Researchers examine link between residential and school segregation
School segregation has remained a hot-button political issue since Brown vs. Board of Education, a landmark 1954 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the justices ruled that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. New research from a Penn State…
Social science policy and communication strategies workshop
Interested in how to get your work into the hands of policymakers? Want to know how to frame your science to increase its value by decision makers and engage directly with leaders about your science?
The Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative (EIC) at Penn State is hosting the virtual workshop “Improving…
Shenk named AAAS Fellow
Congratulations to PRI Associate Mary Shenk, one of five Penn State faculty members named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society.
Story in Penn State News.
Can wearable technology predict the negative consequences of drinking?
“How much have you had to drink?” might seem like a simple question, but it is not always easy to answer. Although there are general guidelines about responsible alcohol consumption, a person’s level of intoxication depends not only on the number of drinks they consume but also on the alcohol…
Connection to racial identity may boost body image in Black youth
Adolescence can be a time filled with anxiety and insecurity about body shape and size, but a new Penn State study found that for Black youth, having a strong racial identity may help stave off these worries.
The researchers found that among Black youth between the ages of 11 and 19 with high body…
Family Symposium examines intersection of physical environment and family health
Penn State’s 29th annual Symposium on Family Issues, “Environmental Impacts on Families: Change, Challenge, and Adaptation”, examined the role of the physical environment in family relationships, behaviors, and well-being, with a focus on disasters, climate change, and the built environment.…
Parent-child separation book published
"Parent-child separation: Causes, consequences and pathways to resilience", the 12th volume in Penn State’s National Symposium on Family Issues book series, was recently published. The book is edited by PRI Director Jennifer Glick, PRI associate Valarie King, and former SSRI Director Susan M.…
Penn State professor named among most influential in shaping education
Erica Frankenberg, professor of education (educational leadership) and demography at Penn State and director of the Center for Education and Civil Rights, was recently named to the 2022 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings list of top 200 U.S.-based university scholars who influence education…
How understanding neighborhoods can help reduce tobacco use
A Penn State researcher testing a new way to assess tobacco use with a neighborhood mapping platform and in-person interviews has found that community engagement is key to addressing risky health behaviors.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United…
Connecting researchers to policymakers to optimize educational equity
A partnership between Francesca Lopez, Waterbury Chair in Equity Pedagogy and professor of education in the Penn State College of Education, and Penn State’s Research-to-Policy Collaboration was recently awarded a $250,000 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant to connect researchers with hundreds of…
E-cigs with cigarette-like nicotine delivery may help smokers quit
Electronic cigarettes with cigarette-like nicotine delivery may help some people stop smoking cigarettes, according to a new study by Penn State College of Medicine and Virginia Commonwealth University researchers. By switching to e-cigarettes, the researchers said tobacco users may reduce their…
Research finds flawed federal monitoring of students of color with disabilities
Current federal legislation and regulation that monitors for significant disproportionality in special education may be contributing to children of color with disabilities failing to receive treatments and services to which they are legally entitled, according to a Penn State College of Education…
Looking for Associate/Full Professor in Population Aging and Health
Looking For: Associate/Full Professor in Population Aging and Health
The Social Science Research Institute and the Population Research Institute (PRI) at the Pennsylvania State University invite applications for a tenured faculty member (Associate Professor or Full Professor) in the area of…
Q&A on NIH Diversity Supplements with Program Officials
Join the Social Science Research Institute for a Q&A session on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diversity Supplement program for in-place grants on December 1, 10 a.m. via Zoom.
The NIH takes seriously the need to support new generations of researchers from diverse backgrounds. An…
Van Hook appointed next director of the Population Research Institute
Dr. Jennifer Van Hook has been appointed to serve as the next director of the Population Research Institute (PRI) beginning July 1, 2022. PRI is a multidisciplinary research center at Penn State that promotes innovative population research. Part of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn…
EIC Podcast on the 2020 US Census
The 16th episode of the Evidence-to-Impact Podcast tackles all things related to the U.S. Census. We discussed the decennial Census, the data products created and released from the U.S. Census Bureau, the current demographic trends and challenges, and measuring hard-to-reach populations.
We spoke…
SSRI announces large pilot grants program
Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute invites proposals of up to $75,000 for innovative pilot research projects that contribute to SSRI’s strategic mission of fostering interdisciplinary research that addresses critical human and social problems at the local, national, and international…
Penn State educational and health disparities research featured
This video highlighting work being done at SSRI's Center for Educational Disparities Research and Child Maltreatment Solutions Network features several SSRI cofunded faculty and is currently being broadcast at the annual conference of the American Public Health Association. Research taking place at…
Penn State GIS Day virtual event to take place Nov. 16
Penn State University Libraries will observe GIS Day — an annual event celebrating the technology of geographic information systems (GIS) — with a virtual event from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
This year’s programming will highlight the geospatial research activities of Penn State…
Rural Alaska has a bridge problem as permafrost thaws and crossing river ice gets riskier with climate change
America’s bridges are in rough shape. Of the nearly 620,000 bridges over roads, rivers and other waterways across the U.S., more than 43,500 of them, about 7%, are considered “structurally deficient.”
In Alaska, bridges face a unique and growing set of problems as the planet warms.
Permafrost, the…
Taking steps toward more effective fitness trackers, more physical activity
As the popularity of fitness trackers has increased, so have the opportunities to use such devices to not only track fitness goals but also increase the motivation to meet those goals. Researchers in the College of Engineering and the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State have…
Two Penn State faculty members named to Governor Wolf's redistricting council
Lee Ann Banaszak, head of the Department of Political Science and professor of political science and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, and PRI Associate Christopher Fowler, associate professor of geography and director of the Peter R. Gould Center for Geography Education and Outreach, have…
Revised standards for in-person human subjects research
In consultation with Dr. Kevin Black, interim dean of the College of Medicine, we are updating the scope of the Revised Standards for in-person human subjects research. Effective October 1, the Revised Standards are applicable to ALL studies with an in-person research component.
Previously, human…
Morgan’s research cited
CEDR Director and PRI Associate Paul Morgan and his research team’s work discovering children's oral vocabularies by 24 months of age can predict their academic achievement and classroom behavior was cited recently by the editorial Board of the LA Times in their call for universal child care and…
Researchers address need for bridges in remote Alaska as climate warms
Bridges are increasingly critical for remote communities in rural Alaska, where global warming is causing rivers to freeze later, thaw earlier and form thinner ice. With a new grant from the National Science Foundation, researchers at Penn State plan to investigate the importance of bridges for the…