If every on-campus student at University Park reduced his or her time in the shower by just five minutes, Penn State would save 100,000 gallons of water each school year. That is enough to fill five swimming pools and lower the University's carbon footprint by 18,980 pounds every year.
NASA's Swift satellite, whose science and flight operations are controlled from Penn State's Mission Operations Center in State College, Pa., has detected its 500th gamma-ray burst -- a type of explosion that is the biggest and most mysterious in the cosmos. Swift's X-ray telescope and ultraviolet/optical telescope were developed and built by international teams led by Penn State.
Penn State Laureate Linda Patterson Miller, professor of English at Penn State Abington, will begin her journeys into western Pennsylvania, serving as a "laureate-in-residence" as she interacts with the campus communities at Penn State DuBois (Sept. 13); Penn State Erie, The Behrend College (Sept. 14); Penn State Shenango (Sept. 15); and Penn State Beaver (Sept. 16). Miller will be participating in individual classes and symposiums along with engaging larger audiences in public forums at these locations. "I invite anyone in these geographical areas to join with us for these public presentation as we variously explore the art of American diary-keeping, the lives and art of the 1920s Lost Generation, and the art of Ernest Hemingway as discovered in his letters and early prose," said Miller.
Check in with Miller's travels and follow her literary dialogue, "Literary Landings," at http://laureate.psu.edu/Linda_Miller online. Today, Miller discusses how encounters with art can change lives, as it did for Miller when she first read Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" (1929). To watch a short video of Miller as she provides some background for understanding the transformative power of Hemingway's art, go to http://bit.ly/nVOzuO online.
To kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, in October, Penn State DuBois students will hold Hispanic Heritage Day from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1. All members of the public are invited to this family-friendly, child-oriented event.
Kenneth Womack, associate dean for Academic Affairs and professor of English and integrative arts at Penn State Altoona, has been named the 2013-14 Penn State laureate.
Kenneth Womack, the 2013-14 Penn State laureate, will visit Penn State DuBois on Wednesday, Sept. 11. Between noon and 1:25 p.m. in the Hiller Auditorium, Womack will deliver a presentation titled "Tales of the Forgotten: Selections from 'The Restaurant at the End of the World.'" All members of the public and campus community are welcome to attend.
Penn State World Campus student Tyler Knabb of Reading will embark on a cycling journey Oct. 22 to raise funds for the 2014 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. His 920-mile, eight-day cycling trip is in memory of his mother and friend who lost their battles with cancer.
Tyler Knabb of Reading prepares for his 920-mile, eight-day cycling trip to raise funds for the 2014 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. He will start his quest Oct. 22, traveling in a heart-shaped route through Pennsylvania that will take him to 11 Penn State campuses.