UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 16 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: The annual Juneteenth Block party and celebration in downtown State College on June 15 welcomed the community to a full day of music, poetry, dancing and more. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn State. Creative Commons June 16, 2024 By Patrick Mansell Terri Parker provided the singing of the Black National Anthem to kick off a full day of festivities at the 5th annual Juneteenth celebration and blo  more

WASHINGTON, June 20 -- Sen. Robert Casey Jr., D-Pennsylvania, issued the following news release: Legislation would extend key FDA program that incentivizes development of new treatments for rare pediatric conditions including cancers Casey pushed for program's creation in 2012, has reauthorized it in the years since Since 2012, the program has awarded 53 vouchers for 39 rare pediatric diseases that have led to innovations benefitting over 200,000 patients Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA  more

NEW YORK, June 20 -- The American Society of Mechanical Engineers issued the following news release: Susan Ipri-Brown has begun her term as the 143rd president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Society announced during its annual meeting June 4. Ipri-Brown is a Fellow of ASME, has served on the ASME Board of Governors, and has been an active member of the Society for 34 years, including her years as a student member. Ipri-Brown is a strategic partnership specialist at  more

BLACKSBURG, Virginia, June 17 -- Virginia Tech issued the following news: Krista Timney has been named director of communications for the Virginia Tech College of Architecture, Arts, and Design (AAD), effective June 25. In this role, Timney will envision and develop a comprehensive, digital-first communications plan for the college and lead the execution of campaigns and activities that align with university strategic goals and initiatives. Two immediate priorities will be developing a multich  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 17 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: If liquid water exists today on Mars, it may be too deep underground to detect with traditional methods used on Earth. But listening to earthquakes that occur on Mars -- or marsquakes -- could offer a new tool in the search, according to a team led by Penn State scientists. When quakes rumble and move through aquifers deep underground, they produce electromagnetic signals. The researchers reporte  more

WASHINGTON, June 20 -- Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Bob Casey (D-PA), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families, introduced the Creating Hope Reauthorization Act to ensure that pharmaceutical companies continue to develop drugs to treat rare diseases affecting children, including types of cancer. The bipartisan legislation would extend the Foo  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 21 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: More than 6,000 people have visited the new Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State building since it opened its doors to the public on June 1. The 73,000-square-foot museum in the Arboretum at Penn State uses LEED certified technology to bring light into the galleries and provide views of the stunning landscapes at the largest university art museum in the Keystone state. Admission is always free. The  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 20 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: Fruits of Solanum plants, a group in the nightshade family, are incredibly diverse, ranging from sizable red tomatoes and purple eggplants to the poisonous green berries on potato plants. A new and improved family tree of this group, produced by an international team led by researchers at Penn State, helps explain the striking diversity of fruit colors and sizes and how they might have evolved.   more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 17 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: Rather than a text description, using a visual sweetness scale with an arrow pointing to a specific sweetness level on wine labels may increase purchase intent among novice wine consumers, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State School of Hospitality Management. Even though purchase intent increased, the researchers also found those same novice consumers may not be willing to   more

NOVELTY, Ohio, June 22 (TNSres) -- ASM International posted the following news from Penn State's College of Engineering: Penn State's College of Engineering and Ontario Tech University's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS) have officially established a memorandum of understanding (MOU). This agreement aims to harness the combined expertise of both institutions in the fields of engineering and applied sciences. The MOU was initiated by Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Evan Pugh University Profe  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 20 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: June is Pride Month, an excellent occasion to celebrate and reflect on the many strides the LGBTQ+ community has made in American society in recent decades. That said, lingering stigmas persist, causing LGBTQ+ people significant stress and leading to higher rates of physical and mental health issues than cisgender heterosexuals. For Jes Matsick, associate professor of psychology and women's, gend  more

ROCHESTER, New York, June 18 -- Rochester Institute of Technology issued the following news release: RIT Racing held a mere three-point lead at the top of the leaderboard for the Michigan SAE Formula electric competition June 14-16, but it was enough to give the team one of its biggest wins since it began racing more than 30 years ago. RIT Formula took first place overall among 78 collegiate teams at the recent Michigan SAE Formula race at Michigan International Speedway. The team had top-10 p  more

WASHINGTON, June 21 -- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety released the following testimony by Barbara Arnold, a professor of practice and chair of the mining engineering program at the Pennsylvania State University, from a June 12, 2024, hearing entitled "Digging Deeper: Building Our Critical Minerals Workforce": * * * Senators, staff, and guests. Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to address you regarding the urgent n  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 20 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: A group of Penn State student leaders delivered a letter to leaders of the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Thursday, June 20, encouraging them to support increased state funding for the University. The letter was submitted by the presidents and vice presidents of Penn State's Lion Caucus, the University Park Undergraduate Association, the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, and the Gra  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 20 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: HERSHEY, Pa. -- At the beach or on a boat, there's nothing that kills the summertime fun like the heart-palpitating realization that you didn't pack the personal flotation devices, no one is watching the kids, or you forgot to designate a sober driver. "Where people get into trouble, where they become injured, is when they think 'it's not going to happen to me' or they fly by the seat of their pa  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 17 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: Frogs have maintained a surprising diversity of light-sensing proteins over evolutionary time, according to a new study led by a Penn State researcher. Light-sensing proteins, called opsins, enable vision in sighted animals, and are responsible for many more biological functions like regulating circadian rhythms. The researchers explored the evolution of nonvisual opsins in frogs, finding that mos  more

TORONTO, Ontario, June 18 (TNSres) -- York University issued the following news release on June 17, 2024: * * * York U prof fills gaps in current understanding of opsins responsible for circadian rhythms * * * This Thursday marks the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year. Living beings have evolved over many millennia to react to varying amounts of sunlight exposure, governing everything from sleep-wake cycles, seasonal changes and more, but the proteins  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 17 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: A decent quarterly report may not nudge a company's stock price far, but a meme posted to Reddit's WallStreetBets subreddit may. The online community known for its seriously unserious banter, memes and not-so-family-friendly jokes shot to fame in early 2021 for having contributed to the skyrocketing rise of videogame retailer GameStop's stock price. The WallStreetBets subreddit is a prime example  more

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 18 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news: When stars collapse, they can leave behind incredibly dense but relatively small and cold remnants called neutron stars. If two stars collapse in close proximity, the leftover binary neutron stars spiral in and eventually collide, and the interface where the two stars begin merging becomes incredibly hot. New simulations of these events show hot neutrinos -- tiny, essentially massless particles th  more