Faculty and Staff

Health and Human Development

College of Health and Human Development

Community engagement and social support are the most important factors for building resilience and a healthy life among forced migrants, according to new research led by Yaryna Andrushko, postdoctoral scholar in the Penn State Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center who is also a forced migrant.

Researcher from Ukraine studies and displays resilience | Penn State University

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Community engagement and social support are the most important factors for building resilience and a healthy life among forced migrants, according to new research led by Yaryna Andrushko, postdoctoral scholar in the Penn State Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center who is also a forced migrant.  

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Research

Researcher from Ukraine studies and displays resilience

Engineering

College of Engineering

Several hundred bees in rural Pennsylvania and rural New York are sporting tiny QR codes on their backs to track when they go in and out of their hives. The work, a collaboration among entomologists and electrical engineers at Penn State, is the first step in solving a long-standing mystery of how far bees travel from their hives to collect pollen and nectar.

‘Buzz me in:’ Bees wearing itty bitty QR codes reveal hive secrets | Penn State University

Several hundred bees in rural Pennsylvania and rural New York are sporting tiny QR codes on their backs to track when they go in and out of their hives. The work, a collaboration among entomologists and electrical engineers at Penn State, is the first step in solving a long-standing mystery of how far bees travel from their hives to collect pollen and nectar. 

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‘Buzz me in:’ Bees wearing itty bitty QR codes reveal hive secrets

Ayodeji Oluwalana, Penn State’s waste reduction and recycling program manager, has been hard at work for the past three years finding ways to improve how Penn Staters think about waste. His work ranges from redesigning signs on wastebins to meeting with students, staff and faculty to teach best practices.

Changing the way Penn Staters think about waste and recycling | Penn State University

Ayodeji Oluwalana, Penn State’s waste reduction and recycling program manager, has been hard at work for the past three years finding ways to improve how Penn Staters think about waste. His work ranges from redesigning signs on wastebins to meeting with students, staff and faculty to teach best practices.

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Changing the way Penn Staters think about waste and recycling 

Bellisario College Dean Marie Hardin named president at Quinnipiac University

Q&A: Student trustee Kevin Schuyler ‘carries the voices of 88,000 peers’

The Medical Minute: What works ─ and what doesn’t ─ to prevent norovirus

Penn State Forum Speakers Series announces spring 2025 events

College counseling services provide crucial support to students with elevated suicide risk 

Penn State campuses celebrate, commemorate Black History Month 2025

Three faculty receive Presidential Early Career Award for scientists, engineers

Schuylers designate $5M gift to Beaver Stadium Revitalization Project

$17.9M NIH grant to research neurodevelopment disorders 

Things to Do at Penn State: Jan. 23-30

Palmer Museum opens new year with collaborative exhibitions asking big questions

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Hidden Gems: The Buckhout Greenhouses

Safety precautions urged as bitterly cold wind chills reach region Wednesday

Penn State leaders voice support for performance-based funding at campus hearing 

Photo contest: Share your best picture of winter at Penn State

Penn State featured in U.S. News’ 2025 ‘Best Online Programs’ rankings

Penn State professors partner on digital equity grant to benefit Philadelphia

Christina Grozinger to lead Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences as director

50th annual MLK Jr. Banquet reminds community that ‘Change Continues With Us’

Q&A: Saraiha Rossi leads the financial wellness charge at Penn State Hazleton

Transportation Services announces MLK Day holiday service changes on Jan. 20

Q&A: Keeping on track with New Year’s resolutions

UHS urges caution during national surge in norovirus, respiratory viruses

Penn Staters set new record on 10th GivingTuesday

Engineering receives $19M gift for facilities, research, scholarships and more 

Dickinson Law dean named president-elect of Association of American Law Schools

Penn State announces launch of World Campus Chaiken Center for Student Success

Students: Apply now to be the next student trustee or for selection committee

University Libraries places 10th on research libraries investment index

Computer science professor named fellow of National Academy of Inventors 

Eight Penn State alumni to receive Distinguished Alumni Awards in 2025

Alley awarded National Medal of Science, highest honor US bestows on scientists 

Penn State Alumni Association chief executive officer stepping down

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Women's volleyball defeats Louisville to win eighth national championship

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Social Life: Celebrating every day at Penn State

University Libraries reminds visitors of operating hours through spring 2025

In Photos: Dear Old State in 1924

A Note from Neeli: Thank you to the Penn State community 

117 Penn State student-athletes earn fall Academic All-Big Ten honors

Palmer Museum nominated for USA Today 'Best New Museum' contest 

Penn State receives 2024 Team USA Collegiate Impact Award 

50th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet to be held Jan. 15, 2025

Increased area income improves birthweight rates, researchers find

Arboretum comes aglow with holiday decorations, winter celebration 

$2 million gift will expand disability support services at Penn State Behrend

The Medical Minute: Shingles and its shot: What you need to know to stay healthy

Penn State Centre Stage presents Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'

Women's volleyball wins share of Big Ten title, seeded No. 3 for NCAA tournament 

Stephen Nedoroscik returns to Penn State as co-host for 'Dancing With the Stars' 

Penn State Athletics announces $1 million gift for Beaver Stadium Revitalization

Parking, traffic and transit information for Penn State Football vs. Maryland 

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Around Campus

More research news

A novel theory developed by a group of scientists, including Nina Jablonski, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Penn State, suggests humans' ability to grow long scalp hair has a molecular basis. The research could lead to new treatments for addressing hair loss.

Mane attraction: Molecular ‘switch’ may control long scalp hair | Penn State University

A novel theory developed by a group of scientists, including Nina Jablonski, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Penn State, suggests humans' ability to grow long scalp hair has a molecular basis. The research could lead to new treatments for addressing hair loss.

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Mane attraction: Molecular ‘switch’ may control long scalp hair

Led by Parisa Shokouhi, Penn State professor of engineering science and of acoustics, a team of researchers refined an artificial intelligence approach to predicting earthquakes in the laboratory, which may one day help forecast natural earthquakes.

Predicting lab earthquakes with physics-informed artificial intelligence | Penn State University

Led by Parisa Shokouhi, Penn State professor of engineering science and of acoustics, a team of researchers refined an artificial intelligence approach to predicting earthquakes in the laboratory, which may one day help forecast natural earthquakes. 

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Predicting lab earthquakes with physics-informed artificial intelligence  

Geese appear to understand when and where hunting takes place but are willing to risk the danger to stay close to resources and their primary habitats, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.

Despite knowing where and when people hunt, Canada geese don’t flee far | Penn State University

Geese appear to understand when and where hunting takes place but are willing to risk the danger to stay close to resources and their primary habitats, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. 

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Despite knowing where and when people hunt, Canada geese don’t flee far

Featured Research

Researchers at the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence (PSETI) Center have been awarded a three-year, $480,000 grant under the NASA Exoplanets Research Program to search for radio and laser signals from alien civilizations.

Penn State center awarded NASA grant to search for alien civilizations

Richard Alley, the Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences at Penn State, was one of 23 individuals and two organizations that received this year’s National Medal of Science award for his work studying historical climate change patterns.

Penn State professor receives National Medal of Science for climate research

State College community members and Penn State students are creating a paw-sitive impact on the lives of people with disabilities through service dog training. Roar for More, the State College chapter of Susquehanna Service Dogs, is celebrating 10 years of helping students and community members train puppies to be service dogs.

Service dog training group Roar For More celebrates 10 years of paw-sitivity

For the first time, researchers at Penn State and Columbia University have observed a type of quasiparticle that behaves in an unusual way. In one direction, it acts like it has no mass, zipping around as if it were made of pure energy. But turning another way, it carries mass, slowing down and resisting motion. This mysterious entity, called a semi-Dirac fermion, had appeared in theory about 16 years ago but had never been seen inside a real material.

Study: "Quasiparticle" that only has mass moving in one direction seen for the first time

Spanish explorers may have brought the first peach pits to North America, but Indigenous communities helped the ubiquitous summer fruit really take root, according to a study led by a researcher at Penn State.

Research explains how peaches spread across North America and the world

In an analysis of more than 35 million public posts containing links that were shared extensively on the social media platform between 2017 and 2020, Penn State researchers found that around 75% of the shares were made without the posters clicking the link first. Of these, political content from both ends of the spectrum was shared without clicking more often than politically neutral content.

Study: Reading beyond headline is rare for most on social media

For years, the medical community has stressed that being active makes you happier and healthier. But new research out of Penn State University suggests that even daily tasks, like walking regularly and doing chores, could help keep you—and your brain—young.

Walking could make your brain years younger, PSU study finds

New research led by Penn State shows that children who stick to a regular bedtime, falling asleep and waking up at the same time each day, have better control over their behavior and emotions, particularly during stressful situations or while collaborating with others.

Irregular bedtimes disrupt the well-being and behavior of children, researchers say

Microplastics have been found in some of the world’s most remote environments, from the snow-capped peaks of Mount Everest to the ocean depths of the Mariana Trench, infiltrating ecosystems and even human bodies. Now, new research led by scientists at Penn State University reveals that these tiny plastic particles may also be affecting the atmosphere and climate.

Study: Microplastics trigger cloud formation and alter weather patterns

Penn State researchers have isolated a protein in a bacterium that naturally separates rare earth elements, which might help mining go green. Rare earth elements are key components used in everything from modern tech to gasoline production.

US bacteria discovery could boost rare earth mining, researchers say

For a limited time, fans can get their hands on the official Penn State White Out Lounger, a cozy loungewear piece designed for this year's White Out game against Washington, at the Penn State Bookstore both in store and online.

Emmy award-winner Jill Martin launches limited-edition Penn State 'White Out Lounger'

At first glance, Penn State students Ryan Klein and Baybars Charkas seem to have a lot in common — until they start talking about politics. Klein is the president of the university's College Republicans chapter, and Charkas is the president of its College Democrats chapter. In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, these two college seniors are putting participation over party.

Penn State students seek to put voter participation over party

Some people love to scare themselves in an already scary world. Sarah Kollat, teaching professor of psychology at Penn State, explains the psychology of why.

Why do people love to be scared? Penn State expert explains

Researchers at Penn State have developed an extraordinary new tool: an electronic tongue capable of discerning subtle differences in liquids. Notably, this innovative device can distinguish between various types of milk (even with water content), sodas, and coffee blends. Interestingly, it could even detect signs of spoilage in fruit juices and could be used in quality control.

Study: Electronic AI tongue detects liquid samples with 80% accuracy

It is widely believed that the moon formed during a collision between Earth and a small planet known as Theia about 4.5 billion years ago. But now, experts at Penn State are proposing a new theory about the origin of the moon.

New theory emerges at Penn State on how Earth got the Moon

First used in the 1940s to monitor for polio, wastewater surveillance proved such a powerful disease monitoring tool that the CDC established the National Wastewater Surveillance System to support SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in 2020. Now, a team of scientists from Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Health have shown that domestic sewage monitoring is useful for a foodborne pathogen as well.