UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Sustainability has announced the 2026 recipients of its annual awards. These accolades, including the John Roe Sustainability Impact Award and the Student Sustainability Advisory Council Tree Award, commend the extraordinary contributions of students in spearheading sustainability initiatives. This year, multiple faculty and staff members were also honored through the Dr. John Roe Fund for a Just and Sustainable Future, including the Service and Leadership Award and the Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Award.
John Roe Sustainability Impact Student Awards
Named in honor of the late mathematics professor John Roe, these awards recognize students demonstrating significant commitment to environmental and social sustainability. The 2026 awardees include Arpit Jain, Alivia Cross, Cameron Koch, Sofia Sarracino and Zach Fisher, with each receiving $1,000 furnished by the Dr. John Roe Fund for a Just and Sustainable Future. Their initiatives encompass food security, sustainability advocacy, curriculum development and promoting sustainability through art and design, resulting in widespread achievements across the Penn State community.
- Arpit Jain, a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering at University Park, is a sustainability leader at Penn State’s Materials Research Institute (MRI). As the 5S & Lab Sustainability Officer, he has led safety and sustainability audits across 18 research laboratories, driving improvements in organization, environmental health and safety compliance, and resource efficiency. As K-12 outreach team leader for the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), he led a 20-member team organizing 12 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) outreach events that reached over 1,670 participants from diverse backgrounds. Through his roles in the MRSEC Graduate Student Advisory Committee, the Empower Conference organizing committee, Graduate Women in Science and the MRI Safety Olympics, Jain has consistently championed practices that integrate safety, sustainability, and community wellbeing into research culture.
- Alivia Cross, a doctoral candidate in art education at University Park, has helped organize and expand the Arts and Architecture Sustainability Showcase, which highlights sustainability-centered research, design and creative practice across the college. Her doctoral research examines how sustainable practices can transform educational policy and leadership models, bringing an academic lens to the systemic change she pursues in practice. As a freelance scenic designer, she prioritizes recycled and reclaimed materials in set construction, reducing waste and modeling circular design strategies within the performing arts. In 2025 alone, she designed seven professional productions, each averaging 40% to 70% recycled or reused materials.
- Cameron Koch, an undergraduate and Schreyer Scholar in biology at University Park, serves as the executive director of Fresh START Day of Service, leading Penn State’s largest single-day service initiative, coordinating training for hundreds of volunteers, and building long-lasting partnerships with nonprofits, businesses, and academic colleges. As a Lehigh Valley Health Network intern, he has worked directly with staff and residents of a transitional living center that aims to rehabilitate those with diagnosed mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Koch’s commitment to sustainability through One Health also extends to assisting animals and the environment. He has volunteered for over a year with Centre County PAWS, leveraging Fear Free Training to reduce cat behavioral barriers to adoption.
- Sofia Sarracino, an undergraduate and Schreyer Scholar in earth science with minors in marine science, geography and sustainability leadership at University Park, has been spearheading a single-use plastics ban alongside staff throughout the University for the past two years, which was unanimously approved by the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) and has since been put forth in a UPUA resolution. As the sustainable building guidelines intern for Penn State Sustainability, Sarracino helped draft sustainable building guidelines for the Pennsylvania Department of General Services to implement throughout the commonwealth in their capital projects. Last year, she volunteered with an organization in Ghana, building biodigesters for four families, and this semester she assisted community members in Panama with the construction of a water filtration system.
- Zach Fisher, an undergraduate in cybersecurity analytics and operations at Penn State Schuylkill, has been instrumental in revitalizing the beekeeping club and transforming it into an active platform for environmental education and community engagement, regularly educating students, faculty and visitors about the importance of pollinators, their role in food systems and the environmental challenges they face. In his first year as a mentor, Fisher worked closely with a high school student on a research project focused on bees and beekeeping, culminating in the student earning best poster at the EnvironMentors Research Symposium. During the past academic year, Fisher has been mentoring a high school student on a project exploring the development of hydroelectric systems for residential use, expanding his impact into renewable energy and sustainable engineering.
Student Sustainability Advisory Council Tree Award
The 2026 Student Sustainability Advisory Council Tree Award honors Emmanuel Kraft, a Schreyer Scholar who dual-majored in political science and communication arts and sciences (CAS) while completing the integrated undergraduate-graduate master of public policy degree program. Kraft is the co-founder and executive director of the Food Recovery Network (FRN) at Penn State, a student-led organization that recovers surplus food from campus dining halls and athletic facilities and donates it to community partners including Lion’s Pantry and the State College Food Bank. In nearly three years, FRN has recovered over 35,000 meals for residents and students in need. As community relations director, Kraft spent Thursday evenings distributing meals alongside hot dinners and fresh produce to over 200 residents at St. Andrew’s Community Cafe, building direct relationships with those he served. FRN recently launched a community cooking night where volunteers prepared and distributed roughly 130 meals to students in a single evening, embedding sustainable food access into campus life.
A tree was planted in Kraft's honor on April 23 as a lasting symbol of his commitment and influence, and he will receive a $1,000 award from Penn State Sustainability.
John Roe Sustainability Impact Faculty Awards
Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Award
The Roe Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship is presented to a full-time faculty member on the tenure track or in the teaching professor role who excels in experiential learning or transdisciplinary research. The awardees have a demonstrated track record of sustained partnership with government, non-governmental organization, corporate or campus operational partners that have provided capacity and advanced human rights and the security of life on Earth, with each receiving $1,500 furnished by the Dr. John Roe Fund for a Just and Sustainable Future.
- Pauline Thompson, professor of psychology at Penn State Brandywine, exemplifies sustainability leadership through sustained, values-driven engaged scholarship that bridges campus, community and global frameworks for well-being, equity and environmental stewardship. Through her health and other psychology courses, she has consistently incorporated hands-on, community-engaged learning that connects students to food systems, environmental justice and well-being. During Native American Heritage Month, she organized the planting of a Wipunkòkw (white oak, Quercus alba) on campus accompanied by a campus visit from Boe Harris, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, MaryAnn Robins, Onondaga Nation, and Sandra Cianciulli, Oglala Sioux Tribe, who led a blessing of the planting and shared traditional music through Native American flute. She is the co-author of a 2021 text on cultural safety in health psychology published as part of the Springer-Nature Sustainable Development Goals series.
- Mihyun Kang, director for sustainability in the College of Arts and Architecture at University Park, has demonstrated visionary leadership and sustained service that have transformed the college’s culture and created a lasting impact across the University community. In fall 2019, she launched the Sustainability Teaching Roundtable Series, which has hosted 27 sessions to date, bringing together faculty, staff, and graduate students for discussions, workshops, and presentations from external experts. The Sustainability Showcase, an annual exhibition, provides a platform for sharing research, creative work, and interdisciplinary perspectives, while the “We Are Sustainable” video series, now 70 episodes, features alumni, faculty, staff and students reflecting on sustainability in their work.
Service and Leadership Award
The Roe Service Award is presented to a full-time member of the staff or administration who has contributed to the broader University culture of justice and sustainability for students. The contribution of the awardee has been for duties or services that are above and beyond his or her regularly assigned duties, with each receiving $1,500 furnished by the Dr. John Roe Fund for a Just and Sustainable Future.
- Ayodeji "Ayo" Oluwalana, waste reduction and recycling program manager at University Park, has been a steadfast catalyst for new and enhanced waste management and recycling practices on campus since joining Penn State in March 2022, serving as a mentor for dozens of students and a passionate advocate for sustainability initiatives involving students, staff, faculty and University leadership. He collaborated on a virtual field trip video to Penn State’s Organic Materials Processing and Education Center (OMPEC), now integrated into the World Campus section of SUST 200, showcasing the university’s on-campus composting program to a wider audience.
The 2026 Sustainability Awards highlight the comprehensive efforts across Penn State to advance sustainability in education, research, operations and community engagement. For inquiries or further information about Penn State's sustainability efforts, please visit the Penn State Sustainability website.