News

Nicole Kirchner, of Birchrunville, Pennsylvania, and Jennifer Taylor, of Erie, Pennsylvania, have been named student marshals for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' spring 2017 commencement. The ceremony will be held April 5 at Pegula Ice Arena on Penn State's University Park campus.

Thirteen graduate students received the Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award, Distinguished Doctoral Scholar Medal, in recognition of their outstanding professional accomplishment and achievement in scholarly research in any of the disciplinary areas of fine arts and humanities; social sciences — applied and basic; physical and computational sciences — applied and basic; life and health sciences; and engineering. The graduate students were honored during the Graduate Student Awards Luncheon held on April 18 at the Nittany Lion Inn.

David Titley, professor of international affairs and of practice in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State, will discuss the role the military could play in combating climate change during the TED 2017 conference. Titley will join seven other speakers from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. April 26 for Session 6: Planet, Protection, hosted by Chris Anderson, the owner of TED, a nonprofit organization that provides idea-based talks.

Alton D. Romig Jr., executive officer of the National Academy of Engineering, will deliver the address for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) baccalaureate degree commencement ceremony, to be held at 8 p.m. May 5 in Pegula Ice Arena on Penn State’s University Park campus.

The Integrative Studies Seed Grant Program, offered through the Penn State Office for General Education, will support 71 different course development projects this summer. In response to the large volume of highly qualified proposals, the budget was generously increased by more than 50 percent by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Undergraduate Education.

Spring 2017 produced a record-breaking number of applications for Global Programs Travel Grants.

Amina Grant has spent much of her time as a Penn State undergraduate studying sustainability in the U.S., Jamaica and Peru, and using that research to make a positive impact on communities. And, other times, she has made a difference just by dressing as a superhero.

Five graduate students in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences were recognized for their research and presentation skills during the 32nd annual Graduate Exhibition, held March 24 and 26 on Penn State's University Park campus.

The science advocacy group WE ARE for Science, started by two graduate students, organized three buses to take 150 people to the March for Science on April 22 in Washington, D.C. The group seeks to promote science diversity, outreach and policy.

Penn State geography doctoral student A. Marie Ranjbar's research explores the language of human justice in Iran: how certain phrases have become politicized and in some ways dangerous to use, and how some residents deal with this conundrum as they seek ways to speak up for themselves.