Fighting Climate Change Starts Locally From sea level rise to extreme weather events, the impacts of climate change are felt by all across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Powerful storms and increased precipitation lead to nutrient pollution from runoff and stream erosion, higher temperatures can cause species to shift their habitat range and have human health [...]
Taking Action for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice 2020 has brought unprecedented change to our world, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, protests against systemic racism, and welcomed discussions about ensuring that diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) goals are actualized and institutionalized. One of the many benefits of the Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) umbrella of [...]
Research in the Time of COVID-19 In the midst of great uncertainty brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Chesapeake Research Consortium’s (CRC) seven member institutions have shown resilience and adaptivity in conducting research, both in maintaining essential research but also in pursuing new and innovative research avenues. While we highlight how members of [...]
How member institutions are managing under the new COVID-19 restrictions As states across the U.S. have issued social distancing orders to slow the spread of the COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (also known as COVID-19), universities and research centers have had to make major adjustments to their scientific operations. Like everybody else, this is also true for [...]
Dutton Institute Help Faculty Transtion to Online Learning Allen Kimel, associate teaching professor of materials science and engineering, successfully transitioned a course that requires group presentations to a dozen outside judges to Zoom with help from learning designers at Penn State. Credit: Penn State The Dutton Institute at Penn State had been working [...]
Using Watershed Data to Determine Cost-Effective BMPs A study from researchers at Penn State and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides a case study that using site-specific watershed data to determine the most cost-effective agricultural best management practices (BMPs) is not only less expensive, but equally effective. Researchers used the Spring Creek watershed — which drains an [...]
Understanding the Factors that Impact Climate Risk Management Strategies Planners use all kinds of projections to understand how climate change will affect infrastructure, but all projections are based on assumptions that change their outcomes. Decision makers are tasked with weighing different projections to design cost effective risk management strategies to protect populations from rising seas. [...]
Penn State Researcher Helps Farmers Choose the Best Cover Crop Mix Nutrient pollution remains a major challenge for the Chesapeake Bay, but planting cover crops may be one of the strongest best management practices that farmers can use to reduce their impact. Dr. Jason Kaye of Penn State has spent a decade researching cover crop [...]
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) are opportunities for students to spend a summer pursuing a research project at a hosting institution. These opportunities are funded by the National Science Foundation, and students spend usually 10 weeks working closely with an academic mentor, presenting their findings, and even going on field trips. All 7 of CRC's member [...]
Penn State Researchers Find Central Pennsylvania Farmland Resilient to Erosion Central Pennsylvania farmland may not erode as quickly as expected due to geology and land-use history, according to Penn State researchers. “Land-use history and the underlying geology go hand-in-hand,” said Perri Silverhart, a master’s student in the Department of Geosciences at Penn State. “The places [...]
