October 2, 2026
Pennsylvania legislators, agricultural advocates and industry leaders got a firsthand look at how Penn State research is helping shape the future of agriculture during a recent tour of research and innovation at University Park.
September 30, 2026
The new faculty bring expertise in climate-related extreme weather, membrane development, water quality management and battery improvements.
September 20, 2026
Managed by Ag Sciences Global in the college, the Woskob International Research in Agriculture Scholar Program is the Woskob New Century Fund’s flagship educational exchange program. It covers visiting scholars’ travel and living expenses. The program gives Ukrainian instructors a semester-long opportunity to expand their knowledge and expertise by attending classes and working with the college’s faculty.
September 15, 2026
Two are better than one when it comes to sampling methods for tracking the location and timing of toxic chemical contamination in waterways, according to researchers at Penn State. The team tested two typical sampling approaches and found that both are needed to accurately assess both the variety and concentration of contaminants of emerging concern — pharmaceuticals, personal care products, livestock manure-borne hormones, veterinary antibiotics and pesticides — in a watershed.
September 2, 2026
Ava Ciabattoni, a fourth-year student majoring in pharmacology and toxicology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been selected for the Rachel Carson Council’s 2026-27 National Environmental Leadership Fellowship.
August 27, 2026
Congratulations to our graduating students!
August 17, 2026
Five projects designed to enhance student learning and hands-on learning have received grants from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences through its Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES) program.
July 28, 2026
Researchers in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences are working with the entrepreneur behind the proposed startup of an innovative woody biomass-to-energy facility planned for north central Pennsylvania to determine if the planned operation will be sustainable and ecologically sound.
July 28, 2026
Megan Brown, a senior agricultural and biorenewable systems management major in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is spending two months in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. She is part of the International Partnership for Responsive Infrastructure using Sustainable Multifunctional Materials, or iPRISM, and is conducting research at the University of Freiburg.
July 28, 2026
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 breakthroughs and generate significant return on investment.
July 17, 2026
An advanced technology that could benefit farmers’ bottom line and help answer the rising demand for domestic energy production borrows a key ingredient from a centuries-old practice of burning dried manure to warm homes where trees were sparse or expensive: animal waste. According to Christine Costello, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, anaerobic digesters may help not only manage animal waste but also generate renewable energy and additional income streams.
July 10, 2026
Suat Irmak, Penn State professor of soil and water resources engineering and surface energy balance in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering, has been honored with another fellowship from the American Society of Agronomy.
July 9, 2026
A longstanding relationship between Pennsylvania and the Baltic nation of Lithuania is expanding through a newly formalized partnership between Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania.
July 6, 2026
Visitors to Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 11-13, can see agricultural safety in action through live demonstrations and interactive educational programs at the Farm Safety Demonstration Area and the Rural Health and Safety Tent.
July 1, 2026
Fourteen interdisciplinary research teams have received funding through the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s 2026 Seed Grant Program.
June 17, 2026
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.
June 1, 2026
Congratulations to our graduating students!
May 27, 2026
An interdisciplinary team in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, in collaboration with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, a conservation nonprofit working with farmers, has received a $250,000 grant from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.
May 18, 2026
Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a grant of nearly $309,000 from the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to study the movement and impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in small agricultural watersheds across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
May 12, 2026
An international project led by a Penn State team is helping to identify how community-based bioeconomies in the Brazilian Amazon can support forest conservation while increasing income opportunities for the traditional and Indigenous communities that protect and manage these landscapes.
May 12, 2026
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences welcomed a delegation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, to University Park last week to mark the first anniversary of the World Food Forum Youth Food Lab North America at Penn State partnership and to explore opportunities to deepen collaboration on global agrifood systems, innovation and education.
May 11, 2026
The Penn State Sustainable Labs Program continues to expand its reach across campuses while advancing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of research spaces. The 2025–26 cohort included 20 labs spanning multiple colleges, with seven labs recertifying after participating in the program’s inaugural 2022–23 cohort. The program supports research teams in adopting sustainable practices without compromising scientific discovery, with participation remaining free to all labs.
May 5, 2026
Suat Irmak, professor and head of Penn State’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received the prestigious Royce J. Tipton Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers at the 2026 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, held April 26-29 in Mobile, Alabama.
April 17, 2026
As questions about water quality grow more complex across Pennsylvania, Penn State is working to strengthen how research connects with communities. “The Confluence: Water Research and Extension In-Service Day” recently brought together researchers and Penn State Extension educators to learn, plan and network.
April 7, 2026
Six Penn State faculty members have received the 2026 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching.
March 12, 2026
The community of Juniata Terrace has been plagued by stormwater runoff for years, but a group of students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is working on a design that could help greatly improve the situation.
February 24, 2026
Penn State researchers and their colleagues found that vegetative buffers, like shrubs or grasses, likely reduces the amount of specific pesticides from reaching a stream. However, the buffers are not protective against all pesticides entering waterways.
February 6, 2026
The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences recently celebrated 26 faculty and staff members who have been with the college for 25 years.
February 5, 2026
Implementing novel management practices in dairy farming, one of the commonwealth’s major agricultural industries, could help alleviate a large source of both nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a multidisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State.
February 2, 2026
Governments and organizations that provide mental health support to farmers dealing with depression, anxiety and isolation have traditionally focused on overcoming the stigma associated with getting help — but that isn’t the barrier farmers face, according to a new study by a research team led by rural sociologists at Penn State. The bigger issues, they found, are rural health care shortages, long wait times for appointments and travel time, as well as high health care costs.
