://iee.psu.edu/events/eesl-labs-capabilities-and-applications-overview
In this talk (part of a previous year's webinar series), Odette Mina provides a brief introduction to the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Laboratories (EESL), followed by presentations on three individual units within EESL: the Radiocarbon Lab, the Organics Lab, and the Center for Quantitative Imaging.
- 0:49 How to work with EESL
- 3:30 Overview of the Radiocarbon Lab
- 5:12 Principles of radiocarbon dating
- 8:12 Instrumentation in the Radiocarbon Lab
- 10:08 Skeletons in Roopkund Lake (Himalayan Mountains)
- 11:40 Mastodon tooth found in Huntingdon County
- 12:50 Fossil CO2 tracing
- 13:57 How to work with the Radiocarbon Lab
- 15:05 Overview of the Organics Lab with Sara Lincoln
- 18:23 Instrumentation in the Organics Lab (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry)
- 24:17 Example projects in the Organics Lab (plant volatile profiles, oil spill fingerprinting, PFAS in drinking water, microplastics pollution in PA streams, polymer analysis for forensic applications)
- 31:56 How to work with the Organics Lab
- 32:40 Overview of the Center for Quantitative Imaging
An Overview of Water Infrastructure at Penn State
Link to Water Insights Seminar recording: Dave Swisher Water Infrastructure
In this talk (part of the former Water Insights Seminar Series), Dave Swisher gives an overview of Penn State's drinking water and wastewater systems, including the reuse of treated wastewater to irrigate Penn State's "Living Filter."
- 1:46 What is water sustainability?
- 2:27 The mission of the Office of Physical Plant (OPP)
- 3:24 Utility systems at Penn State's University Park campus
- 5:30 The water and wastewater cycle at University Park
- 6:32 Stormwater management at University Park
- 10:10 Why don't we use infiltration systems?
- 11:25 Rainwater harvesting
- 12:21 Millbrook Marsh and other water resource preservation areas
- 14:58 Future stormwater management
- 16:17 Drinking water systems at University Park
- 20:25 Water sustainability in Penn State facilities
- 21:37 Water savings in new/renovated residence halls versus older halls (because of new design standards)
- 23:25 Chilled water plants
- 27:10 Trends in annual groundwater withdrawals at University Park
- 29:35 Wastewater management at University Park
- 31:08 Water quality challenges in the 1950s
- 32:18 Land application of wastewater (the "Living Filter")
- 35:30 Wastewater treatment plant upgrades at University Park
- 37:18 Usage of reclaimed wastewater
- 42:45 Future challenges and sustainability goals
An Overview of the Agricultural Analytical Services Lab
Link to recording: John Spargo Ag Analytical
In this talk (part of the 2021 Private Well Conference), Dr. John Spargo details the testing services offered by Penn State's Agricultural Analytical Services Lab. For questions about the lab, please reach out to John (jts29@psu.edu).
- 0:57 About the Ag Analytical Services Lab
- 2:21 Collecting water samples
- 3:07 Drinking water test packages
- 3:48 Understanding test results
- 5:49 Evaluating the quality and impact of the drinking water testing program
- 8:12 Additional links and contact information
An Overview of Extension Programming
Recorded presentation from Chris Houser, Assistant Director of Programs for Agronomy and Natural Resources, Penn State Extension
An Overview of the Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE)
Recorded presentation from Chris Scott, Professor of Ecosystem Science and Management, Associate Director of IEE and leader of the Water Sustainability Thematic Area
