Eight Penn State Berks Leveraging Innovation and Optimizing Nurturing STEM Scholars were selected from thousands of applicants to attend the 2024 S-STEM Scholars and Principal Investigators Meeting from Nov. 8 to 10 in Chicago, Illinois. The meeting was co-hosted by the National Science Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
How do you translate what you learned in a semester-long course to a community celebration for an audience ranging in age from kindergarteners to senior citizens? That was the challenge to Penn State Berks students in the “Taylor Swift, Gender and Communication” course, and they rose to the occasion.
Current charging stations for electric vehicles, or EVs, can be expensive to install, and limited in the number of parking spaces they reach. Penn State engineering student Jonathan Smith and his team have spent the last three years creating a possible solution: smaller, mounted charging stations, which can move to cover as many as five parking spaces. As CEO of Streamline Charging, he’s used his Penn State education and customized coursework to get the team’s ideas to market.
In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October 2024, the Penn State Berks information sciences and technology department will join forces to host events to increase awareness about cybersecurity issues and best practices. Events cover a wide range of audiences, including Penn State Berks students, faculty and staff; K-12 students and educators; and the community. All events are free and preregistration is required for some events.
Penn State Berks is helping a future generation of engineering students to succeed through the college’s Engineering Ahead Program, which is now in its ninth year. The goal of the four-week summer ‘bridge’ program, which ran from June 30 to July 19, is to increase retention rates among a diverse group of engineering students by enhancing academic preparedness and providing support.
The Penn State Berks global studies program will host a global forum titled "A Year in the Peace Corps–Timor-Leste," presented by alumna Jaymi Smith, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Room 121 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. This event is free and open to the public.
A draft proposal of Penn State’s institutional strategic plan has been unveiled and shared with the community for feedback and discussion. All faculty, staff and students at all campuses are encouraged to visit the Strategic Plan website to review and provide feedback on the draft plans for four goal areas.
According to the 2020 census, the Hispanic and Latino population of the City of Reading is nearly 69%, up from 58% in 2010. To meet the needs of this growing population, Penn State Berks is expanding its efforts to engage with and support the local Hispanic and Latino communities with several new initiatives.
Brett Spencer, reference and instruction librarian for the Thun Library at Penn State Berks, received the 2024 Innovation and Advocacy in Library History Award presented by the Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA). The award acknowledges those who have made recent substantive contributions to LHRT or the wider library history community by promoting library history in exceptional or new ways or by reaching new audiences.
