News

The Provost’s Global Advisory Council hosted its inaugural meeting on Thursday, March 23, on the University Park campus. President Eric Barron kicked off the morning session by welcoming the council members and emphasizing that the modern university must deliver more than content to our students.

Unprecedented summer warmth and flooding, forest fires, drought and torrential rain — extreme weather events are occurring more and more often, but now an international team of climate scientists has found a connection between many extreme weather events and the impact climate change is having on the jet stream.

Students can get cool rocks, minerals and fossils and learn more about nature at the annual Minerals Junior Education Day. The educational program, co-sponsored by Penn State's College of Earth and Minerals Sciences Museum and Art Gallery, is designed to encourage the interest of students in grades one through eight in the earth sciences.

Andrew Smye, assistant professor of geosciences at Penn State, has been recognized by the Geological Society of London for his early career accomplishments.

Penn State alumnus Delbert Day has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election to NAI Fellow status is “the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.”

Penn State associate professor of geography and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, Lorraine Dowler, has been elected as a national councilor for the American Association of Geographers' governing body. She is one of six national councilors and will begin her three-year term on July 1.

Jenna Bishop, a senior majoring in environmental systems engineering, has taken advantage of several opportunities as an undergraduate. From serving as president of the EMS Student Council, to playing the role of captain for Relay For Life, to dancing for THON, a student run philanthropy at Penn State, Bishop has no shortage of memorable moments. However, she says one of her proudest moments was publishing research as an undergraduate.

Erica Smithwick, ecologist and associate professor of geography, is among four women profiled who inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) is hosting a conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner Julia Wolfe along with other events commemorating the history of coal mining in Pennsylvania.

"I've talked to people who are optimistic about sustainability and others who are pessimistic. The question isn’t whether the glass is half full or half empty because, in the end, the glass will always be half empty when you’re thirsty," said Bharadwaj, an energy engineering student in Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.