As the end of the year approaches, President Neeli Bendapudi shares a message of gratitude reflecting on the significant accomplishments Penn Staters made in 2025.

A Note from Neeli: Penn Staters, you made a difference in 2025 | Penn State University

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As the end of the year approaches, President Neeli Bendapudi shares a message of gratitude reflecting on the significant accomplishments Penn Staters made in 2025.

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Administration

A Note from Neeli: Penn Staters, you made a difference in 2025 

Winter break is fast approaching and soon there will be a mass student exodus to homes near and far. That travel will look much different in 2025 than it did in days of yore, when the Bellefonte Central Railroad carried hundreds of students out of State College for semester breaks and special events each year from 1892 until about 1920, when buses and automobiles became the favored means of travel.

Dear Old State: Taking the train 'home for the holidays' | Penn State University

Winter break is fast approaching and soon there will be a mass student exodus to homes near and far. That travel will look much different in 2025 than it did in days of yore, when the Bellefonte Central Railroad carried hundreds of students out of State College for semester breaks and special events each year from 1892 until about 1920, when buses and automobiles became the favored means of travel.

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Campus Life

Dear Old State: Taking the train 'home for the holidays'

Graduating seniors celebrated their moment at Fall Commencement 2025, held Dec. 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center.&nbsp;

In photos: Congrats, graduates | Penn State University

Graduating seniors celebrated their moment at Fall Commencement 2025, held Dec. 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center. 

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In photos: Congrats, graduates

Free visitor parking at select lots during winter break 

Celebrating Winter's Glow at the Arboretum at Penn State

Penn Staters rally for GivingTuesday, raising more than $1.5 million

Alumni Association to engage thousands of alumni, fans in NYC for bowl festivities

2025 fall commencement parking information announced for Dec. 21

Backyard insect inspires large-scale invisibility particles production

Changes to parking and transit services at University Park during winter break 

110 Penn State student-athletes earn fall 2025 Academic All-Big Ten honors

Penn State leaders outline progress and priorities during Commonwealth Campuses town hall

New report outlines science priorities for human Mars exploration

Penn State to bring hands-on learning to 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show

Penn State launches quantum theory center

Forest and wildlife technology programs to open at Penn State Altoona

Matt Campbell named 17th Penn State head football coach 

$3.2M NIH grant to test and refine a heart pump for long-term use in children

Penn State to face Clemson in Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl

Penn State Extension survey reveals strengths, growth areas for farmers markets

The Medical Minute: Latest scoliosis treatments help patients stand straighter

Things to Do at Penn State: Dec. 4-31

Cancer-fighting bacterial product ‘cocktails’ may offer personalized treatment

University Park classes, activities and work delayed until noon Tuesday

Sustainable Communities Collaborative to showcase measurable community impact

Landmark gift to prepare and support behavioral health treatment professionals

Uganda community collaboration targets climate hazards with reforestation

Nine Penn State faculty and staff receive 2025-26 Fulbright awards

Josh Davis named senior vice provost and chief of staff   

Q&A: How will recent economic disruptions impact the holiday shopping season?

General Assembly approves Penn State’s 2025-26 state funding

Changes to parking and transit services during 2025 Thanksgiving break

Penn State World Campus ranked No. 1 online school for veterans by Military Times

Things to Do at Penn State: Nov. 20-Dec. 4

Bridging the gap: How Penn State is driving workforce innovation

University Park classes, activities and work delayed until 10 a.m. Wednesday

Penn State reminds community of winter weather protocols for 2025-26 season

Walmart, Sam’s Club award $45K in scholarships to Penn State military students

Penn State ranks 4th in the US in 2026 QS sustainability rankings

Renaissance Fund honors Bill and Connie Hayes, raises more than $450,000

LaunchBox opens at Pennsylvania College of Technology

Donatos and Furmanskis named 2025 Fundraising Volunteers of the Year

Philanthropists make $2 million gift toward a future of improved mental health

Structural issue believed to be the cause of Welch Building incident

The Medical Minute: Five top tips for skiing safely this winter

Penn State ranks No. 27 for best undergraduate entrepreneurship programs

Penn State honors Medal of Honor recipient for Military Appreciation Week

Police investigating incident at University Park; no injuries, no ongoing threat to campus 

Penn State World Campus named Pa. National Guard-Friendly School

Penn State to host virtual town hall on Commonwealth Campuses Dec. 9

It’s not just in your head: Stress may lead to altered blood flow in the brain

Penn State to celebrate 11th GivingTuesday

Michael Murphy Memorial

Michael Murphy Memorial-CU

WATCH: Veterans Day video message and Military Appreciation Week events 

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Around Campus

More research news

Viruses are typically described as tiny, perfectly geometric shells that pack genetic material with mathematical precision, but new research led by scientists at Penn State revealed a deliberate imbalance in their shape that helps them infect their hosts.&nbsp;

Unique bond identified as key to viral infection speed | Penn State University

Viruses are typically described as tiny, perfectly geometric shells that pack genetic material with mathematical precision, but new research led by scientists at Penn State revealed a deliberate imbalance in their shape that helps them infect their hosts. 

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Research

 Unique bond identified as key to viral infection speed

Penn State Abington economist Lonnie Golden discusses the November jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and explains what it means for the economy and workers.

Q&A: What does the November jobs report mean for workers and the economy? | Penn State University

Penn State Abington economist Lonnie Golden discusses the November jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and explains what it means for the economy and workers.

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Q&A: What does the November jobs report mean for workers and the economy?

Health and Human Development

College of Health and Human Development

The longer an older adult&nbsp;was awake between&nbsp;going&nbsp;to sleep and&nbsp;rising&nbsp;in the morning,&nbsp;the worse they performed on&nbsp;cognitive&nbsp;tests the next day, according to a new study published in Sleep Health. Napping,&nbsp;sleep&nbsp;timing&nbsp;and&nbsp;length of sleep had no effect on next-day cognitive performance.

Night waking impacts cognitive performance regardless of sleep duration | Penn State University

The longer an older adult was awake between going to sleep and rising in the morning, the worse they performed on cognitive tests the next day, according to a new study published in Sleep Health. Napping, sleep timing and length of sleep had no effect on next-day cognitive performance.

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Night waking impacts cognitive performance regardless of sleep duration

Featured Research

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi was featured in a CEO Magazine interview highlighting her belief in the transformative power of higher education and her efforts to expand access, advance ethical innovation, and strengthen the university’s educational, research, and economic impact.

President of PSU is redefining the power of education to transform lives

A new study led by researchers at Penn State found melanoma case rates tracking higher in counties with higher areas of cultivated land, where the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides can be higher.

Penn State study finds higher incidence of skin cancers in Pa.’s Farm Belt

In a significant advancement for materials science, scientists have successfully created niobium sulfide metallic nanotubes with stable, predictable properties for the first time. An international team, including Penn State researchers, achieved the long-sought feat using an unexpected ingredient—common table salt. According to researchers, the discovery could pave the way for faster electronics, efficient superconducting wires, and future quantum technologies.

Study: Common salt helps create nanomaterial for high-speed electronics

Researchers at Penn State have proposed a novel design for a lithium-ion (Li) battery.&nbsp;It could address the long-standing performance and stability issues of standard Li batteries in extreme temperatures. The design, dubbed the All-Climate Battery (ACB), was developed to fix a core flaw in standard Li batteries.

‘All-Climate Battery’ developed at Penn State could keep EVs running in extreme heat, cold

The discovery of a possible “super-Earth” less than 20 light-years from our own planet is offering scientists new hope in the hunt for other worlds that could harbor life, according to an international team including researchers from Penn State. They dubbed the exoplanet, named GJ 251 c, a “super-Earth” as data suggest it is almost four times as massive as the Earth and likely to be rocky planet.

Newly discovered ‘super-Earth’ offers prime target in search for alien life

A "super-Earth" exoplanet in the habitable zone of its star has been detected by an international team, including Penn State researchers, less than 20 light-years away, putting it near the top of the list for best places to look for life beyond our solar system.

'Super-Earth' less than 20 light-years away is an exciting lead in the search for life

Organic beekeeping can support healthy and productive honey bee colonies, and a new study led by researchers at Penn State found that adopting organic honey bee colony management is not only profitable, but in some cases, it can be even more profitable than conventional management.&nbsp;The research couldn't come at a more opportune time, as a separate study&nbsp;found that 2025 marked the largest-ever&nbsp;honey bee colony losses&nbsp;in the United States, citing viruses spread by parasitic mites as the culprit.&nbsp;

Researchers discover solution to major issue in beekeeping

Electric vehicles (EVs) can have&nbsp;lower fuel costs and reduce emissions&nbsp;relative to cars that use gasoline, but they are only a practical option if drivers have convenient ways to charge them. For people who live in multi-unit dwellings or in urban areas, access to charging infrastructure may be particularly limited, which in turn limits EV adoption. To address this issue, a team of researchers at Penn State created a scalable framework to develop, analyze and evaluate using streetlights as a low-cost, equitable EV charging option.&nbsp;

Streetlights could power the future of EV charging, researchers find

Electric space heating systems and appliances like water heaters can help American homeowners reduce their energy use, and possibly their utility bills, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State.

Want lower utility bills? Study reveals how to cut back energy consumption

An ancient society near the southern shores of Lake Titicaca in modern-day Bolivia was once one of the continent’s most powerful civilizations. Known as Tiwanaku, the ancient society is widely considered by archaeologists to be one of the earliest examples of civilization in the Andes and a precursor of the Inca empire, but it mysteriously disappeared about a thousand years ago. Now, a team led by scientists at Penn State and in Bolivia have discovered a Tiwanaku temple, shedding new light on what the society looked like in its prime.

Hidden temple discovered that could rewrite the history of an ancient empire

The violent collision and merger of two black holes emits gravitational waves — ripples in spacetime — that can cause the resulting newborn black hole to recoil and rapidly move, sometimes escaping its own galaxy. Now, an international team that includes a Penn State researcher has measured the direction of this recoil for the first time, as well as its speed.&nbsp;

 Scientists detect strange signal in gravitational waves

Tiny red objects spotted by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are offering an international team of scientists, including researchers at Penn State, new insights into the origins of galaxies in the universe — and may represent an entirely new class of celestial object: a black hole swallowing massive amounts of matter and spitting out light.

Study: Strange red dots in the early universe may be new kind of space object

Broken bones often heal naturally with time, a cast, or a brace. But when fractures are complex or severe, doctors rely on implants or surgical devices. Now, researchers at Penn State say they have created a biodegradable scaffold that could speed recovery while reducing complications.

Study: Broken bones regrow quickly with help of biodegradable implant

Floods are some of the most devastating natural disasters communities in the United States face, causing billions of dollars of damage annually, according to the&nbsp;National Weather Service. A group, including several researchers at Penn State, recently developed a computational model to streamline flood prediction in the continental United States.

Researchers develop intelligent tech that predicts future disasters

A research team led by&nbsp;Penn State has developed a sensor that can help diagnose diabetes and prediabetes on-site in a few minutes using just a breath sample.&nbsp;Previous diagnostic methods often used glucose found in blood or sweat, but this sensor detects acetone levels in the breath.

Breath test that can help diagnose diabetes developed at Penn State

Plants appear still, yet inside they are alive with communication. They must continuously balance how to capture energy without losing too much water. For decades, scientists suspected there were internal messengers guiding this process, but the exact molecules remained unidentified.&nbsp;A new study led by&nbsp;Penn State&nbsp;researchers finally reveals the nature of these signals. This work not only solves a long-standing mystery but also suggests new directions for&nbsp;agriculture&nbsp;and plant resilience research.