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.
Graduate student's hurricane research driven by desire to help home
03/13/2018
03/13/2018
It had been five days since Hurricane Maria made landfall with Puerto Rico, and Kelly Nunez Ocasio still hadn't heard from her father. Ocasio grew up on the island and weathered powerful storms before. Now a graduate student at Penn State studying how hurricanes form, all she could do was wait.
The fine-tuning of two-dimensional materials
02/28/2018
02/28/2018
A new understanding of why synthetic 2-D materials often perform orders of magnitude worse than predicted was reached by teams of researchers led by Penn State. They searched for ways to improve these materials' performance in future electronics, photonics, and memory storage applications.
Geospatial intelligence students boost careers with online program
02/28/2018
02/28/2018
The online Master of Geographic Information Systems (MGIS) program is opening doors for students.
Augmented reality app reveals campus monument's history as teaching tool
02/23/2018
02/23/2018
Augmented reality is reviving the educational focus of the oldest monument on Penn State's University Park campus. Known as the Obelisk, the nearly 33-foot-tall, 53.4-ton stone structure was originally constructed in 1896 to showcase regional rocks and minerals. Its 281 stones, procured from sites around Pennsylvania and neighboring states, are stacked by geologic time period, from youngest at the top to oldest at the base.
Researchers team up to tackle state’s acid mine drainage problem
02/21/2018
02/21/2018
As Penn State researchers stood on the banks of Scalp Level Run, an acid mine drainage-polluted stream in Cambria County, a scientific question formed: How is nature removing toxic metals from the drainage at a rate faster than any other tested waters in the state, under pH conditions deemed too low to do so?
Fellowship allows meteorology graduate student to advocate for diversity
02/20/2018
02/20/2018
In the middle of a Category 1 hurricane in Cape Verde, off the coast of Africa, Aara'L Yarber discovered her passion for meteorology. Coming from Los Angeles, California, she had never experienced a hurricane before.
Graduate student leverages geography, coding skills to land Google internship
02/19/2018
02/19/2018
When geography doctoral student Xi Liu saw an opportunity to work for Google on a project that involved geographical data analysis -- on a project related to his dissertation research -- he wasted no time in applying.
Doctoral student melds passions for science, helping others in FEMA job
01/26/2018
01/26/2018
As an emergency management specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Association, Adrienne Kramer is applying her geography skills to build maps, analytical tools and other resources to help the agency improve its response and recovery operations.
Couple pulls from experiences to advance ties in Colombia with Fulbright awards
01/26/2018
01/26/2018
For both Zuleima Karpyn and Luis Ayala, leaving their home country of Venezuela for a Penn State education seemed like a daunting task. After all, they never could have imagined that it would lead to advancing their education, developing their careers as faculty members or meeting each other, resulting in a marriage that's produced three children.
Microbes may help astronauts transform human waste into food
01/25/2018
01/25/2018
Human waste may one day be a valuable resource for astronauts on deep-space missions. Now, a Penn State research team has shown that it is possible to rapidly break down solid and liquid waste to grow food with a series of microbial reactors, while simultaneously minimizing pathogen growth.