SSRI provides supplemental funding support
The Social Science Research Institute at Penn State has announced a funding program to help support social science faculty conducting research with data from Penn State's Federal Statistical Research Data Center.
The Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) supplemental funding…
Town hall to focus on research security and evolving federal requirements
Penn State’s research community is invited to attend a research town hall at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, focused on research security, international collaborations and the growing federal requirements that affect the University’s research enterprise. The event will be hosted by Senior Vice…
Brothers receives American Sociological Association’s Early Career Award
Sarah Brothers, assistant professor of sociology and public policy at Penn State, is the recipient of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) inaugural Early Career Award for Community-Engaged Scholarship.
The organization recognized Brothers for her “transformative work in drug policy” and…
Why Social Science? - Because Asking People Questions Provides Important and Necessary Insights
This month's Why Social Science? post comes from Dr. Kristen Olson from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln about how asking the right questions and using surveys will help us better understand and support populations we want to study.
Data are everywhere. Data are collected as we browse the…
Transgender Athletes, Birthright and Ballots: SCOTUS to Test Trump Agenda
SSRI cofunded faculty member Nicole Kreisberg, assistant professor of public policy and sociology, was quoted in this Newsweek article about birthright citizenship. Read the article here.
The Social Science Research Institute announces co-funded and affiliated faculty member promotions
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Social Science Research Institute congratulates the following cofunded and affiliated Penn State faculty members on their promotions, which are effective July 1:
Promoted to Professor
Laura Cabrera Trujillo, professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics,…
Updates to AI Resource Hub
The AI Resource Hub has been updated with a new set of peer-reviewed publications, books, tools, conference listings, and funding opportunities spanning the nine verticals of Penn State's Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI), including several new contributions from CSRAI…
Senators McCormick and Fetterman urge NIH to release FY2026 appropriated funds
U.S. Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) recently sent a letter to the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) urging NIH to take immediate action to ensure the timely obligation of all congressionally appropriated FY 2026 grant funding.
“Failure to disburse…
NIH Requirement Regarding Foreign Components
On May 12, 2026, the NIH issued an update reaffirming its enforcement of research security and transparency. As part of this initiative, the NIH is actively auditing publications to identify unapproved" foreign components.”
While the definition of a foreign component has not changed (per NIH FAQ),…
Fowler featured in first SSRI Public Impact Research video
Christopher Fowler, professor of geography and director of SSRI’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC), is the first researcher featured in a new SSRI video series focusing on how research translates to public impact.
In the video, Fowler discusses how accurately interpreting US Census…
‘Affordable’ Pittsburgh doesn’t have enough affordable housing – here’s why
This article was written by Selena Ortiz, associate professor of health policy and administration and demography, SSRI Affiliate, and PRI Associate for The Conversation.
Pittsburgh is widely regarded as a relatively affordable place to live. Overall, housing and living costs remain below national…
SSRI celebrates faculty accomplishments, staff awards
Faculty and staff from all of SSRI's units recently gathered at the Nittany Lion Inn to celebrate major accomplishments of the year and to announce staff awards.
Courtney Carmichael, research project support specialist, Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness, was awarded the “Workplace…
Consortium on Moral Decision-Making announces funding recipients
The Consortium on Moral Decision-Making at Penn State recently awarded Ember Grants to fund 16 projects supporting interdisciplinary research related to the conceptual and empirical study of human morality and ethical decision-making.
According to consortium director Daryl Cameron, Sherwin Early…
Provost Sotiropoulus tours SSRI
Penn State’s Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Fotis Sotiropoulus, recently visited the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) as part of his initial tour of Penn State research institutes.
Dr. Sotiropoulus heard from Director Dr. Deborah Ehrenthal, who gave an overview of SSRI’s mission…
NIH Announcement of Upcoming System Enforcement of Common Forms
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced: NOT-OD-26-079: Announcement of Upcoming System Enforcement of Common Forms and End of NIHs Leniency Period that goes into effect on May 7, 2026.
Changes For NIH Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support:
Applicable to 1.)…
Deadline approaches for Presidential Public Impact Research Awards Proposals
Penn State is launching the next phase of its Presidential Public Impact Research Awards (PPIRA), which supports faculty–student research teams from the Penn State Commonwealth Campuses working alongside local partners to address pressing challenges across Pennsylvania.
Interested faculty can find…
Registration open for Open Scholarship Boot Camp on May 11-12
Penn State University Libraries’ Research Data Stewardship Department is accepting registrations for the spring 2026 Open Scholarship Boot Camp. The two-day event offers a hands-on introduction to open science practices that can enhance research transparency, rigor and impact.
The boot camp will be…
David Baker receives Mercator Fellowship from German Research Foundation
Penn State Professor of Sociology, of Education and of Demography David P. Baker has been appointed a Mercator Fellow by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), also known as the German Research Foundation.
Beginning this month, Baker will spend the next four years making regular trips to Germany’s…
Van Hook to lead data resources unit
Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) recently announced that Jennifer Van Hook, distinguished professor of sociology and demography, will become the new director of its Data Resources Hub (DRH), effective July 1.
Van Hook, who is also an SSRI cofunded faculty member and previous…
Faculty panel to discuss migration, asylum and refugee experience on April 16
The Penn State College of Arts and Architecture’s Woskob Family Gallery, located at 146 S. Allen Street in downtown State College, will host a cross-disciplinary faculty panel to discuss the current migration landscape, asylum and refugee law and on-the-ground advocacy efforts on April 16 at 4 p.m…
Thiede named new PRI director
Brian Thiede, associate professor of rural sociology, sociology, and demography, has been named the director of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State.
PRI is a multidisciplinary research center at Penn State that promotes innovative population research. Part of the Social Science…
New website shares data on the immigrant population
In the United States, immigrants without permanent residence comprise nearly one-third of the adult and child population born abroad. It is important to assess their health and service needs, yet little is known about the demographics of this group. A new website developed by Penn State researchers…
Ending birthright citizenship would impact Asians and Latinos most, study finds
Established in 1868 with the ratification of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, birthright citizenship grants citizenship to all persons born on U.S. soil regardless of the parents’ citizenship status. If birthright citizenship is ended, the number of children born without a defined legal…
Faculty, alumni gifts establish flexible fund for sociology and criminology
When Michelle Frisco, who earned a degree in administration of justice from the College of the Liberal Arts in 1994, became head of Penn State's Department of Sociology and Criminology in 2022, she saw a need and opportunity to build something the department didn't have — a flexible fund that could…
AI and Social Research event poster call
Organizers of the “AI and Social Research: Empathic AI, Metascience, and Methodology” event, taking place June 3 – 4 at Penn State’s Innovation Hub and on Zoom, are inviting early career researchers to submit a poster.
The poster submissions are an opportunity to build a robust network of…