Research

Celebrating Noll Laboratory’s 50th anniversary

Commemoration events celebrating 50 years of Noll Laboratory will be held on Nov. 20 to honor the lab’s legacy of innovation and research

Credit: Photo and graphic design by Dennis Maney / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Dedicated in 1973, Noll Laboratory was the nation’s first free-standing, independent research facility devoted to the multidisciplinary study of the interaction between physical activity and the environment.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the Penn State Department of Kinesiology will host three events celebrating the lab’s research and commitment to the field of human performance over the last 50 years.

Historical marker unveiling ceremony

A new historical marker will be unveiled just outside the entrance to Noll Laboratory, part of an event sharing the lab’s history and impact and including speeches from keynote speakers and lab affiliates.

Speakers will include Lacy Alexander, professor of kinesiology; Craig Newschaffer, Raymond E. and Erin Stuart Schultz Dean of the Penn State College of Health and Human Development and professor of biobehavioral health; John Bartholomew, head and professor of kinesiology; Jerry Dempsey, professor emeritus of population health sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, American Physiological Society representative; W. Larry Kenny professor of physiology and kinesiology and Marie Underhill Noll Chair in Human Performance; and others.

The unveiling ceremony is free and open for all to attend.

Historical lecture

Following the historical marker unveiling ceremony, Jim Pawelczyk, associate professor of physiology and kinesiology, will deliver a historical lecture in 117 Freeman Auditorium in the HUB-Robeson Center.

The lecture will feature the innovative physiology and kinesiology research conducted in Noll Laboratory that has taken place during the lab’s five-decade history.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Commemoration reception

After the historical lecture, the Department of Kinesiology will host a reception with light refreshments to conclude the celebration of Noll Laboratory’s 50th anniversary. The reception will be held in 122 Heritage Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center.

This reception is free and open to the public, but registration is required to attend.

Details and RSVP

To learn more details about these three events and to RSVP, please visit the Noll Lab 50th Commemoration Celebration page.

Last Updated September 25, 2024

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