Read the latest news about research conducted by investigators in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our faculty and students are continually advancing technology, creating solutions and expanding knowledge with new and innovative research.
News
Research key preparation for pursuing doctorate, Penn State undergrad says
Seeing the “huge juxtaposition” between streams flowing near her childhood home in Lancaster County impaired by pollution from intensive agriculture and the seemingly pristine creeks tumbling down the forested mountains around her family’s cabin in Mifflin County led Bridget Reheard to study how contaminants in waters affect aquatic organisms and aspirations for a career working to protect natural resources.
Rare dire wolf bone logged by undergraduate student at Penn State
The world was mesmerized by Colossal Biosciences’ recent announcement that they had cloned dire wolf pups, a species of canine that’s been extinct for more than 10,000 years. While experts have debated the “de-extinction” of these wolves, which are far more genetically similar to living grey wolf than to the original dire wolf, one thing is certainly true: An undergraduate student at Penn State recently catalogued a jawbone from one of Pennsylvania’s few dire wolf fossils.
Coastal management model plays the long game against the rising tides
To protect against rising sea levels in a warming world, coastal cities typically follow a standard playbook with various protective infrastructure options. For example, a seawall could be designed based on the latest climate projections, with the city officials then computing its cost-benefit ratio and proceeding to build, accordingly.
EMS experts promote research ties at National Academies US-African symposium
For some pressing research problems, an ocean’s worth of distance isn’t enough to prevent the connection to some common ground. That’s the point behind the annual National Academies U.S.-Africa Frontiers of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Symposium. And it’s why the College of Earth and Minerals Sciences (EMS) joined Google, the Gates and Rutter Foundations, the Department of Defense and others as sponsors of the event.
Materials Research Institute announces 2025 seed grant recipients
The Materials Research Institute (MRI) at Penn State has announced the recipients of the 2025 Interdisciplinary Seed Grants and Transdisciplinary Teaming Initiative awards, designed to support collaborative, high-risk research with the potential for significant societal and technological impact.
Underused radar data may improve severe weather forecasts, scientists say
Readily available but underused Doppler radar data can help predict the height of the planetary boundary layer — the lowest part of the atmosphere and where weather forms — and, in turn, improve severe weather forecasts, according to scientists at Penn State.
‘Patchy’ thermogels show next-gen biomedical material potential, scientists say
Special biomedical materials that can be injected as a liquid and turn into a solid inside our bodies — called thermogels — could provide a less-invasive way to deliver drugs or treat wounds.
Biomedical engineering grad student earns American Heart Association fellowship
The American Heart Association (AHA) awarded Nivetha Gunaseelan, a doctoral candidate studying biomedical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, a predoctoral fellowship.
$2.7M NIH grant to fund next generation of synthetic blood
Blood loss is the leading cause of death in trauma patients between the ages of 1 and 46 years, largely because they cannot access safe blood sources quickly enough. A possible solution? Freeze-dried synthetic blood.
International Space Station science program director to present McFarland Lecture
The 2025 David Ford McFarland Award Lecture for Achievement in Metallurgy will be held at 3:05 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, in 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building on Penn State's University Park campus. Rose Hernandez, science program director at the International Space Station National Laboratory, will deliver the lecture, “From Earth to Space: Advancing Materials Technologies and Embracing Life's Mission.”