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To protect against rising sea levels in a warming world, coastal cities typically follow a standard playbook with various protective infrastructure options. For example, a seawall could be designed based on the latest climate projections, with the city officials then computing its cost-benefit ratio and proceeding to build, accordingly. 

Penn State recognized 42 graduate students with annual University awards that celebrate students' impact in research, scholarship, teaching, outreach, mentoring and more.  Meteorology and atmospheric science doctoral student Helen Kenion, won an Alumni Dissertation Award.  Helen's dissertation presents and applies a novel method for measuring urban greenhouse gas emissions at the neighborhood scale. Her research addresses a critical gap due to the fact that urban areas are responsible for over half of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, but direct emissions measurements in cities are rare. Policymakers rely on human activity-based emissions estimates, or emissions inventories, which often contain systematic errors and take years to complete. Atmospheric emissions estimates are essential to evaluate and improve inventories. 

Jon Nese, teaching professor and associate head of the undergraduate program in meteorology and atmospheric science in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), is the recipient of the 2025 Undergraduate Program Leadership Award.  The award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership benefiting a Penn State undergraduate degree program. Specifically, it recognizes those individuals who have major responsibilities for the delivery of undergraduate education within a unit and who are providing leadership that has transformed or revitalized the undergraduate program in some way.

The Penn State community is mourning the loss of Jenni Evans, professor emerita of meteorology and atmospheric science and director emerita of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, who died April 3 in her Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, home. She was 63.

Rainfall and long-term water availability in a region before a woman becomes pregnant and during pregnancy predicted future growth outcomes of children in Uganda, according to new research led by a team from the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Penn State College of Medicine. Women living in an area that did not receive adequate rainfall or experienced drought were more likely to give birth to children who don’t grow at the expected rate for their age between birth and age five. Children who are under-nourished and behind in their growth are more susceptible to infections and may experience cognitive, physical and metabolic developmental impairments.

“There are so many ways to engage with the student body and support students when it comes to fostering a culture of belonging across STEM and academia,” Prince said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but luckily we have a network of dedicated people. We’re working to make this culture a lasting and integral part of the academic experience.”

Guido Cervone, Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) interim director and professor of geography and of meteorology and of atmospheric science, was recently named chair of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting program committee. As chair, Cervone will organize and coordinate AGU's Annual Meeting, which provides a platform for experts to share their scientific discoveries, and present their work through workshops, panels and townhalls.

Luke Snyder, a junior in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, volunteers for THON and many other organizations at Penn State. He said Penn State really helped him come out of his shell and allowed him opportunities for personal growth.

Penn State researchers, including Romit Maulik, assistant professor in the College of IST, and Steven Greybush, associate professor of meteorology, will use a grant from NASA to improve atmosphere and ocean forecasts by incorporating AI and satellite data into current forecasting models.

Led by Steven Greybush, researchers will incorporate computational tools along with traditional science to better understand and predict weather