Eberly Alumni

Newsletter

OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS

Farewell Message from Dean Douglas R. Cavener

As you know, I announced late last year that I planned to step down as dean to return to teaching and research full time after serving the College for twenty years in administrative roles first as the Head of the Biology Department and then Dean of the college for the past five and half years. After a nationwide search for the College’s next Verne M. Willaman Dean, conducted under extraordinary circumstances of the COVID pandemic, I am thrilled to announce Dr. Tracy Langkilde has been selected and will begin her new duties next month. Tracy Langkilde, professor and head of our department of biology, is an accomplished leader, professor and researcher, and I cannot think of anyone as well suited as she to lead the College through the current challenges and into the future. I am confident you will enjoy hearing directly from Tracy when she assumes the deanship on October 1.

Please accept my gratitude and appreciation for your continued interest and support for the College. It was an honor and privilege to serve as your College’s dean, and I look forward to remaining a part of the College as we move forward together.

Sincerely,
Douglas R. Cavener, Verne M. Willaman Dean

59K Strong: We need your expertise!

That number alone is significant, but even more impressive is the diversity of experience across a wide range of careers and professional expertise among our 59K alumna. We would like to invite you to join us in supporting the college by volunteering your time and expertise! Read more on how to get involved.

Penn State Lab Protocols Creating Safe & Efficient Learning Environment Amid Pandemic

"Last Wednesday, I had my first and only in-person lab in Mueller. Truthfully, I expected to see a bottle of hand sanitizer and half my class wearing their masks below their noses." Read about this student's on campus lab experience.

A letter from Matt Powell

The Alumni Mentoring Program is changing to meet the needs of undergrads. We’ll continue to offer one-on-one sustained engagement, but we’re also expanding to include short-term, transactional mentorship opportunities to quickly answer career questions, review résumés, or brainstorm options for grad school. Read Matt Powell's letter.

New faculty chair to enhance leadership in plant biology

Alumnus Harold L. Kohn and his wife Carol K. Kohn have pledged $2 million to create the Louis and Hedwig Sternberg Chair in Plant Biology. The chair, which honors Harold’s grandparents, is designed to enhance Penn State’s position of leadership in plant biology. Read more on the Kohns' gift.

Research and awards update

Nita Bharti awarded funding to study how people’s movement impacts COVID-19 transmission
Nita Bharti and her collaborator Anthony Robinson have been awarded seed funding from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences to study how monitoring the movement of people can potentially be used as a predictor or early indicator of COVID-19 transmission and guide health policy decisions.

Lasers could speed up coronavirus diagnostics

Jean-Paul Armache awarded funding to study how a coronavirus protein takes over human protein-making machinery
Jean-Paul Armache has been awarded seed funding from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences to use cryo-electron microscopy to study how an important SARS-CoV-2 protein binds to and takes over the human ribosome—a protein factory in the cell that the virus uses to copy itself.

COVID-19 resources you can trust

·Penn State coronavirus info
·Eberly coronavirus contingency resources
·ASK CIDD - The Penn State Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics answers submitted questions on the topic of COVID-19.
·U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
·World Health Organization (WHO)

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