Alumni Newsletter
Office of Development and Alumni Relations
Save the Date: September 6
College Alumni and Friends Tailgate
Mark your calendars for the Eberly College of Science Alumni and Friends Tailgate on Friday, September 6!
The tailgate will be held on the lawn in front of the Millennium Science Complex, the evening before the Nittany Lions take on the Bowling Green Falcons at Beaver Stadium.
Alumni Impact
On NPR, Dr. Ala Stanford Discusses the COVID-19 Pandemic and Her New Book
As a pediatric surgeon, Dr. Ala Stanford operated on children, infants and sometimes fragile premature babies. But when the pandemic hit in 2020, she left her job to found the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, setting up shop in parking lots, churches and mosques where she provided tests and vaccines to underserved Philadelphia communities like the one she grew up in.
"I believe you go to the most vulnerable," Stanford says of her outreach. "I've saved more lives in a parking lot than I ever did in an operating room."
Read the full article on NPR, and check out our feature story on Ala—a graduate in biology who was honored earlier this year with Penn State's Distinguished Alumni Award—and her amazing work during the pandemic.
Jemar Bather Shares His Path to Becoming a Scientist, Advice for Students
Penn State Eberly College of Science alumnus Jemar R. Bather, a 2014 graduate in statistics and recipient of the Penn State Alumni Association's 2024 Alumni Achievement Award, is a senior scientist on a cross-functional team at Merck, where he works with physicians to develop new medications for individuals living with infectious diseases.
Check out our Q and A with Jemar, where he discusses his work, his path to becoming a scientist, and his time at Penn State.
Eleven Pieces of Advice for Future Scientists from Bruce Booth
Penn State Eberly College of Science alumnus Bruce Booth, a graduate in biochemistry and molecular biology, recently spoke to students in the college's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program about his career journey after Penn State as well as his advice for future scientists.
Check out Bruce's 11 pieces of advice.
College Highlights
Yuki Yoshida Selected as Summer 2024 Student Marshal
Yuki Yoshida of State College, Pennsylvania, was honored as the student marshal for the Penn State Eberly College of Science at the University’s summer 2024 commencement ceremony on Saturday, August 10, on the University Park campus.
Yoshida graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. In 2023, she received the Evan Pugh Scholar Senior Award and the Goldwater Scholarship and earned first place at the Penn State Research Experiences for Undergraduates summer poster symposium. Yoshida was also a Schreyer Scholar and a member of the Dean’s List for her entire collegiate career.
Read more about Yuki.
In the News
Astronomers Discuss How a Newly Discovered Planet with a Strange Orbit May Be Turning into Another World
You may have seen or read on CNN about new exoplanet research from Suvrath Mahadevan, Jason Wright, and Arvind Gupta in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Read more about their research in our press release, "Exoplanet caught in ‘hairpin turn’ signals how high-mass gas giants form," learn more about the Penn State Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, and consider supporting their work.
University Highlights
Faculty from the Eberly College of Science are leading University-wide initiatives in research, teaching, and workforce development.
$1.7 Million Grant Will Continue Support for Graduate Students Studying Gene Regulation
Renewed funding from the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences with matching support from Penn State for the University's Eukaryotic Gene Regulation Predoctoral Training Program—led by Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Joseph Reese—ensures $1.7 million over five years for up to 28 graduate students in cross-disciplinary studies of the mechanisms controlling where and when genes are used in cells.
“These training grants are extremely competitive and it is very difficult to have them renewed,” said Santhosh Girirajan, professor of genomics and head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. “The renewal demonstrates just how successful the program has been thanks to fantastic students and our dedicated faculty experts. Joe’s leadership on this endeavor is highly commendable.”
$600,000 Grant to Penn State’s Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance Will Help Build Semiconductor Workforce in Pennsylvania
The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded $600,000 to Penn State’s Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance—led by Joshua Robinson, professor of materials science and engineering, of physics, of chemistry and of engineering science and mechanics—to develop a series of educational courses, workshops, and paid academic and industrial internships focused on workforce development in Pennsylvania for the growing semiconductor industry.
The initiative aims to catalyze silicon-carbide semiconductor research and development, with potential applications including next-generation electric vehicles and more-efficient delivery of electricity from clean energy sources like solar and wind.
Nikki Crowley Talks Interdisciplinary Research
Nikki Crowley, director of the Neuroscience Institute at Penn State University Park, is one of many faculty members in the college who are strong leaders driving impact across the University.
Neuroscience faculty are highly collaborative, with 75 faculty affiliates supporting more than 300 scientists and 12 colleges at the University Park campus, including more than 20 faculty from the Eberly College of Science.
Meet Nikki on LinkedIn, learn more about the Neuroscience Institute, and consider supporting the institute in "solving the brain."
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