New project to identify risk factors for sexual exploitation of children
Sex trafficking is one of the world’s most prevalent and profitable criminal enterprises, with over 100,000 annual cases involving children under the age of 18 in the U.S. each year. However, the number of these cases are vastly under reported, especially in rural areas. A new project being…
University Libraries offer maps and geospatial information sessions in February
On Wednesdays this February, and one in March, Penn State University Libraries will offer informational sessions relating to foundational map and geospatial topics. The sessions, which do not require registration, are open to all Penn State students, staff, faculty and visitors, and…
Bridges to Translation IV offers pilot grants
As part of its mission to accelerate discoveries to benefit human health, the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute will award up to $300,000 in funding for pilot projects through Bridges to Translation IV.
An RFA workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 13 at…
Why Social Science? - Because It Adds Value, Even When You Don’t See It
By Wendy Naus, Executive Director, Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA)
Why Social Science? was launched in 2017 as a project of the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) aimed at getting social science findings and impacts out to the general public. Our goal has been to…
Second round of Integrative Studies Seed Grants available to faculty
The Penn State Office for General Education is soliciting faculty proposals again this year for the development of integrative studies courses. This year, the Office for General Education is looking to fund approximately 30 proposals from all current, nonretired faculty. A webinar for interested…
Harsh parenting linked with poor school performance in kids with ADHD
The way parents interact with their kids may affect how well children with certain behavioral problems like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — ADHD — perform in school, according to researchers.
The researchers studied the associations between the parenting practices of mothers and fathers…
Brown bag software tutorials in the humanities and social sciences
A series of workshops titled “Software in the Humanities and Social Sciences” will continue through the spring semester and features researchers from across the University offering weekly tutorial sessions that aim to highlight a range of software options and resources in relatable topics.
The…
Weather patterns, farm income, other factors, may be influencing opioid crisis
The overprescribing of opioid-based painkillers may be the main driver of the increased abuse of opioids in rural America, but economists say that other factors, including declining farm income, extreme weather and other natural disasters, may affect a crisis that is killing thousands of citizens…
NIH Clinical Trials: 15 Minute Overview Recording
The recent presentation NIH Clinical Trials: 15 Minute Overview (What NIH’s Definition Means for Researchers and How the ORP Can Help) and is now available to view on YouTube. Slides are also available for the presentation (slides available as a pdf and as a Powerpoint…
Penn State hosts summit to combat the opioid epidemic
Opioid overdose deaths in Pennsylvania increased 37 percent in 2016, ranking the state fourth in the nation. Coming on the heels of Gov. Tom Wolf’s declaration of the opioid crisis as a disaster emergency, Penn State recently held its first University-wide summit on the opioid epidemic.
The summit…
Murphy named distinguished faculty
Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs has named 15 distinguished faculty.
The University's 2018 distinguished faculty are:
College of Agricultural Sciences
David A. Mortensen, professor of weed ecology
College of Arts and Architecture
Velvet Brown, professor of tuba…
Penn State researchers developing startup to help people in addiction recovery
A group of Penn State researchers is developing a system — WearIT — utilizing wearable devices as tools to help individuals battle addiction.
Their idea was the winner of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania’s TechCelerator program, receiving $10,000 in December to…
Frankenberg named among RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings
PRI associate Erica Frankenberg was once again named among the 2018 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, identifying the university-based scholars in the U.S. who are doing the most to shape educational practice and policy.
Simply being included in this list of 200 scholars is an…
News from the Federal Statistical Research Data Center
The University of Pittsburgh has joined the Penn State Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) consortium. The consortium includes Penn State, University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, Temple, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The institutions jointly oversee and fund the operation…
QuantDev Innovations Featured in The Journals of Gerontology
The Quantitative Developmental Systems Methodology Core (QuantDev) recently had several of their studies featured in December’s special issue of The Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. This journal presents studies that advance methodology or understanding in areas…
Baby brains help them figure it out before they try it out
Babies often amaze their parents when they seemingly learn new skills overnight — how to walk, for example. But their brains were probably prepping for those tasks long before their first steps occurred, according to researchers.
Researchers are using new statistical analysis methods to compare how…
News coverage of Penn State's Summit on the Opioid Epidemic
The Penn State Summit on the Opioid Epidemic was held Friday, Jan. 12, at 122 at Heritage Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus. The summit gathered faculty from across Penn State with the goal of developing an interdisciplinary and translational agenda aimed at combating the…
Global Programs updates travel grant applications evaluation criteria
Global Programs has revised evaluation criteria for their Faculty, Graduate, and Transformational travel grants applications, as well as introduced a new system for submitting application materials and trip reports. Applicants will now use Qualtrics, a popular survey program, to apply for travel…
New National Institutes of Health policies affect all researchers
If you hear “clinical trial” and think of a study looking at a cure for a disease, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) wants you to think again.
NIH is in the process of enhancing “the accountability and transparency of clinical research” through a number of new initiatives that impact…
Morgan's study named fourth most read in Educational Researcher
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) recently announced their most read education research articles of 2017. Paul Morgan, director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research and professor of education, and his research team had the fourth most read study in the publication…
SSRI RFA for opioid research
SSRI is providing funding to increase the quantity and quality of interdisciplinary opioid research by Penn State faculty. Proposals are invited for pilot research projects aimed at solving the opioid crisis.
We seek interdisciplinary Penn State teams to develop novel translational research…
Buxton quoted in Reader Digest article on sleep sounds
By Caitlin Reynolds
If you regularly struggle with insomnia, make sure you're aware of these easy fixes. And if you're trying to sleep in a loud environment, white noise might help you nod off more easily. A mixture of all sound frequencies at once, at the same level of intensity, white noise does…
Penn State to host summit on opioid epidemic
By Cassie Kizis | The Daily Collegian
Over the past decade, opioid abuse has become an increasingly prevalent issue in the United States. While there are a multitude of ways this issue can harm communities, perhaps the most visible way is the death toll.
According to the Center for Disease Control…
Penn State research center to host Annie E. Casey Diversity Program Scholars
The Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State will host two postdoctoral researchers from the second cohort of the Annie E. Casey Foundation 2018 Leader Equitable Evaluation and Diversity (LEEAD) program.
The LEEAD program, launched by the Casey Foundation in 2016, was created to…
Penn State third in rankings for federal social and behavioral science funding
The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) recently released the 2018 edition of their College and University Rankings for Federal Social and Behavioral R&D, which reports total federal research dollars in the social and behavioral sciences awarded to U.S. institutions.
Penn State…