Thiede featured at PopTalks on climate shocks in population research
Megatrends met migration patterns as we launched the all-new PopTalks conversation series, hosted by Columbia’s own Thoai Ngo and featuring Brian Thiede of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State. On February 17, 2025, nearly 130 in-person and virtual attendees gathered for a spirited…
SSRI faculty to present at Climate Solutions Symposium
The two-day Penn State Climate Solutions Symposium, taking place May 19-20 at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, will highlight innovations from numerous disciplines through dynamic breakout sessions, keynote talks from leaders in the climate solutions space, a poster session, and more.…
News Topics: Climate Change
Ag student travels to Arctic for research training in a climate-changed region
The Arctic is filled with picturesque scenery and communities of people closely connected to the land and its history. Like many areas of the world, it’s also a region threatened by climate change. But the Arctic is especially vulnerable, with its temperatures rising four times more quickly than in…
New project to learn from, support Indigenous communities facing climate change
Natural disasters due to climate change have impacted over 2 billion people since the year 2000, with those in Arctic and Pacific communities disproportionally affected. An international team, including researchers from Penn State, has been awarded $1 million to compare climate risks and…
News Topics: Indigenous CommunitiesClimate Change
$5M grant to engage Indigenous communities in climate change research
Indigenous communities around the globe face profound threats from climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. Now, an international team that includes researchers from Penn State have been awarded $5 million by the U.S. National Science Foundation, along with funding from Canada, the…
Climate change may affect kinship care patterns in Africa
Shifting weather caused by climate change, especially drought and heat, is linked to a rise in the number of children being raised outside of their biological parents’ households in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. The findings highlight the effects climate…
Extreme Weather Has Long-Term Health Consequences
In this Scientific American article, author and PRI associate Asher Rosinger explains how extreme climatic events affect health and human biology and the need for solutions. When Hurricane Otis smashed into Acapulco, Mexico, in October, the Category 5 storm left a trail of…
News Topics: Climate ChangeHealth
Social Science Research Institute launches climate, society, health initiative
A new Penn State initiative will focus on climate change and how extreme weather events impact human health, especially in underserved populations across the globe. The Social Science Research Institute’s (SSRI) Climate, Society and Health Initiative aims to help research move beyond…
New project to focus on health impacts of climate change
The impacts of climate change on human health are likely to be significant and unavoidable, especially in underserved populations across the globe. A $574,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health will help support a new climate change and health research area in Penn State’s Population…
Weather-triggered asthma topic of Department of Geography 'Coffee Hour' talk
Luke Smith, assistant research professor and environmental epidemiologist at Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute, will discuss "Thunderstorms, Pollen and Severe Asthma in Minnesota 2007-18: Combining Data," at the Department of Geography's Coffee Hour lecture series. His talk will…
News Topics: AsthmaClimate Change
From heat czars to tree planting, relief for urban heat islands
By Ali Martin Staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor, who quotes CSA director and SSRI cofund Guangqing Chi For 12 nights in a row, The Mission at Kern County shelter has been filled to capacity. That’s unusual for summer months in Bakersfield, California, where many of the city’s…
News Topics: Climate ChangeGlobal Warming
Why Social Science? - Because It Can Help Students Find Their Place in Fighting Climate Change
This month's Why Social Science? post comes from The Conversation, where Clare Cunningham, Catherine Heinemeyer, and Jude Parks write about how universities can help empower students feeling helpless about the climate crisis. By Clare Cunningham Ph.D., Catherine Heinemeyer…
News Topics: Why Social Science?Climate Change
'Growing Impact' podcast examines effects of flooding on substance use, support
The latest episode of the "Growing Impact" podcast explores the world of substance use and addiction through the lens of environmental disasters. Social Science Research Institute cofund Kristina Brant and her team are investigating how flooding in rural areas can affect drug…