Penn State researchers developed artificial intelligence-powered software to dynamically adjust data centers’ power usage to peak when the weather is favorable and electricity is affordable. They plan to present their work at the IEEE ITherm conference in May and integrate the software in a Harrisburg-based data center later this year.

New software could cut cooling energy use by 25% in data centers | Penn State University

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Penn State researchers developed artificial intelligence-powered software to dynamically adjust data centers’ power usage to peak when the weather is favorable and electricity is affordable. They plan to present their work at the IEEE ITherm conference in May and integrate the software in a Harrisburg-based data center later this year.

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Research

New software could cut cooling energy use by 25% in data centers

Agricultural Sciences

College of Agricultural Sciences

Hosted by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the Bay in the Balance conference brought together stakeholders from across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to explore solutions that support both productive agriculture and the water quality goals of the nation’s largest estuary.

Bay in the Balance explores agriculture as a solution to restore Chesapeake Bay | Penn State University

Hosted by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the Bay in the Balance conference brought together stakeholders from across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to explore solutions that support both productive agriculture and the water quality goals of the nation’s largest estuary.

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Chesapeake Bay

Bay in the Balance explores agriculture as a solution to restore Chesapeake Bay

Neeli&nbsp;Bendapudi&nbsp;has received the 2026 Impact Innovations Award for her leadership in making real-world impact a central part of&nbsp;Penn State's research mission.&nbsp;

President Bendapudi receives national ARIS Impact Innovations Award for advancing public impact research | Penn State University

Neeli Bendapudi has received the 2026 Impact Innovations Award for her leadership in making real-world impact a central part of Penn State's research mission. 

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President Bendapudi receives national ARIS Impact Innovations Award for advancing public impact research 

Thirty-one graduate students receive awards at the 2026 Graduate Exhibition

Woskob family’s philanthropic legacy grows with latest $1M commitment

Piazza Center releases hazing prevention report

Penn State to host fourth annual Student Sustainability Summit on Earth Day

Things to Do at Penn State: April 9-16

Penn State announces 2026 University-wide faculty and staff awards

Penn Staters encouraged to advocate during Capital Day events 

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Kelley Lynch comes forward with far-reaching gift to enhance student success

Four Penn State faculty members elected AAAS Fellows

Female veterans faced steeper well-being declines after COVID-19, study finds

Penn State Blue-White practice slated for 1 p.m. start

House resolution recognizes April 8 as ‘THON Day’ across Pennsylvania

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain returns to Eisenhower Auditorium April 9

Workshop to discuss AI’s transformative impact on the economy, society 

The Medical Minute: Latest Parkinson’s treatments help patients stay active

Callejo Pérez to serve as interim regional chancellor for northeast campuses

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Inaugural Penn State Innovation to Impact Awards recipients announced

$6M Department of Energy grant supports workforce development in nuclear energy

Penn State programs shine in 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject

'Rich in memory and gone too soon': Centre Stage presents ‘Our Town’

R-VOICE Center to host April events for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

The Medical Minute: Tossing and turning? Five ways to get a good night’s sleep

Penn State announces 2026 University-wide undergraduate student awards

Kump to conclude deanship, legacy marked by new presidential award

Penn State Faculty unionization election set for April 1 to May 6

Penn State launches new Military Appreciation site before Medal of Honor Day

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One for the thumb: Lions clinch fifth straight wrestling national championship 

Women's ice hockey concludes historic season at Frozen Four

2026 Osaze Osagie Memorial Lecture to feature Chamique Holdsclaw

Penn State Altoona earns Level I Arboretum accreditation from ArbNet

2026 Happy Valley Animation Festival to showcase award-winning international works

Engineering Dean Peeples to serve as special adviser to provost on student success

Penn State community invited to attend 2026 Graduate Exhibition on March 27

Emily Metzgar named dean of the Penn State Bellisario College of Communications

Penn State network helps communities turn opioid funds into lifesaving action

The Medical Minute: Is 'Dr. ChatGPT' doing more harm than good?

Lil Wayne to bring 2026 tour to Bryce Jordan Center for Sept. 18 football weekend

Capital Day returns April 14 encouraging Penn Staters to support state funding

Things to Do at Penn State: March 19-26

Penn State Berkey Creamery serves up heated competition during 'Flavor Madness'

Targeting two flu proteins sharply reduces airborne spread

Librarian Marian Paroo leads ‘The Music Man’ April 7 in Eisenhower Auditorium

Strengthening western Pennsylvania’s innovation and workforce ecosystem

Teens and young adults with ADHD and substance use disorder face treatment gap

President Bendapudi appears before House Appropriations Committee

College of Ag Sciences, Penn State Extension, at forefront of avian flu response

Things to Do at Penn State: March 12-19

Q&A: Gassing up bioengineered materials for wound healing

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Around Campus

More research news

Eberly College of Science

New research has now revealed that iron telluride, a compound composed of the chemical elements iron and tellurium and long thought to be an ordinary magnetic metal, is in fact a superconductor.

Superconductivity switched on in material once thought only magnetic | Penn State University

New research has now revealed that iron telluride, a compound composed of the chemical elements iron and tellurium and long thought to be an ordinary magnetic metal, is in fact a superconductor.

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Superconductivity switched on in material once thought only magnetic

In this Q&amp;A, Jae Wan Ahn, Penn State’s first Pennsylvania Legislative Science and Technology Policy Fellow, discussed his contributions to a recent Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission report on the evolution of artificial intelligence and the related applications, policy recommendations and regulatory considerations across key sectors.

Q&A: How will policy shape the future of AI in Pennsylvania? | Penn State University

In this Q&A, Jae Wan Ahn, Penn State’s first Pennsylvania Legislative Science and Technology Policy Fellow, discussed his contributions to a recent Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission report on the evolution of artificial intelligence and the related applications, policy recommendations and regulatory considerations across key sectors.

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Q&A: How will policy shape the future of AI in Pennsylvania?

The number of children born in the U.S. without a defined legal status may reach 6.4 million by 2050 if birthright citizenship is ended, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers.

Ending birthright citizenship would impact Asians and Latinos most, study finds | Penn State University

The number of children born in the U.S. without a defined legal status may reach 6.4 million by 2050 if birthright citizenship is ended, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers.

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Ending birthright citizenship would impact Asians and Latinos most, study finds

Featured Research

A new study, led by a team from Penn State College of Medicine, found that when teenagers go to sleep and when they wake up may be the driving force behind what teenagers eat and how much they move. Teens who went to sleep later and woke up later were more likely to consume more calories, snack more and be less physically active — especially when in school compared to on break from school.

Study: Teens' sleep patterns affect their diet, exercise

A thick layer of haze around the ultra-low-density planet Kepler-51d likely obscures not only the strange planet’s composition, but also its origin, according to a new study. A team led by Penn State researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to take a deeper look at the “super-puff” planet that defies planetary formation models.

'Cotton candy’ planet hides its secrets beneath a massive layer of haze

Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers discovered that lightning-like discharge doesn’t require a storm cloud — it could be made inside everyday material on a lab bench.

Researchers make mini-lightning in a block of plastic

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi shared her thoughts in a new blog in Forbes highlighting the importance of valuing people in the age of AI — and how universities like Penn State are preparing students for the workplaces of the future.

Why People Are The Smartest AI Investment—And What It Means For Universities

Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, may be better suited by a new name: Tardiguardians of the Galaxy. Unlike the fictional ragtag team of unenthusiastic heroes, the microscopic animals are providing real insight into how humans could adapt extraterrestrial resources to support space exploration, as well as whether such resources could help protect against the Earthly contaminants that humans might shed. This is according to an international study co-led by Penn State Altoona Professor of Microbiology Corien Bakermans.

‘Water bears’ reveal potential for adapting, protecting Martian resources

Thunderstorms often illuminate the night sky with flashes of lightning. They also seem to make treetops glow and sparkle — although the phenomenon is pretty much invisible to the naked eye. In a study led by Penn State published Feb. 12 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists provide the first direct observations of the weak electrical discharges around trees in nature.

Scientists capture first-ever ultraviolet 'sparkles' from treetops

Penn State researchers have developed a new high-temperature polymer capacitor that can store four times more energy than conventional designs while operating at temperatures up to 482 degrees Fahrenheit. The advance could improve power systems in electric vehicles, data centers, aerospace systems and other high-heat environments where today’s capacitors quickly fail.

New plastic material could solve energy storage challenge, researchers report

A new study offers a look at how the building blocks of life might have originated in the cosmos. Penn State scientists suggest that the amino acids found on the asteroid Bennu did not require warm, liquid water to form, as previously assumed. The team analyzed tiny samples, consisting of roughly 4.6-billion-year-old rocks, delivered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to Earth in 2023.

Radioactive space can host building blocks of life, asteroid samples reveal

Researchers at Penn State say they’ve developed a new hydrogel material inspired by octopus skin that can encode images directly into its structure. The imprinted images then disappear and reappear when the skin is exposed to subtle changes in temperature or a surrounding solvent. The result is a “4D” synthetic smart skin capable of revealing hidden images and shifting surface patterns.

Study: Octopus-inspired material could lead to better camouflage tech

How a new father behaves toward his baby can change family dynamics in a way that affects the child’s heart and metabolic health years later, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.

Early dad's involvement linked to lasting child health, study finds

About half of older men suffer from sleep problems, back pain or both, according to Soomi Lee, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. Lee recently led a study to investigate whether one precedes the other and found that back problems can predict sleep problems years later in men over 65 years old.

Study: Back pain might predict future sleep problems among men

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi was featured in a CEO Magazine interview highlighting her belief in the transformative power of higher education and her efforts to expand access, advance ethical innovation, and strengthen the university’s educational, research, and economic impact.

President of PSU is redefining the power of education to transform lives

A new study led by researchers at Penn State found melanoma case rates tracking higher in counties with higher areas of cultivated land, where the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides can be higher.

Penn State study finds higher incidence of skin cancers in Pa.’s Farm Belt

In a significant advancement for materials science, scientists have successfully created niobium sulfide metallic nanotubes with stable, predictable properties for the first time. An international team, including Penn State researchers, achieved the long-sought feat using an unexpected ingredient—common table salt. According to researchers, the discovery could pave the way for faster electronics, efficient superconducting wires, and future quantum technologies.

Study: Common salt helps create nanomaterial for high-speed electronics

Researchers at Penn State have proposed a novel design for a lithium-ion (Li) battery. It could address the long-standing performance and stability issues of standard Li batteries in extreme temperatures. The design, dubbed the All-Climate Battery (ACB), was developed to fix a core flaw in standard Li batteries.

‘All-Climate Battery’ developed at Penn State could keep EVs running in extreme heat, cold

The discovery of a possible “super-Earth” less than 20 light-years from our own planet is offering scientists new hope in the hunt for other worlds that could harbor life, according to an international team including researchers from Penn State. They dubbed the exoplanet, named GJ 251 c, a “super-Earth” as data suggest it is almost four times as massive as the Earth and likely to be rocky planet.