Vowel intelligibility testing may help monitor progression for people with ALS
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Researchers in the Penn State Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders recently examined the use of vowel intelligibility testing for assessing how weak or weakening speaking muscles affect speech intelligibility in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. They published their work in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,
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Why is breaking down plant material for biofuels so slow?
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
New research led by Penn State investigators has revealed how several molecular roadblocks slow the breakdown of cellulose for biofuel production. This process, if accelerated, could avoid concerns around using a food source like corn for biofuels while taking advantage of abundant plant materials that might otherwise go to waste.
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NSF grant to fund research on genetics and physiology of corn kernel development
Monday, May 6, 2024
A research team in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has received a grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to fund a novel project investigating the molecular and physiological processes that support corn kernel development.
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‘Better than graphene’ material development may improve implantable technology
Friday, May 3, 2024
There’s a new, improved two-dimensional material in the lab. Borophene, the atomically thin version of boron first synthesized in 2015, is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger and more flexible than graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Now, researchers at Penn State have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality — or handedness — on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices. The chirality, induced via a method never before used on borophene, enables the material to interact in unique ways with different biological units such as cells and protein precursors.
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Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills
Thursday, May 2, 2024
In three recent papers, Penn State researchers outline new uses for cold sintering— the process of combining powder-based materials into dense forms at low temperatures through applied pressure using solvents — that allows materials to be recycled again and again.
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IST announces winners of inaugural capstone showcase
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
The Penn State College of IST held its first capstone showcase on April 26 in the Westgate Building at University Park. The event was co-sponsored by the IST Alumni Society Board.
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College of Education alumna named Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Ashlie Crosson — who received a master’s degree in educational leadership from the Penn State College of Education — was recently named Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
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Fentanyl and COVID-19 pandemic reshaped racial profile of overdose deaths in US
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
A new study from researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development examined racial and regional differences in overdose fatalities from 2012 to 2021, capturing the periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In most of the nation, the researchers found that younger Black individuals died of overdose at lower rates than their white counterparts, but older Black individuals — especially men in Midwestern cities — were up to five times more likely to die of drug overdose than their white counterparts.
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Advocating for fellow students
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
As an incoming student in 2019, Najee Rodriguez was experiencing financial and food insecurity. He independently navigated the systems to apply for food stamps and Medicaid, while simultaneously attending classes, completing assignments and working part time. In his four years at Penn State, Rodriguez has drawn on his own life experiences to help fellow students who are facing hardships to more easily access basic needs — including co-founding Students United Against Poverty, leading the University Park Undergraduate Association, collaborating to secure a Hunger Free Campus grant and chairing the University Park Fee Board. Now graduating, Rodriguez will continue making an impact for others as he fulfills his lifelong dream of working with the federal government.
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Geography master's student gains real-world perspective through EPA internship
Monday, April 29, 2024
Samuel Cohen, a graduate student in the Department of Geography at Penn State, saw the real-life impact of his research during a summer internship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cohen's thesis research focuses on the biogeochemistry and ecohydrology — or how hydrological processes influence ecosystems — of human-impacted watersheds. Cohen said his goal is to better understand the fate and behavior of pollutants and that the tangible aspects of his internship were pivotal, as they allowed him to witness how his research could be applied.
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