Center For Biorenewables News | Center for Biorenewables

The researchers simulated corn production in 38,572 locations under the six nuclear war scenarios of increasing severity. Because of the crop’s global significance, the researchers chose to model corn’s collapse in a nuclear winter to represent the expected fate of agriculture overall. Credit: crisserbug/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Jul 21, 2025

Simulating the unthinkable: Models show nuclear winter food production plunge

A team led by researchers at Penn State have modeled precisely how various nuclear winter scenarios could impact global production of corn — the most widely planted grain crop in the world.

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Four emerging leaders in science and innovation have been selected for the inaugural Next-Gen Innovators Fellowship at Penn State. The cohort includes a tenured faculty member, a recent doctoral graduate and two current Penn State graduate students. Credit: Curtis Chan / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jul 07, 2025

Four selected for inaugural Next-Gen Innovators Fellowship at Penn State

Four emerging leaders in science and innovation have been selected as the inaugural fellows in Penn State’s Next-Gen Innovators Fellowship program, an initiative designed to close critical training gaps in research translation and technology commercialization.

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Aug 01, 2025

Charlie Anderson to lead plant biology intercollege graduate program

Charles "Charlie" Anderson, professor and associate head of research and faculty success in the Department of Biology, has been named the new chair of the Huck's Plant Biology grad program.

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From left are: Jill Hamilton, Wenrui Hao and Gustavo Nader Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Jun 30, 2025

Huck announces 2025-26 Leadership Fellows

Three faculty members, representing three different Penn State colleges, have been named Huck Leadership Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year.

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More than 30 researchers from seven Penn State colleges received seed funding from the Institute of Energy and the Environment to advance innovative, early-stage work addressing critical energy and environmental challenges. Credit: Brenna Buck. All Rights Reserved.

Jun 24, 2025

Ten interdisciplinary research teams awarded IEE seed grants

Ten interdisciplinary research teams have received funding through the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s (IEE) 2025 Seed Grant Program.

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GAP funding provides principal investigators with essential support on technology commercialization, including intellectual property protection, go-to-market strategies, marketing assistance and connections to industry experts, along with feedback from industry professionals, investors and entrepreneurs. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Jun 16, 2025

Eight Penn State research commercialization projects awarded GAP funding

Eight research projects have been selected for support from the Penn State Commercialization GAP Fund. The GAP Fund is a competitive internal program designed to help promising technologies bridge the gap between academic research and industry adoption.

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Study co-first author Alayna Mead, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, stands among Torrey pine trees in southern California. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Jun 03, 2025

Isolated Torrey pine populations yield insights into genetic diversity

Researchers find a few genes that allowed trees from insular populations to adapt to local conditions may inhibit their adjustment long term to a new location.

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The "Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems Symposium" is scheduled for June 12-13 at Penn State University Park. Shown are last year’s attendees. Credit: Contributed photo. All Rights Reserved.

May 23, 2025

Penn State agricultural technology event aimed at ‘closing the innovation gap’

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will convene leaders from academia, industry, government and stakeholder networks for a symposium focused on accelerating agricultural innovation through cross-sector collaboration.

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A printed prototype using the current version of the custom extrusion system for in-place 3D concrete printing. This iteration demonstrates the successful integration of continuous reinforcement with concrete deposition, marking a key step in the ongoing development toward structural-scale applications. Credit: Ali Baghi. All Rights Reserved.

May 12, 2025

Manufacturing PA Innovation Program funds two Stuckeman-led research projects

Two projects led by Stuckeman School architecture researchers have garnered grants through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Manufacturing PA Innovation Program

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Urara Hasegawa, assistant professor at Penn State, demonstrates thermogels, special materials that can turn from a liquid into a solid when triggered by heat. New thermogels developed by Hasegawa and her team show promise as a next-generation biomaterials. Credit: Urara Hasegawa. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 09, 2025

‘Patchy’ thermogels show next-gen biomedical material potential, scientists say

Special biomedical materials that can be injected as a liquid and turn into a solid inside our bodies — called thermogels — could provide a less-invasive way to deliver drugs or treat wounds. Scientists at Penn State have developed a new design for these materials that further improves their properties and may hold particular promise for use in tissue regeneration, the researchers said.

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