Still Life
University Park Airport Emergency Response Exercise
Commencement across Penn State: Spring 2012
Spring commencement 2012 under way
Penn State, Moroccan students problem-solve together
Finals Week Spring Semester 2012
Painting the Lines at Beaver Stadium
Did They Get It Right? - RedTails
Iconic Penn State elm taken down over spring break 2012
We ... are Penn State (December 19, 2011)
Disease stricken matching elm tree slated for removal
Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone
A post-doctoral scholar and instructor in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has been recognized by the Ecological Society of America as a 2011 ESA Education Scholar. (more)
How people choose to consume resources and use contraception influences their responses to climate change, according to a team of psychologists. Janet K. Swim, professor of psychology, Penn State, and her colleagues report that growing consumption and growing population are two significant contributors to human impact on the environment. Both substantially increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the researchers report in a special issue of American Psychologist that focuses on how psychology contributes to understanding and addressing global climate change. (more)
New research has revealed how infection by a parasitic fungus dramatically changes the behavior of tropical carpenter ants (species Camponotus leonardi), causing them to become zombie-like and to die at a spot that has optimal reproduction conditions for the fungus. The multinational research team studied ants living high up in the rainforest canopy in Thailand. A paper describing the research was published in the BioMed Central open-access journal BMC Ecology on May 9. To see photos related to this research, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157626690115010 online. (more)
Three graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have been honored with University-wide awards this spring to recognize excellence in teaching, outreach or research. Robert D. Cameron, doctoral candidate in horticulture, received the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award. Matthew R. Ryan, doctoral candidate in ecology, was awarded the Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs Outreach Achievement Award, and Ezra G. Schwartzberg, doctoral candidate in entomology, netted the Alumni Association Dissertation Award in the life and health sciences category. (more)
One wonders how a small, unassuming reptile such as the bog turtle can cause havoc up and down the East Coast. But this animal, which can fit in the palm of your hand, is both endangered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and federally threatened. Bog turtles live in marshy wetlands with lots of springs; in Pennsylvania these wetlands are often located on the outskirts of cities in the southeast, in the Piedmont region--the very land that builders like to use for new housing developments. Builders currently need to meet a number of regulations to ensure the protection of bog turtles on these locations, and some companies have gone bankrupt waiting during the application process. Environmentalists and conservationists in Pennsylvania hope to have a solution with a Habitat Conservation Plan. (more)
Long a problem in the western United States, the New Zealand mud snail currently inhabits four of the five Great Lakes and is spreading into rivers and tributaries, according to a Penn State team of researchers. These tiny creatures out-compete native snails and insects, but are not good fish food replacements for the native species. (more)
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service often collaborate on programs related to crops, soils and natural resources. So it only makes sense that the two organizations will join forces under the same tent at Penn State's Ag Progress Days, set for Aug. 19-21. (more)
