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Lynn Persing, administrative support manager in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, was recognized as an employee who has gone above and beyond what’s asked of her in their work at the University.   

Moogega Cooper, trailblazing engineer of the famed Mars rover Perseverance mission for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will present “Diversity in STEAM from a Real-Life Guardian of the Galaxy” at 5 p.m. on Feb. 23 in Berg Auditorium, 100 Huck Life Sciences Building, Penn State University Park.

Erica Smithwick, distinguished professor of geography, has been named director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State, effective Jan. 1.

The Colorado River basin, which supplies water to 40 million people in the Western United States, is threatened by historic drought, a changing climate and water demands from growing cities. One potential response involves encouraging individuals to conserve water, and a new study may help identify those most likely to change their behaviors to contribute, according to scientists.

José Aponte an astrochemist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, will discuss the abundance and molecular distribution of amino acids, and other biologically relevant molecules extracted from meteorites, in a talk titled "Organic Astrochemistry 101: Meteorites, Origins of Life, and Sample-Return Missions" at 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30.

As an international perfumer and senior majoring in materials science and engineering at Penn State, Tianyou Lou sees parallels between the two disciplines.

Amanda Hendrix, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, will deliver the talk "Investigating Icy Worlds Using UV Spectroscopy" at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, in 112 Walker Building on Penn State's University Park campus.

When used as wearable medical devices, stretchy, flexible gas sensors can identify health conditions or issues by detecting oxygen or carbon dioxide levels in the breath or sweat. 

Allison Beese, associate professor of materials science and engineering, will serve as co-director of the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition, effective Jan 1.

Sometimes friction is good, such as the friction between a road and a car’s tires to prevent the vehicle from skidding. But sometimes friction is bad — if you did not put oil in that very same car, there would be so much friction in the bearings of the engine that the car could not operate.