A former computer engineer turned motivational speaker will share his dynamic insights on “Bridging the Digital Divide: Unlocking Access and Opportunity in Education” during a Nov. 6 presentation of the Technology & Society Colloquia Series at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Tina Marie Kline, associate professor of nursing at Pennsylvania College of Technology, recently completed a doctorate in nursing education and administration from William Carey University.

Paul Frank Baum, Evan Pugh University Professor of Mathematics at Penn State, has been honored by Penn State with the title of Atherton Professor. The University created the Atherton Professorship to recognize the continuing high level of scholarly or creative activity Evan Pugh Professors may pursue after their retirement.

A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers at Penn State have made it even better. Rare earth elements are key components used in everything from modern tech to gasoline production. The protein, called LanD, enriches neodymium and praseodymium over other similar rare earth elements and has the potential to revolutionize industrial mining, researchers said.

David Radice, associate professor of physics and of astronomy and astrophysics, has been selected to receive a Sustainment Award from NASA to advance an open-source code called AthenaK for computational astrophysicists. The grant will provide nearly $920,000 over three years.

Alaina G. Levine, president of Quantum Success Solutions LLC, professional speaker, STEM career coach, and author, will give the fall 2024 A. Dixon and Betty F. Johnson Lecture in Scientific Communication at 7 p.m. on Nov. 21 in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus. The free public lecture is open to the Penn State community.

A team of researchers from Penn State College of Medicine found that misfolded versions of a protein exhibit tissue-specific toxicity linked to cell degeneration that may be linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study is a step forward in understanding the physiological processes that may contribute to ALS development and progression and identifies a potential therapeutic target, the researchers said.

Poor sleep is linked to cardiometabolic disease, depression and anxiety, among other concerns. Sleep disturbances can begin in childhood, but insomnia symptoms in children aren’t always taken seriously — and how childhood symptoms develop into a persisting disorder remains elusive. Learn more from Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, professor at the College of Medicine, in the next Virtual Speaker Series from the Penn State Alumni Association from noon to 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 18. 

The Penn State Climate Consortium has awarded funding to four research projects that look to put promising climate solutions into action through interdisciplinary partnerships. 

Penn State Hazleton's trick-or-treating is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 24, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the Sports and Recreation Field at the campus. Children attending the event must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Penn State Hazleton Benefiting THON, the campus’ THON chapter, will host a designer purse and gift card bingo on Sunday, Oct. 20. Doors open at 1 p.m. and games will start at 2 p.m. in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium in the Physical Education Building. The event is open to the public. 

Penn State Hazleton Associate Professor Joseph Ranalli developed a method to identify mislabeled equipment in solar plants by analyzing cloud motion, significantly reducing labor and costs for a large energy provider and enriching the educational experience for his engineering students by demonstrating real-world applications of data analysis. His collaboration with Principal Research Engineer Will Hobbs from Southern Co. has resulted in the publication of two articles and open-source software. 

At the James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona, a garden yields fresh produce such as corn, tomatoes, strawberries, zucchini and peppers. It is part of the Seed to Supper program, a Penn State Extension Master Gardener initiative that teaches adults on a limited budget how to grow their own food. For one veteran in hospice care, the garden became a lifeline.

One of the most traditionally time-consuming, labor-intensive processes of apple production is blossom thinning, which involves manually pruning flowers so that remaining blooms can reclaim the plant’s resources to grow better fruit. More recently, the process has shifted to broad chemical spraying, which can have harmful environmental impacts. To assist producers and mitigate environmental harm, the USDA has awarded a three-year, $601,125 grant to a team of Penn State researchers for the development of a robotic precision spraying system.

A Penn State Extension land-use webinar on Nov. 20 will guide local officials on the ins and outs of implementing “active transportation plans.”
 

Penn State Centre Stage will produce Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” with book and lyrics by Hugh Wheeler, music directed by Anne Van Steenwinkel, Nov. 12–22, at the Playhouse Theatre on the University Park campus.

Longtime School of Music faculty member Daryl Durran and his wife, Lois Durran, a violinist, have made an estate commitment of $750,000 to establish the Daryl and Lois Durran Endowment for the School of Music, which will provide scholarship support to undergraduate and graduate students in the school. Daryl Durran, professor emeritus of pedagogy and performance in bassoon, retired in 2022 after 39 years on the faculty.

Viral country singer-songwriter and former reality-star contestant Sam Barber will bring his “Restless Mind” tour to Happy Valley at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in Eisenhower Auditorium.

Joyce Henri Robinson has been named interim director of the Palmer Museum of Art, effective Dec. 1. She has been a curator at the Palmer since 1997 and has served as assistant director since 2018. Erin M. Coe, director since 2017, is stepping down to become the executive director of the Rockwell Museum (a Smithsonian Affiliate) in Corning, New York. A national search will be launched for a new permanent director.

Penn State World Campus is hosting a virtual leadership summit this month and invites students from across the University to attend.

In the latest episode of Invent Penn State’s "Dare to Disrupt" podcast, host Ryan Newman interviews Peter Cocoziello, chairman, founder and CEO of Advance Realty Investors, a company specializing in real estate development, construction and property management.

Matthew Gustafson, Robert and Judith Klein Professor of Finance in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State, will give the talk, “The Biodiversity Protection Discount,” at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in 157 Hosler Building on the University Park campus. Lecture is free and open to the public.

Students are invited to expand their professional network and connect with businesses during the second annual Pittsburgh Connect: Penn State Student Networking Summit at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25.

Dan and Robyn Ives recently made a $100,000 commitment to create the Dan and Robyn Ives AI Innovation Initiatives Fund in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. Their annually funded gift will give Smeal’s eLearning Design and Innovation Group $20,000 a year over the next five years to explore the challenges and opportunities that AI presents for Smeal students, faculty and staff and to expand educational and experiential learning opportunities around AI.

Ron Gebhardtsbauer and Greg Wright hope their $1 million estate commitment will help Penn State attract the type of high-achieving student for whom a scholarship offer can be the deciding factor between attending Penn State or another institution.

President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Tesla and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk in New York to discuss investment opportunities in SA, the Presidency said on Tuesday.

A Kenyan court ruled on Friday that Facebook's parent company Meta could be sued in the East African nation over the dismissal of dozens of content moderators by a contractor.

Tencent Holdings and Ubisoft Entertainment SA's founding Guillemot family are considering options, including a potential buyout of the French video game developer, after it lost more than half its market value this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The country’s clothes manufacturers are taking a beating from imported ‘preloved’ clothes and a struggling economy.

US-based academics Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson won the 2024 Nobel economics prize "for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity", the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday.

China is trying to revive its economy from a COVID-era slump, but is it doing too little, too late?

Indonesia has banned the sale of Google Pixel phones over the tech giant's failure to meet investment regulations, its industry ministry said, days after blocking sales of Apple's iPhone 16.

In a small neon-lit factory in Maputo, a dozen workers are hand-rolling premium cigars intended for the global market, seemingly undisturbed by the pungent tobacco smell.

As 1 million people head to cast ballots, the election results are likely to be announced on Monday.

Michael Pittaro, director of corrections for Northampton County and associate professor of criminal justice at American Military University, shared stories about his experiences over his 35-year career in the field of corrections with Penn State Lehigh Valley criminal justice students recently.

Faculty and staff from Penn State Lehigh Valley were among the slate of presenters and panelists at the annual Commonwealth Connections Instructor Days, a virtual event whose goal is to share strategies and tools for success in teaching.

Three artists whose work examines the ideas of social justice, civic engagement and democracy will be featured in an exhibition at the Ronald K. DeLong Gallery at Penn State Lehigh Valley from Nov. 18, 2024, to Jan. 23, 2025.

The rand fell, while the dollar surged and bitcoin hit a record high Wednesday while most US equity markets advanced as traders bet on a victory for Donald Trump as results for the US presidential election rolled in.

Donald Trump has pledged to make the United States the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world"

The dollar edged lower on Thursday, while investors awaited policy decisions from the Federal Reserve and other central banks.

Bitcoin soared to a record high above $81 000 on Monday on expectations that cryptocurrencies will boom in a favourable regulatory environment following the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president and pro-crypto candidates to

The latest investment insights and market developments.

Penn State alumnus and Board of Trustees member Brandon Short and his wife Mahreen are honoring their late daughter Karli through the Karli Short Better Tomorrow Foundation. The foundation provides financial assistance through a scholarship for Penn State undergraduates grappling with the fallout of gun violence, and the Shorts are inviting other donors to support the fund.  

The Richard King Mellon Foundation recently awarded $392,000 to Penn State to build a strong science- and technology-focused workforce in the state’s Mon Valley region through collaboration and virtual, augmented and mixed reality trainings and tools.

Summary: Penn State Greater Allegheny recently celebrated the induction of its first cohort into the Alpha Alpha Alpha (Tri-Alpha) honor society, recognizing the academic achievements of first-generation college students.

Many teachers scrapped their lesson plans on Monday and gave their students space to talk about Kobe Bryant.

Sharing moments of levity and hope from the education world amid the mass disruption of schooling and life from the coronavirus.

Sharing moments of levity and hope from the education world amid the mass disruption of schooling and life from the coronavirus.

A collection of stories from the week that you may have missed.

Amid a surge of coronavirus cases across the country, schools are suspending games, practices, and training and conditioning sessions after players or coaches tested positive.