Center for Socially Responsible AI invites seed funding proposals
Penn State’s Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI) invites short proposals for its annual seed funding program. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 1, with projects expected to start in spring 2024 and last up to two years.
Complete details on the program…
Australia offers lessons for increasing American life expectancy
Despite being home to some of the world’s most dangerous animals, Australia has led the English-speaking world in life expectancy for the last three decades. As for other high-income Anglophone countries, the Irish saw the largest gains in life expectancy, while Americans have finished dead last…
Pregnant women may not be drinking enough water, researchers report
Maternal under-hydration during pregnancy is associated with a range of negative birth outcomes, including low levels of adequate amniotic fluid and plasma, disrupted fetal brain development and risk of low birth weight, according to guidelines from the American Pregnancy Association and…
$5M grant to engage Indigenous communities in climate change research
Indigenous communities around the globe face profound threats from climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. Now, an international team that includes researchers from Penn State have been awarded $5 million by the U.S. National Science Foundation, along with funding from Canada, the…
Global Social Science Research Impact Grants
Through a partnership between the Center for Global Studies and the Social Science Research Institute, Global Social Science Research Impact Grants support tenured and tenure-track social science faculty at University Park with a grant of up to $5,000 to advance global social science…
Professor’s new book examines universities’ role in advancing science
The last century has been a remarkable period of scientific discovery. And one of the primary drivers of it? Universities like Penn State, according to Professor of Sociology, Education and Demography David P. Baker.
That’s the main takeaway of “Global Mega-Science: Universities, Research…
Damaske featured on in Atlantic article on retirement
Retirement Gets Harder the Longer You Wait
For men like Joe Biden—highly educated, employed past 65, strongly tied to work—stepping away can pose its own risks to health and happiness.
By Charley Locke
When President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he was ending his campaign for…
Impacts of protests focus of new research funding
Protests can direct attention toward an injustice, but some activist group tactics may turn people away rather than align them with the cause. A team of researchers at Penn State are launching a project to better understand how protests and other activist group approaches impact how people think…
MPI Issues Latest Estimates of the Size and Origins of the U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) today released its latest estimates of the size of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States, pegging the number at 11.3 million in mid-2022. That figure is up from 11.2 million in 2021 and 11.0 million in 2019. Penn State's Migration…
Faculty success and equity workshop registration now open
Registration is now open for the “Initiative for Faculty Success and Equity Workshop (IFSE)” to be held from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 19, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
The workshop — sponsored by the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), the Office of the…
Thiede named interim director of PRI’s CSA Core
Brian Thiede, associate professor of rural sociology and demography, has been appointed as the interim director of the Computational and Spatial Analysis Core (CSA) of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State. His appointment begins July 1.
Thiede is a demographer and…
Secure access to food and water decreasing for US children
Between 2005 and 2020, the number of children facing simultaneous water and food insecurity in the United States more than doubled. Additionally, Black and Hispanic children were several times more likely than white children to experience food and water insecurity at the same time. This is…
College Shapes Black, White, and Latina Women’s Work and Family Lives Differently
Having a college education shapes women’s work and family trajectories—including their marriage, parenting, and employment patterns—but the effects of education differ among Black, Latina, and white women, according to new research in the journal Demography.
Here are some of the key findings…
Assistant professor of sociology and public policy receives Roy C. Buck Award
Sarah Brothers, assistant professor of sociology and public policy and Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member, is the recipient of the 2024 College of Liberal Arts' Roy C Buck Award.
This award recognizes the best paper accepted or published by…
President Bendapudi visits SSRI
Recently, Penn State President Dr. Neeli Bendapudi visited SSRI to learn about our institute and the important research being conducted in the social sciences at Penn State. After a welcome from SSRI Director Deborah Ehrenthal, President Bendapudi heard highlights from SSRI core research resources…
Dehydration in middle-aged and older adults may lead to attention challenges
Dehydration can lead to a wide array of mild to severe symptoms, from temporary inconveniences on mood to life-threatening concerns. Researchers in the Penn State Department of Biobehavioral Health studied how dehydration affects cognitive performance. They found that even mild…
Professor wins diversity mentorship funds to bring Texas student to Penn State
It was a presentation he never intended to do, yet it changed the entire outlook of his post-undergraduate journey. Little did Michael Segovia know, his presentation at an October conference in warm San Antonio, Texas, would a bring him to chilly State College in February for a post baccalaureate…
Damaske featured on NPR's Marketplace, AP, more
PRI Associate Director Sarah Damaske was featured on NPR's Marketplace on May 15 in the story "A greater percentage of women are working than ever before."
In the piece, Damasked notes women’s work patterns have come to look more like men’s in that more women, especially women with college…
'Research Art Collection' showcase in Old Main
The Office of the Senior Vice President for Research at Penn State hosted an open house for the “Research Art Collection” on April 25. The collection showcases the fine balance between art and research through various displays. From cassowary bird scans to bio-manufactured fashion to sustainable…
Many people in the Arctic are staying put despite climate change, study reports
Temperatures are rising rapidly in the Arctic, raising questions about how communities are coping in the shifting climate. A team led by Penn State researchers reviewed studies from the past 30 years to examine whether these challenges are causing people to migrate out of the area — or if, and why…
SSRI celebrates accomplishments, staff awards
Faculty and staff from all of SSRI's units recently gathered at the Hintz Family Alumni Center to celebrate major accomplishments of the year and to announce staff awards.
Elise Dreibelbis from the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness was awarded the “Workplace Climate Award”. The award…
Why Social Science? - Because We Need to Show Up to Have Our Voices Heard: Reflections from COSSA’s 2024 Social Science Advocacy Day
By Dr. Laura Widman (North Carolina State University); Dr. Aaryn L. Green (American Sociological Association); and Emma Southern (American University)
This month's Why Social Science? post comes from three participants from this year's Social Science Advocacy Day who reflected upon…
Fentanyl and COVID-19 pandemic reshaped racial profile of overdose deaths in US
For as long as statistics about opioid overdose deaths have been collected in the United States, white individuals have been much more likely to die than Black individuals of the same age. With the rapidly increasing rate of fentanyl overdoses in the late 2010s, that trend began to…
Midcareer Faculty Advancement Program offers pathway to promotion
Like many tenured faculty members at Penn State, José Soto took some time before deciding to take the necessary steps to achieve his next big career goal — a promotion to full professor.
“Promotion was something I had thought about, but had made a conscious decision to not worry about…
Climate change may affect kinship care patterns in Africa
Shifting weather caused by climate change, especially drought and heat, is linked to a rise in the number of children being raised outside of their biological parents’ households in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. The findings highlight the effects climate…