Faculty Study sheds light on how ‘forever chemicals’ travel in groundwater 01/04/2023 A large family of chemicals used for decades to improve our lives — from nonstick cooking pans to waterproof clothing — are now known as "forever chemicals" because they do not easily break down in the environment and pose potential health risks as they build up in our bodies. A new study may improve our understanding of how these chemicals move in the groundwater, according to a team of scientists. |
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Faculty 'Growing Impact' podcast focuses on air quality, health in western Pa. 01/03/2023 The latest episode of the "Growing Impact" podcast features a project focused on air quality and health concerns in western Pennsylvania |
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Faculty Sloan Foundation grant to fund research on governance of the U.S. electric grid 12/16/2022 Seth Blumsack, professor of energy and environmental economics and international affairs, was awarded a $1,193,307 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to sustain and expand an interdisciplinary research network focused on the regional organizations that manage the electric power transmission grid in the United States and how the governance of these regional transmission organizations (RTOs) impacts outcomes for market efficiency, sustainability, equity, reliability and resilience. |
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Faculty Researchers encouraged to submit proposals for Earthshot Prize 12/16/2022 Penn State faculty and staff are invited to submit nominations for the Earthshot Prize 2023, an international competition aimed at identifying the most promising solutions to environmental challenges. |
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Faculty Changes in Earth’s orbit may have triggered ancient warming event 12/13/2022 Changes in Earth’s orbit that favored hotter conditions may have helped trigger a rapid global warming event 56 million years ago that is considered an analogue for modern climate change, according to an international team of scientists. |
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Faculty Model shows how intelligent-like behavior can emerge from non-living agents 12/12/2022 From a distance, they looked like clouds of dust. Yet, the swarm of microrobots in author Michael Crichton’s bestseller “Prey” was self-organized. It acted with rudimentary intelligence, learning, evolving and communicating with itself to grow more powerful. |
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Faculty 2D material may enable ultra-sharp cellphone photos in low light 12/09/2022 A new type of active pixel sensor that uses a novel two-dimensional material may both enable ultra-sharp cellphone photos and create a new class of extremely energy-efficient Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, according to a team of Penn State researchers. |
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Faculty Materials Research Institute accepting proposals for two seed grant projects 12/09/2022 The Materials Research Institute (MRI) offers a series of seed grants to Penn State researchers that encourage high-risk, high-impact collaborative projects across multiple disciplines with great potential for societal benefit. Currently, calls for proposals are open for two seed grant programs. |
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Faculty Libraries obtains industry standards to benefit Pennsylvania businesses 12/08/2022 Penn State University Libraries received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to purchase international and industry standards in support of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) in core Pennsylvania industries. |
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Faculty Penn State faculty join NASA mission to study samples from asteroid Bennu 12/08/2022 Three Penn State faculty — Kate Freeman, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences, Christopher House, professor of geosciences, and Allison Baczynski, associate research professor of geosciences — have been selected to join the NASA Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission to analyze samples from the asteroid Bennu. |