Penn State Behrend School of Science

09/28/2026

Providing an update that unfortunately this event has been cancelled. We do intend to offer this at some point in the near future, just need some more time to identify research representatives and solidify the event.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Join us for Pathways & Pizza: Exploring Faculty Research in the School of Science next Monday, Sept 28th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm in Roche Hall.

This will give students the ability to learn about all of the different research conducted in the School of Science, as well as the opportunities available to join in on that research. Pizza and pop provided by Dr. Beth Potter!

09/28/2026

Penn State Behrend joins the Fully Use Each Fish Initiative, becoming the fourth research institution to join. Its participation brings the growing binational movement to 49 companies and organizations committed to ensuring that every part of each fish is fully used and not wasted. For more information, visit https://gsgp.org/projects/100-great-lakes-fish/overview/

09/25/2026

Dr. Jay Amicangelo, Professor of Chemistry, recently gave an oral presentation at Chemistry and Physics at Low Temperatures 2026 conference held at Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany. The presentation was entitled "Observation of the C6H7 Radical and the C6D6H, C6H6D, and C6D7 Radical Isotopomers in an Argon matrix Using Matrix Isolation Infrared Spectroscopy." For more information, visit https://www.mertenlab.de/cplt2026/

09/23/2026

Jack Mucha, third-year Biology major, supported research on a Pennsylvania Sea Grant project awarded to Dr. Lynne Beaty, Dr. Sam Nutile, and Dr. Brandon Ruehle (Peru State University).

Mucha explained, "This summer we sampled and dissected Lake Erie aquatic organisms in search for parasitses. We collected them to analyze, document, and better understand what parasites can be found in Lake Erie organisms including cestodes, nematodes, trematodes, and more."

Thank you Jack for your contributions to local research and sharing your experience with us.

09/22/2026

Join us for Pathways & Pizza: Exploring Faculty Research in the School of Science next Monday, Sept 28th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm in Roche Hall.

This will give students the ability to learn about all of the different research conducted in the School of Science, as well as the opportunities available to join in on that research. Pizza and pop provided by Dr. Beth Potter!

09/21/2026

Dhrisha Iyer, third-year Biology major, worked with Dr. Sam Nutile and Dr. Lynne Beaty over the summer.

Iyer stated, "My research analyzed the effects of road salt runoff on vulnerable aquatic populations, using American toads as my test species. I observed the morphological and behavioral consequences of supplementing known quantities of road salt into their tanks over the course of the study. Surprisingly, the experiment found that growth was most favorable in slightly salty conditions!"

Thank you Dhrisha for your contributions to local research and sharing your experience!

09/18/2026

Biology major Hannah Festa worked a summer internship for Pennsylvania Sea Grant at the Natural History Museum at Tom Ridge Environmental Center.

Hannah stated "Every day was a little different, but my main tasks included specimen maintenance, entering specimen information into a database, archiving new bug intakes into the museum (i.e., pinning, making labels, and organizing them into the correct families), and working in outreach. For outreach, I developed unique educational topics to display using the museum's resources. For example, pollinators other than bees, camouflage techniques, and venomous snakes in PA and their look-alikes. Outside the museum, we took reptile and amphibian surveys across different counties. I worked with the Fish and Boat Commission on a project to locate Blanding's turtles released at Presque Isle to help boost the population again. Overall, good time, great experience."

Thank you to Hannah for your contributions to local research goals and sharing your experience with us!

09/17/2026

First-year students joined us in Roche Hall for a School of Science Connections Fair on Monday, September 14th from 5-7 PM. Thank you to Beth Potter, Associate Professor of Microbiology, as well as all the volunteers and faculty that shared their time and resources with these students.

09/16/2026

Guest speaker Dr. Mike Evans, Associate Dean at Ross College of Nursing, spoke at Behrend Nursing Program Alumni Night held September 10th at 6:00 pm in McGarvey Commons. Thank you to the entire Nursing faculty and Kim Raines, Assistant Teaching Professor of Nursing for putting together an incredible event. And thank you Dr. Evans for visiting & speaking!

09/14/2026

Please join us this Saturday, September 19th for National Astronomy Day & Observe the Moon Night from 9:00 AM to 2:00 pm in the Yahn Planetarium. Individual show schedule and more information in the flyer below.