Our graduate students are integral to the research we conduct, and they also are dedicated to making a difference in communities. Learn more about their research, outreach efforts, and other projects below.
News
Geography Coffee Hour to feature Richard Alley on sea-level rise and ice sheets
The Penn State Department of Geography will continue its spring 2025 Coffee Hour lecture series with a talk by Richard B. Alley, Evan Pugh University Professor in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State. Alley’s talk, "Sea-Level Rise from Ice Sheets: How Bad Could It Be?" will examine the uncertainties surrounding sea-level rise and the scientific challenges of predicting future ice-sheet behavior.
Three graduate students receive awards in 2025 Three Minute Thesis competition
Three Penn State graduate students, including Patrick Sarpong, doctoral candidate in energy and mineral engineering, received awards in the 2025 Three Minute Thesis competition.
April 2 seminar: Emissions trading effect on water quality, carbon sequestration
David Newburn, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maryland, will give the talk, “Interacting Incentives for Agricultural Conversation Subsidies and Trading Programs: Implications for Water Quality and Carbon Sequestration Benefits in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed,” at noon on Wednesday, April 2, in 157 Hosler Building on the University Park campus.
Penn State GeoGraphics Lab to host inaugural Community Mapping Day
The Penn State Department of Geography’s GeoGraphics Lab will host its first Community Mapping Day on Saturday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Walker Building at University Park. The event, free and open to the public, will kick off with an optional breakfast at 8 a.m. and bring together students, faculty and community members for a day of hands-on mapping, creative geospatial storytelling and collaborative problem-solving centered on sustainability and local climate action.
Three deans co-host research scholarship and land-grant impacts event March 24
Three Penn State deans are co-hosting an event focusing on role of the University as Pennsylvania’s land-grant institution, the similar role of U.S. land-grant universities and the impacts of scholarly research they produce.
Q&A: Wading into the shrinking waters of the Colorado River
Key agreements in the “Law of the River,” which encompasses more than 100 years of regulations, laws, court decisions and more focused on managing the Colorado River, are set to expire next year. First established in 1922 as the Colorado River Compact, the guidelines split water management and allocation among seven states. Now, those states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — are renegotiating the terms of use for the water. Drought, increased temperatures and decreased snowpack in the Rocky Mountains are complicating the matter, according to Antonia Hadjimichael, assistant professor of geosciences at Penn State.
Traditional American Indian Powwow scheduled March 29-30 in State College
The 19th annual Penn State Traditional American Indian Powwow, a family friendly event that offers free admission, will be conducted March 29-30 at C3 Sports Complex, located at 200 Ellis Place in State College.
Stage set for final round of Three Minute Thesis competition on March 29
Graduate students at Penn State will put their communication skills to the test in the final round of the University’s second annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. The event, hosted by the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School, is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, and will be livestreamed from the Nittany Lion Inn. The competition is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance.
Geography Coffee Hour lecture to feature Sophie Webber on climate finance
The Penn State Department of Geography will host Sophie Webber, senior lecturer and Australian Research Council DECRA Research Fellow in Geography at the University of Sydney, as part of its spring 2025 Coffee Hour lecture series. Webber’s talk, "Climate Finance: Taking a Position on Climate Futures," will examine how climate change is increasingly understood and addressed through financial mechanisms.
March 19 seminar to discuss hedging economic risks related to climate change
Ryan Lewis, assistant professor of finance in the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will give the talk, “The Value of Climate Hedge Assets: Evidence from Australian Water Markets,” at noon on Wednesday, March 19, in 157 Hosler Building on the University Park campus.