Arts and Architecture

College of Arts and Architecture

When John Simpkins arrived at Penn State’s School of Theatre in the College of Arts and Architecture more than a decade ago to lead the Musical Theatre program, he had a clear mission: Build upon its strong foundation and transform it into a distinctive, top-tier and highly sought-after training ground for emerging artists. One of the signature components to emerge from that vision was the New Musicals Initiative.

Penn State Centre Stage serves as 'laboratory' for new musicals | Penn State University

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When John Simpkins arrived at Penn State’s School of Theatre in the College of Arts and Architecture more than a decade ago to lead the Musical Theatre program, he had a clear mission: Build upon its strong foundation and transform it into a distinctive, top-tier and highly sought-after training ground for emerging artists. One of the signature components to emerge from that vision was the New Musicals Initiative.

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Penn State Centre Stage serves as 'laboratory' for new musicals

Microscopic animals called tardigrades are&nbsp;providing&nbsp;real insight into how humans could adapt extraterrestrial resources to support space exploration, as well as whether such resources could help protect against&nbsp;the&nbsp;Earthly&nbsp;contaminants&nbsp;that&nbsp;humans might shed.&nbsp;&nbsp;

‘Water bears’ reveal potential for adapting, protecting Martian resources | Penn State University

Microscopic animals called tardigrades are providing real insight into how humans could adapt extraterrestrial resources to support space exploration, as well as whether such resources could help protect against the Earthly contaminants that humans might shed.  

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Research

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‘Water bears’ reveal potential for adapting, protecting Martian resources

The&nbsp;University-wide AI Transformation initiative&nbsp;will focus on&nbsp;student learning and literacy, employee skill-building and development,&nbsp;and research and innovation.

Penn State's AI Transformation

WATCH: Provost Sotiropoulos discusses Penn State’s AI Transformation initiative | Penn State University

The University-wide AI Transformation initiative will focus on student learning and literacy, employee skill-building and development, and research and innovation.

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Administration

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WATCH: Provost Sotiropoulos discusses Penn State’s AI Transformation initiative 

Penn State alumni trustee election ballot positions announced

Karen Thole named inaugural director of Penn State National Security Institute

Board approves proposed acquisition of State College Regional Airport by the Centre County Airport Authority 

Peppa Pig will make local debut with ‘My First Concert’ March 26

Commonwealth Campus investments strengthen faculty, student research excellence

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Borrowing from biology to power next-gen data storage

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Two Penn State professors elected to National Academy of Engineering

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February trustees recap: The impact of THON; capital projects approved

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Penn State to recognize Read Across America 2026 with ‘Roar Where You Are’

Women's ice hockey's Tessa Janecke nets gold with Team USA

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Penn State Centre Stage presents a new musical by Salzman and Cunningham

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Annual Substance Use and Addiction Conference to be held on May 4

Parking information for Penn State Athletics Winter Sports Weekend

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Penn State featured in U.S. News’ 2026 ‘Best Online Programs’ rankings

Benefits Asked and Answered: How do Penn State’s health care plans work? 

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Around Campus

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Health and Human Development

College of Health and Human Development

People selected more food at a virtual reality buffet when there were more food options, demonstrating how food variety may drive overeating, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences.

Variety: Spice of life or risk factor for overeating? | Penn State University

People selected more food at a virtual reality buffet when there were more food options, demonstrating how food variety may drive overeating, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences.

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Variety: Spice of life or risk factor for overeating?

Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Health researchers will continue monitoring household sewage at dozens of municipal plants around the commonwealth for foodborne illness pathogens, with new funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The grant, anticipated to amount to more than $500,000 over five years, will complement related work funded by the FDA since 2016.

Foodborne illness wastewater monitoring continues with new FDA funding | Penn State University

Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Health researchers will continue monitoring household sewage at dozens of municipal plants around the commonwealth for foodborne illness pathogens, with new funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The grant, anticipated to amount to more than $500,000 over five years, will complement related work funded by the FDA since 2016.

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Foodborne illness wastewater monitoring continues with new FDA funding

Using advanced imaging technology to examine a stretchy material commonly used in soft robotics and touchscreens known as PEDOT:PSS, a team led by Enrique Gomez found that adding different salt additives and water enabled the material to grow hair-like fibers capable of effectively conducting electricity. These findings could help facilitate longer-lasting pacemakers or glucose monitors in the future, the team said.

Stretchy plastics conduct electricity via tiny, whisker-like fibers | Penn State University

Using advanced imaging technology to examine a stretchy material commonly used in soft robotics and touchscreens known as PEDOT:PSS, a team led by Enrique Gomez found that adding different salt additives and water enabled the material to grow hair-like fibers capable of effectively conducting electricity. These findings could help facilitate longer-lasting pacemakers or glucose monitors in the future, the team said.

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Stretchy plastics conduct electricity via tiny, whisker-like fibers

Featured Research

A new study offers a look at how the building blocks of life might have originated in the cosmos. Penn State scientists suggest that the amino acids found on the asteroid Bennu did not require warm, liquid water to form, as previously assumed. The team analyzed tiny samples, consisting of roughly 4.6-billion-year-old rocks, delivered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to Earth in 2023.

Radioactive space can host building blocks of life, asteroid samples reveal

Researchers at Penn State say they’ve developed a new hydrogel material inspired by octopus skin that can encode images directly into its structure. The imprinted images then disappear and reappear when the skin is exposed to subtle changes in temperature or a surrounding solvent. The result is a “4D” synthetic smart skin capable of revealing hidden images and shifting surface patterns.

Study: Octopus-inspired material could lead to better camouflage tech

How a new father behaves toward his baby can change family dynamics in a way that affects the child’s heart and metabolic health years later, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.

Early dad's involvement linked to lasting child health, study finds

About half of older men suffer from sleep problems, back pain or both, according to Soomi Lee, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. Lee recently led a study to investigate whether one precedes the other and found that back problems can predict sleep problems years later in men over 65 years old.

Study: Back pain might predict future sleep problems among men

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. 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. The research couldn't come at a more opportune time, as a separate study found that 2025 marked the largest-ever honey bee colony losses in the United States, citing viruses spread by parasitic mites as the culprit.

Researchers discover solution to major issue in beekeeping

Electric vehicles (EVs) can have lower fuel costs and reduce emissions 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.

Streetlights could power the future of EV charging, researchers find

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

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

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.

 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.