Still Life

A moment of levity: Penn State Lehigh Valley graduates celebrated with the Nittany Lion after commencement ceremonies, held May 5 at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.

Commencement across Penn State: Spring 2012

New graduates of Penn State's Eberly College of Science listened to the commencement address provided by United States Secretary of Energy Steven Chu during spring 2012 graduation ceremonies held May 5 at the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus.

Spring commencement 2012 under way

A Moroccan farmer taught Penn State students about the properties of vetiver grass, including its ability to clean wastewater. The grass could be used as part of a solution to water-quality problems being experienced in Assoul, Morocco, where students spent time recently.

Penn State, Moroccan students problem-solve together

Anjelica Fortunato, left, and Jeffrey Lu reviewed for their Anatomy 129 final exam on May 1 on the HUB-Robeson Center Lawn on Penn State's University Park campus. Penn State students are preparing for and taking final exams throughout the week as spring semester 2012 comes to a close.

Finals Week Spring Semester 2012

Denae Taylor, right, tried on some electrical-safety gear with the help of Joe Dinardo, Supervisor of Facilty Resources at Penn State, during Penn State's annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day on April 26. Denae is the granddaughter of Penn State Outreach employee Betty Lose, and attends Bellefonte Middle School.

Children explore career options at University Park

Featured Video

Painting the Lines at Beaver Stadium

Painting the Lines at Beaver Stadium

Did They Get It Right? - RedTails

Did They Get It Right? - RedTails

Iconic Penn State elm taken down over spring break 2012

Iconic Penn State elm taken down over spring break 2012

We ... are Penn State (December 19, 2011)

We ... are Penn State (December 19, 2011)

Disease stricken matching elm tree slated for removal

Disease stricken matching elm tree slated for removal

Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone

Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone

Updates:
Penn State Promise

Board of Trustees launches new website

Faculty Senate recaps 2011-12 activity for Board of Trustees

Frazier provides update on Special Investigations Task Force

Board of Trustees meeting to be streamed live

Penn State donates more than $2.6 million to abuse prevention efforts

Dave BurrowsDave Burrows Feed

Distant black hole discovered devouring a Sun-like star

Swift's X-Ray Telescope continues to record high-energy flares from Swift J1644+57 more than three months after the source's first appearance. The and science and flight operations of NASA's Swift's satellite are controlled by Penn State from the Mission Operations Center near the University Park campus.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011

X-rays produced by a distant black hole as it slowly devours a Sun-like star have been streaming toward Earth since late March. "Incredibly, this source is still producing X-rays and may remain bright enough for the Swift satellite to observe into next year. It behaves unlike anything we've seen before," said David Burrows, professor of astronomy at Penn State and the lead scientist for the Swift space observatory's X-Ray Telescope. (more)

Record-breaking X-ray blast briefly blinds space observatory

The brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen in X-rays temporarily blinded Swift's X-ray Telescope on June 21. For a high-resolution version of this photo, click on image above.
Monday, July 19, 2010

A blast of the brightest X-rays ever detected from beyond our Milky Way galaxy's neighborhood temporarily blinded the X-ray eye on NASA's Swift space observatory earlier this summer, astronomers now report. The X-rays traveled through space for 5-billion years before slamming into and overwhelming Swift's X-ray Telescope on June 21. (more)