Alumni News

Carl Chelius had a pretty exciting job as assistant professor and senior research pilot for the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences — flying Twin Commander 680E airplanes for research — but the thing he most loved was teaching and interacting with the students.

Penn State alumnus Joe Gofus remembers precisely when he knew that he wasn’t going to become a weather forecaster.

Marilyn Fogel, who graduated in 1973 with a degree in biology, may have come to Penn State for the football games, but she left with an appreciation for the interdisciplinary research that would define her career.

The Penn State and materials research communities are mourning the loss of Della M. Roy, emeritus professor of materials science and a founding member of the Penn State Materials Research Laboratory (MRL), now the Materials Research Institute (MRI). Della died on March 27 at age 94. 

There’s an old adage that goes if you can instill in someone a piece of advice, a bit of knowledge, then through them that lives forever. What you started passes on through generations.

Penn State alumna Elana Chapman, senior fuels and biofuels engineer at General Motors (GM), has been recognized for her impacts within the fuel industry. 

In its first weeks on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has captured dazzling highlights, from video of its own dramatic landing to the first audio recordings from the red planet, the sounds of wind blowing and the rover’s laser zapping rocks.

For Joel Burcat, retired environmental lawyer turned novelist, the first step on his career path was a physical geography course.

Penn State alumna Professor Judi Wakhungu, currently Kenya’s ambassador to France, Portugal, Serbia, Monaco and the Holy See, always knew deep down that she would make a great impact on the world. 

Jon Nese, host of Penn State’s “Weather World,” says you can trace the roots of a longtime partnership with the astronomy and astrophysics department to the ancient Greek meaning of the word “meteorology.”