College scientists are at the forefront of the effort to identify the cause or causes of Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious ailment that has decimated honey bee colonies across the country. Our research and extension programs are helping to enhance honey bee health and ensure pollination services for crops that account for one-third of our diet.
A rapid diagnostic test for avian influenza developed by Penn State veterinary scientist Huanguang Lu was used to help curb a 2001 avian flu outbreak in Pennsylvania, potentially saving the state's poultry industry tens of millions of dollars.
College geneticists are helping develop blight-resistant American chestnut trees to re-populate Pennsylvania forests with this once-dominant hardwood species.
Penn State researchers developed a Web-based disease forecasting system that was adopted nationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to predict the potential for Asian soybean rust, an exotic disease that threatens the nation's soybean crops. The system has since been adapted and expanded to forecast the likelihood of various insect and disease outbreaks, helping growers protect their crops and reduce pesticide use.
Penn State is the lead institution on a multi-million-dollar international research and education project aimed at promoting animal biosecurity and mitigating losses from Johne's disease in livestock. Johne's disease, which is estimated to cost producers up to $500 million in the United States, also may be associated with Crohn's disease in humans.
College research is leading to solutions for the reduction of odors and gaseous emissions from agricultural facilities, including livestock and mushroom operations.
The College has one of the world's foremost research groups in the emerging field of chemical ecology, which holds great promise for environmentally friendly pest management. College scientists also are developing sensors using insect antennae to detect explosives, drugs or toxins.
One of our chemical ecologists, entomologist James Tumlinson, in 2008 was named the College's second recipient of the Wolf Prize in agriculture, regarded as the agricultural equivalent of a Nobel Prize. He was honored for his research on the chemically mediated interaction between plants and insects that has "fostered the development of integrated pest management and significantly advanced agricultural sustainability."
Our faculty and staff are developing geospatial technologies, such as geographic information systems and global positioning systems, to aid in digital mapping of farm operations and community infrastructure. The aim is to improve responses to livestock disease outbreaks and other bio-emergencies.
College researchers were the first to show that high-frequency, noncontact ultrasound can kill bacteria such as anthrax. This approach may lead to methods for decontaminating surgical equipment, food, mail, or the air handling systems in buildings and airplanes.
Researchers and extension educators in the College's Biomass Energy Center are working to develop and promote alternative energy sources that are renewable, environmentally friendly, and that expand markets for agricultural products. These include oilseed-based biodiesel fuel and hydraulic fluid, cellulosic ethanol, waste plastic, and wind power.
In light of research showing that the geological formation known as the Marcellus shale could contain $1 trillion worth of recoverable natural gas, Penn State Cooperative Extension has taken a lead role in helping landowners, communities, conservationists, and government agencies make sound decisions regarding natural gas exploration and extraction. Extension educational programs and materials address gas-rights leasing, water quality and quantity, forest impacts, land use, economic development, and other issues.
