Mothers on the Move Brings New Families Together Through Dance and Community Support
This fall, Mothers on the Move (MOM), a Penn State College of Medicine–led community initiative, will launch its first free pilot program for first-time mothers and their partners in Central Pennsylvania. Founded by Penn State faculty member and SSRI affiliate Vida Abedi, PhD, the program uses…
Historic Kenyan drought reshaped livelihoods, health and daily life
During a historic drought in northern Kenya, a pastoralist community turned to a food source it had long viewed as a fallback for people without livestock: fishing. As herds dwindled and families struggled to obtain food, fishing on nearby Lake Turkana became increasingly common among the Daasanach…
USDA grant to help uncover opportunities and challenges facing rural governments
A new $590,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will help fund an ongoing project to survey county governments across the U.S. to better understand the challenges they face in providing services and enacting policies that improve economic…
Huck Institutes announces recipients of nine interdisciplinary seed grants
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has awarded nine research teams seed funding for 2026-27. These grants support high-impact, innovative research projects that align with the Huck’s strategic research priorities and have the potential to drive scientific…
Addressing workforce challenges to strengthen US power grid
The nation's electric grid faces mounting pressures from aging infrastructure, growing energy demand and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. A team led by Penn State researchers is working to address a less visible but equally critical challenge: the future workforce needed to keep the…
‘Food noise’ discussion on social media helps define the term
With the rise of weight loss drugs such as GLP-1 medications in recent years, the phrase “food noise” has taken off, particularly in conversations about health and wellness on social media. While thinking about food during the day is normal, food noise is often used to describe endless, looping…
Q&A: Do high-pressure environments encourage moral disengagement?
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Why do individuals and organizations sometimes rationalize decisions that conflict with their stated values? According to Leah P. Hollis, professor of education policy studies in the Penn State College of Education and SSRI affiliate, the answer may lie in “moral…
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SSRI Affiliates
Most recent Pennsylvania farm fatality report identifies agricultural hazards
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Last year, 19 people died of injuries suffered in farm-related incidents in Pennsylvania, according to researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. This was the same number of people who died of similar farm-related injuries in 2024. The Penn State…
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SSRI Affiliates
Agriculture
Huck administrator earns international recognition
University Park, Pa. — Research Professor Camelia Kantor, director of strategic initiatives at Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and SSRI affiliate, has been selected as a 2026 Future of the Field honoree by the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI). SRAI’s Future…
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Award
SSRI Affiliates
Coaching parents of preschool children improved child skills through grade seven
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The children of parents who received coaching and support materials in preschool had fewer conduct problems and higher levels of academic skills more than seven years later, according to a new study by an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers. In a recent study…
The Social Science Research Institute announces co-funded and affiliated faculty member promotions
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Social Science Research Institute congratulates the following cofunded and affiliated Penn State faculty members on their promotions, which are effective July 1: Promoted to Professor Laura Cabrera Trujillo, professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics,…
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SSRI Affiliates
Krishnan Awarded the Lloyd Prize for Innovative Health Research
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is pleased to announce Mohanraj Krishnan as the recipient of the 2026 Lloyd Prize for Innovative Health Research made possible by a generous endowment created by Dr. Thomas Lloyd, a former College of Medicine faculty…
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Lloyd Prize
SSRI Affiliates
Research Professor Sarah Chilenski wins international mentoring award
The Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC) at Penn State has announced that Sarah Chilenski, Penn State research professor of health and human development and SSRI and CSUA affiliate, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Friend of ECPN Award by the Society for Prevention Research…
Penn State educator invited to lead two workshops at Max Planck Institute
Leah P. Hollis, a professor in the Penn State College of Education and SSRI affiliate faculty member, has been invited to deliver two workshops at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany. The invited sessions will focus on workplace culture, employee well-being and…
Penn State CTSI director inducted as an inaugural fellow of national association
The director of the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), part of the Penn State College of Medicine, has earned national recognition. Jennifer Kraschnewski was named a 2026 fellow of the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS), a non-profit membership…
David Baker receives Mercator Fellowship from German Research Foundation
Penn State Professor of Sociology, of Education and of Demography David P. Baker has been appointed a Mercator Fellow by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), also known as the German Research Foundation. Beginning this month, Baker will spend the next four years making regular trips to Germany’s…
Rosinger named recipient of Kopp International Achievement Award
Asher Rosinger, associate professor of biobehavioral health and anthropology as well as the environmental health sciences program area leader in the College of Health and Human Development, is the recipient of the 2026 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award. Established in 1995, the award…
Penn State names new distinguished professors for 2026
Penn State's Office of Faculty Affairs has named 14 new distinguished professors for 2026, including: SSRI Cofunded Faculty Member Daniel Perkins, distinguished professor of youth and family resiliency and policy and founding principal scientist of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness…
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SSRI Cofunds
SSRI Affiliates
Nine Penn State faculty and staff receive 2025-26 Fulbright awards
For the 2025-26 academic year, six Penn State faculty and staff received Fulbright Scholar Awards, one received the International Education Administrator Award and two received the Fulbright Specialist Award, according to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. The list of 2025-26 award recipients is…
Q&A: Can drinking tap water reduce how many calories children drink?
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Drinking beverages sweetened with sugar can lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, cavities, diabetes and other health problems. More than 20 years of public health campaigns significantly reduced the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by U.S children, but that…
Sorokina featured in WalletHub's recent article
SSRI Affiliate Nonna Sorokina, assistant professor of business at Penn State Scranton, was recently featured in WalletHub's article "Best Comprehensive Car Insurance": What drivers should purchase Comprehensive Insurance? Every driver should consider purchasing comprehensive insurance, especially…
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Business
SSRI Affiliates
Q&A: IST faculty named digital cultures fellow at the University of Queensland
SSRI Affiliate Kelley Cotter, assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), was awarded the Tom O’Regan Visiting Fellowship by the University of Queensland (UQ). According to the UQ’s School of Communication and Arts website, the fellowship honors a…
SSRI Affiliate Florence Becot honored by agricultural safety, health society
Florence Becot, Nationwide Insurance Early Career Professor in Agricultural Safety and Health in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received the Jim Williams Early Career Achievement Award from the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health at the organization’…
Bringing health care back to a rural Pennsylvania community
Snow Shoe Township is a small, rural community of around 1,700 people in central Pennsylvania that lies approximately 30 miles north of State College. A former coal mining town, Snow Shoe has seen an economic decline over the years. Then, in the span of one year starting in 2020, Snow Shoe lost its…
Professor’s new book examines universities’ role in advancing science
The last century has been a remarkable period of scientific discovery. And one of the primary drivers of it? Universities like Penn State, according to Professor of Sociology, Education and Demography David P. Baker. That’s the main takeaway of “Global Mega-Science: Universities, Research…