New program aims to help faculty build skills in AI, quantum sciences
A call for proposals out of the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) seeks to provide University faculty members with the opportunities to learn new skills and make use of available resources in the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum…
Puts elected president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society
David Puts, professor of anthropology at Penn State and Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member, was recently elected president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society.
Puts is also the principal investigator of the Behavioral Endocrinology and Evolution Lab at…
Child Maltreatment Solutions Network announces funding recipients
The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (CMSN) at Penn State has awarded funding to support six projects through its University-sponsored endowment.
“The Network is proud to support Penn State faculty as they lead innovative, interdisciplinary work to better understand and respond to…
Annual substance use conference examines psychiatric and opioid use disorders
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Social Science Research Institute’s (SSRI) Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) hosted the sixth annual conference in May at the the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub at Penn State University Park.
Drawing over 150 attendees throughout the day,…
Preschool intervention linked to high school performance
Low-income students who received a preschool intervention focused on social-emotional development continued to benefit from it during their teen years according to a recent study published in the journal Child Development.
The researchers, led by Karen Bierman, Evan Pugh University…
The silent struggles of post-9/11 veterans
Post-9/11 veterans often face visible challenges like finding gainful employment or recovering from physical injuries, but some of their struggles are invisible. Veterans may carry a sense of isolation and the painful belief that their presence is a burden to those around them. When these thoughts…
Penn State Neuroscience Institute Expands Access to Groundbreaking Mental Health Registry
Penn State has expanded access to a powerful clinical registry of mental health data, the Penn State Clinical Assessment and Rating Evaluation System (PCARES), to investigators at the University Park campus through the Penn State Neuroscience Institute (PSNI).
Developed by faculty in Penn State’s…
Link between loneliness, heart disease persists across different cultures
Over the past few decades, researchers have repeatedly identified loneliness as a significant risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, most of this research has focused on people in United States and Europe, in which social norms tend to favor the individual over collective…
Chronic loneliness may harm cognitive health in young adults
Young and middle-aged adults who live with chronic loneliness may be at risk for early cognitive decline, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State Department of Human Development and Family Studies.
In a study published in BMC Public Health, the researchers demonstrated that young…
Downs named as a fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology
The National Academy of Kinesiology recently announced the new 2025 fellows, including SSRI Associate Director Danielle Symons Downs, professor of kinesiology and obstetrics & gynecology.
The Academy has a rich history of annually electing New Fellows into the association who have been…
Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate awards seed funding to five research projects
Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation has awarded seed grants to five interdisciplinary research projects. These grants support collaborative projects led by Penn State faculty who aim to generate innovative solutions to complex challenges in real estate and the built…
‘The Last Of Us’ Preys on Our Empathy. Here's Why That Feels So Weird.
BY JAKE KLEINMAN, Men's Health
This article quotes Daryl Cameron, director of SSRI's Consortium on Moral Decision-Making.
“It's a game about empathy. It's a game about forgiveness.”
That’s how Neil Druckmann, the director of The Last of Us Part II, described his new video game in a 2020 interview…
NIH announces new Public Access Policy
Change in NIH Public Access PolicyEffective July 1, 2025
Attention all researchers! There has been a change in NIH's public access policy. The policy still requires that all NIH-supported journal publications be submitted to PubMed Central. However, there are new requirements…
Andrew Read to host conversation focused on executive action affecting research
The Penn State community is invited to attend a conversation hosted by Penn State Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read at 1:45 p.m. on May 28 at the University Park campus and live online. The conversation will provide an opportunity for faculty, staff and students to engage in dialogue…
SSRI celebrates major accomplishments and staff awards
Faculty and staff from all of SSRI's units recently gathered at the Nittany Lion Inn to celebrate major accomplishments of the year and to announce staff awards.
The “Above and Beyond Award” was presented to Kassidy McElwee of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, and Valerie Keppenne and Mindi…
Ending Automatic Birthright Citizenship Would Significantly Increase the Size of the U.S. Unauthorized Population, New Projections Show
Ending birthright citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to unauthorized immigrants or certain other non-citizens would have a contrary result from its stated aim of reducing the unauthorized immigrant population. New estimates from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and Penn State’s Population…
Groundbreaking survey conducted across three major US regions sheds light on household and community well-being
A new data initiative by the Regional Rural Development Centers has produced an open access dataset available to all researchers nationally. Collected in a groundbreaking, multi-region Baseline Survey 2024, the household-level dataset establishes a baseline to inform policy decisions, community…
Mental health counseling can boost resilience after military sexual trauma
Mental health counseling (MHC) may help U.S. veterans recover and build resilience after experiencing military sexual trauma (MST), according to a new study from researchers at Penn State.
“We’ve long known that MST can have devastating consequences,” said Mary Mitchell, research professor at the…
Expanding Empathy Series returns for discussions on empathy and morality
The Consortium on Moral Decision-Making’s Expanding Empathy Speaker Series returns for its seventh consecutive year starting Thursday, May 8.
Organizer Daryl Cameron, Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute and director of the Consortium on Moral…
Why Social Science? - Because We Need Good Data to Predict the Future
This month's Why Social Science? post comes from Mark Mather and Beth Jarosz from the Population Reference Bureau who write about the importance of demography and how it can help community leaders, policymakers, business leaders, advocates, and residents plan effectively for a…
Consortium announces seed grant recipients
The Consortium on Moral Decision-Making at Penn State recently awarded nine seed grants to support interdisciplinary research related to the conceptual and empirical study of human morality and ethical decision-making.
According to consortium director Daryl Cameron, Sherwin Early Career…
SSRI celebrates two staff retirements
Betsy Beck and Joe Broniszewski recently celebrated their retirements from SSRI with a party to honor their years of service at Penn State.
Betsy spent the last five years of her 19-year Penn State career as a senior administrative coordinator at SSRI. Previously she was with IST, Smeal…
Kowalkowski Awarded the Lloyd Prize for Innovative Health Research
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is thrilled to announce Jennifer Kowalkowski is the winner of the 2025 Lloyd Prize for Innovative Health Research.
Kowalkowski is an assistant professor of nursing at the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of…
People Who Use Drugs Need Access to Treatment, But They Also Need Love and Support
Editor’s note: Dr. Abenaa Jones is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Health and Human Development, and Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member at Penn State University. Dr. Jones’ work focuses on the…
How safe is the air to breathe? 50 million people in the US don't know
In 2024, more than 50 million people in the United States lived in counties with no air-quality monitoring, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.
Rural counties — especially counties in the Midwest and South — were less likely to have…