Three researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences recently were awarded a total of more than $2.8 million in Sustainable Bioenergy Grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. (more)
Two students who participated in a study abroad field course with Penn State Lehigh Valley's Professor Jacqueline McLaughlin received first place in their category at Penn State's 2011 Undergraduate Exhibition held April 13 at the HUB-Robeson Center at University Park. Amy Haupt and Michelle O'Malley's entry, "A Pilot Study of the Pollution and Eutrophication of Lake Taihu in Wuxi, China: An Analysis of Water Quality at Three Field Sites," won in the category of course-based projects and was based on research conducted during McLaughlin's 2010 CHANCE field course, Environmental Science and Economic Principles: A Field Study in China. (more)
Gary Thompson, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Oklahoma State University, has been named associate dean for research and graduate education and director of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The appointment is effective April 1. (more)
William Noid, an assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State University, has been honored with a Sloan Research Fellowship in recognition of his cutting-edge, independent research accomplishments. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards 118 fellowships annually to faculty in the United States and Canada who are in the early stages of their research careers and who have exceptional promise to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. (more)
For the fourth year in a row, ConocoPhillips and Penn State kick off the ConocoPhillips Energy Prize. Their goal is to see who can develop the most original and actionable solutions that can help improve the way the United States develops and uses energy. The competition awards up to $300,000 and recognizes innovative ideas and solutions in three areas: developing new energy sources, improving energy efficiency and combating climate change. Registration for the 2011 ConocoPhillips Energy Prize is open through May 2. (more)
A plant geneticist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has received a $3.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop genomics resources to address forest-health issues affecting hardwood trees. Principal investigator John Carlson, professor of molecular genetics in the college's School of Forest Resources and director of the Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, explained that the research is needed because of the increasing incidence of introduced exotic pests, diseases and invasive plants -- combined with climate change and forest fragmentation -- threatening the sustainability of forest ecosystems. (more)
Four Penn State faculty have been selected to receive funds from the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) Research Development Fund to participate in collaborative projects in 2011. An international partnership of 16 leading universities, WUN fosters research-based, interdisciplinary collaborations among faculty and students of its member institutions to address problems of global significance. (more)
The United States' preoccupation with national security, including counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyber security, is also a concern of higher education, according to Graham Spanier, president of Penn State University. (more)
A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has been awarded a $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture for his investigation of anthracnose disease in sorghum. The research is important because there is increasing interest in the evaluation and promotion of sorghum as a sustainable bioenergy crop substitute for corn (maize), according to principal investigator Surinder Chopra, associate professor of maize genetics. Anthracnose stalk rot and leaf blight are among the most important diseases of corn and sorghum, causing about 5 percent loss annually. (more)
The Heinz Endowments recently awarded a team of Penn State researchers a $412,000, three-year, grant to identify and mitigate the effects of Marcellus Shale natural gas exploration and development on the forest ecosystem. The interdisciplinary research team, led by Margaret Brittingham, professor of wildlife resources, and Patrick Drohan, assistant professor of pedology, both faculty members in the College of Agricultural Sciences, also will develop land management practices and a monitoring program to reduce the Marcellus disturbance footprint. (more)
