The 59th annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts returns to the streets of downtown State College and Penn State’s University Park campus from Wednesday, July 9, through Sunday, July 13.

2025 Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts to be held July 9-13 | Penn State University

title

The 59th annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts returns to the streets of downtown State College and Penn State’s University Park campus from Wednesday, July 9, through Sunday, July 13.

description

abstract

robots

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2023/07/xpm_0047-2.jpg?h=c282529e&itok=AYQCUZrl

Campus Life

2025 Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts to be held July 9-13

An ancient society near the southern shores of Lake Titicaca in modern-day Bolivia was once one of the continent’s most powerful civilizations. Known as Tiwanaku, the ancient society is widely considered by archaeologists to be one of the earliest examples of civilization in the Andes and a precursor of the Inca empire, but it mysteriously disappeared about a thousand years ago. Now, a team led by scientists at Penn State and in Bolivia have discovered a Tiwanaku temple, shedding new light on what the society looked like in its prime.

Ancient temple ruins discovered in Andes shed light on lost society | Penn State University

An ancient society near the southern shores of Lake Titicaca in modern-day Bolivia was once one of the continent’s most powerful civilizations. Known as Tiwanaku, the ancient society is widely considered by archaeologists to be one of the earliest examples of civilization in the Andes and a precursor of the Inca empire, but it mysteriously disappeared about a thousand years ago. Now, a team led by scientists at Penn State and in Bolivia have discovered a Tiwanaku temple, shedding new light on what the society looked like in its prime.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2025/06/tiwanaku-landscape.jpg?h=31383642&itok=AFFR-UDw

Research

Ancient temple ruins discovered in Andes shed light on lost society

An estimated 7.2 million Americans — or one in nine people over the age of 65 — has Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, there is no cure for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and available medications largely target symptoms in the later stages of the disease. In this Q&amp;A, Scott Selleck, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, discusses his research on how neurodegenerative conditions progress and how to potentially stop them.

Q&A: The quest to halt neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease | Penn State University

An estimated 7.2 million Americans — or one in nine people over the age of 65 — has Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, there is no cure for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and available medications largely target symptoms in the later stages of the disease. In this Q&A, Scott Selleck, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, discusses his research on how neurodegenerative conditions progress and how to potentially stop them.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2025/06/scott-selleck.png?h=86a9f3c8&itok=dYgDW0kM

Q&A: The quest to halt neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease

2024-psu-universitypark-fosteringlions-2.jpg

6_2_50.jpeg

Leading with determination: A journey from adversity to advocacy 

sprouts-shenango.jpg

Commonwealth Campuses promote wellness, education through gardens

24 4 11-Food Recovery Network-1007

Feeding a community: How one student is turning food waste into donated meals

medsim-hero-4x1-v2.mp4

central-line-simulation-training.jpg

Re-engineering medical simulation training for the next generation of physicians

mark-6_lr_la.jpg

Undergraduate learning assistants support their peers in the classroom

348593327_153737744195233_6925217822016495965_n.jpg

24-3-26-rodriquez-najee-0002.jpg

Advocating for fellow students 

Honey Queen crown

cheyenne-pst.png

Creating a buzz about agriculture

23 10 25-Student Farm Market_HUB-002wide

24 1 24-Jimmy Alamia-006

Making healthy food accessible: Student leads pay-what-you-can farmer’s market 

fungi-into-the-future_4x1-hero.mp4

fungi-pst-thumbbnail.jpg

Fungi into the future

julia-chen-banner.jpg

annealer.jpg

Hands-on experience: Undergraduate at the forefront of ‘cutting-edge innovation’

2023-05-10-baseball-psuac-champions-hero.jpg

Commonwealth Campus athletics offer students community, opportunity

lionglass-sample.jpg

A new glass for the future: Taking LionGlass out of the lab and into the market

5-22-23-critical-minerals-hero.mp4

Mission critical: To get critical minerals and rare earth metals from coal waste

Resiliency in disaster recovery

Resiliency in recovery: Exploring structural strength in devastated communities

03-07-23-solari-yucatan-hero-480-v1.mp4

Worlds Collide: Art history and materials science in the Yucatán

mcphillips-_videoheaderv1.mp4

Greening the grey: Engineering natural solutions for stormwater management

StreamSample-VariousPlastic.jpg

Sounding the alarm on microplastic pollution

Adaptive Architecture hero v3

Designed to Adapt: Living materials are the future of sustainable building

Ron Markle with student

Eberly College of Science works toward better health care, one student at a time

BSMBA students at NYSE

Eberly’s integrated B.S./MBA program combines science and business

photo-for-bam-event_4x3.jpg

QA-8 Single Feature Image (feature_story)

070504_nittany_lion_statue13.jpg

QA-7 Single Feature Image

Wilkes-Barre surveying engineering program receives national award

Five new members elected to Penn State Smeal Alumni Society Board

Penn State DuBois, Metaltech launch battery project with Manufacturing PA grant

'(N)SO excited to meet you': Get to know orientation leader Delilah Jones

IST alumnus leverages Nittany AI Alliance experience into full-time career

Nicholas J. Maiale remembered as distinguished alumnus and Abington supporter  

Skin-like sensor monitors internal, external body movement, electrical signals 

Young members of Penn State filmmaking network move project toward completion

Penn State student-athletes shine in the classroom in spring semester 2025

Structure of tick-borne virus revealed at atomic resolution for the first time

Measuring how – and where – Antarctic ice is cracking with new data tool

Grad student earns NSF fellowship to study rotator cuff tears

Latest News

25 6 26-hydrangea bush Hintz Alumni Center

POTD-25 6 14-Juneteenth Block Party

POTD-25 6 6-Special Olympics PA- 800m

25-5-9-POTD-graduates hug-101.jpg

25-4-26-blue-white-0010.jpg

photo-contest-spring-2025_bethany-stitzer.jpeg

lambing-banner.jpg

25-4-15-staff_arboretum-dan-frechen.jpg

POTD-25 3 26_Bike Den-Fritz Kessler 

25-4-2-pscs_alice-in-wonderland-banner-2.jpg

25 4 25-POTD-Sustainable Project Tree-0001

Around Campus

More research news

Engineering

College of Engineering

A research group, including several Penn State researchers, developed a computational model to streamline flood prediction in the continental United States. Their model, which they call a differentiable routing model, incorporates physical readings — like temperature and river height — into a system that uses artificial intelligence to simulate and predict water movement.

Improving predictions of flood severity, place and time with AI | Penn State University

A research group, including several Penn State researchers, developed a computational model to streamline flood prediction in the continental United States. Their model, which they call a differentiable routing model, incorporates physical readings — like temperature and river height — into a system that uses artificial intelligence to simulate and predict water movement.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2025/07/250305-psn-chaopeng-shen-water.jpg?h=19ad3fdd&itok=Qiv3BFZd

Improving predictions of flood severity, place and time with AI 

Earth and Mineral Sciences

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

A patch of the Atlantic Ocean just south of Greenland is cooling while much of the world warms. The origin of this “cold blob” has been linked to weakening ocean currents that help regulate global climate — called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Penn State researchers have found a weakening AMOC impacts not just the ocean but also the atmosphere, and that these two factors may contribute equally to the cold anomaly.

Ocean, atmosphere equally responsible for Atlantic ‘cold blob,’ scientists find | Penn State University

A patch of the Atlantic Ocean just south of Greenland is cooling while much of the world warms. The origin of this “cold blob” has been linked to weakening ocean currents that help regulate global climate — called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Penn State researchers have found a weakening AMOC impacts not just the ocean but also the atmosphere, and that these two factors may contribute equally to the cold anomaly. 

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2025/06/nasa-cold-blog.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=0SYNVVOB

Ocean, atmosphere equally responsible for Atlantic ‘cold blob,’ scientists find

Agricultural Sciences

College of Agricultural Sciences

Humans may not be the only species that struggles to eat the right amounts of the ideal foods. A new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests that what bumble bees choose to eat may not line up with their ideal nutritional needs.

What a bumble bee chooses to eat may not match ideal diet | Penn State University

Humans may not be the only species that struggles to eat the right amounts of the ideal foods. A new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests that what bumble bees choose to eat may not line up with their ideal nutritional needs.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2025/07/photo-by-neringa-normantaite-on-unsplash.png?h=6eb229a4&itok=9I8Kh5uS

What a bumble bee chooses to eat may not match ideal diet

Featured Research

Scientists at Penn State uncovered an ancient temple in the Bolivian Andes, offering archaeologists rare new insights into the Tiwanaku civilization, a once-powerful society that existed over a thousand years ago and was a precursor to the Inca empire before it mysteriously disappeared.

Temple that mysteriously vanished 1,000 years ago revealed in PSU study

During a watch party on campus, the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics celebrated the reveal of the first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the LSST, an international project that includes Penn State researchers such as Niel Brandt and Donald Schneider.

First cosmic images from the Legacy Survey of Space and Time reveal never-before-seen glimpses of space

Vinciya Pandian, associate dean for Graduate Education and nursing professor at the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, talks all that is digital publishing, experience with Scholastica, and upcoming publication development goals.

Going all digital to reach more scholars: community conversation with ORL - Head and Neck Nursing

A team that includes Penn State astronomer Stephanie Wissel takes advantage of the ANITA mission to help explain a decade-long mystery of a strange signal detected under the Antarctic ice.

Strange signals detected from Antarctic ice seem to defy laws of physics. Scientists are searching for an answer

This letter authored by heads and chairs of chemistry departments around the country, including Penn State's Kenneth Knappenberger Jr., stresses the importance of research funding in chemistry research, which drives advances in medicine, energy, materials science, and environmental sustainability.

US must support chemistry research

Father's and father figures walking their daughters down the aisle remains popular, but Beth Montemurro, distinguished professor sociology at Penn State Abington, said modern brides often "hold on to some wedding traditions and reject others that are more blatantly patriarchal.” She has researched wedding culture, which is still rooted in "family and relationships."

Why This Father-Daughter Wedding Tradition Endures

Several years ago, a cosmic particle detector in Antarctica observed a series of unusual radio signals, according to an international research group that includes scientists from Penn State. The strange radio pulses were detected between 2016 and 2018 by NASA’s Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna, a range of instruments flown on balloons high above Antarctica that are designed to detect radio waves from cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere, and a new study provides additional context to the nearly decade-old results.

Scientists discover bizarre signals coming from ice in Antarctica

The list of treatments for low back pain is endless, but few offer relief for the one in four Americans who suffer from this persistent pain and leading cause of disability globally. The good news? A multi-institutional team, led by researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found that eight weeks of either mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) training led to meaningful improvements among adults with chronic low back pain that’s currently treated with opioids and had not responded to prior treatments.

Chronic back pain? Study finds these 2 therapies helped people feel better

New research by Penn State astronomer Kevin Luhman clarifies the lowest mass at which brown dwarfs—the least massive stars—exist.

James Webb Space Telescope discovers smallest 'failed stars' ever seen

Fragrances and lotions don't just change the way people smell, they actively alter the indoor air chemistry around the wearer, disrupting a critical natural process the body uses to protect itself from pollution, according to an international research team that includes scientists from Penn State.

Study: Perfume and lotion disrupt body's natural air cleaning system

Looking to cut calories? Scientists at Penn State believe that spices trick the body into wanting less food and cause people to eat a fifth less than if they have a milder meal.

Spicy foods can slow down eating and cut calorie intake, study suggests

People often cheat to win money, get prizes, or beat others. But what if there’s nothing to gain except feeling good about yourself? Would people still bend the rules just to feel a bit smarter, more accomplished, or healthier? New research led by Penn State University says yes—and shows exactly how and why they do it.

The hidden way you might be cheating yourself, according to research

Lithium-ion batteries have become the norm for electric vehicles and electronics, but their liquid electrolyte design pales in comparison to solid-state electrolyte versions. However, manufacturing hurdles and high production costs have limited the adoption of solid-state batteries, a challenge Penn State researchers are working to solve.

PSU researchers discover process that could unleash futuristic batteries

Donna Fick, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing's Elouise Ross Eberly Professor and Director of the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, was among four others elected to the Berea College Board of Trustees, serving a six-year term.

Berea College Board of Trustees elects five new members

Former President Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Among men in the U.S., prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Geoff Bennett spoke with Dr. Jay Raman, chair of the Department of Urology at Penn State Health.

After Biden’s diagnosis, a look at prostate cancer’s impact on men in the U.S.

Controlling sound has long been a staple of science fiction and fantasy. In Dune, the cone of silence allows characters to converse privately, even in open spaces. The eerie billboards of Blade Runner 2049 whisper advertisements into the ears of those passing by. Now, a new study led by Penn State has precisely narrowed where sound is perceived by creating localized pockets of sound zones, called audible enclaves.