UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Research Unplugged, the popular series of stimulating conversation with Penn State researchers, returns to Schlow Centre Region Library in October.
Research Unplugged is presented in collaboration with Penn State’s Office of Government and Community Relations and will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. each Thursday in October in Schlow Library’s Downsbrough Community Room.
The fall schedule begins Oct. 4 with “Climate Change and National Security: People not Polar Bears.” David Titley, founding director of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, will cover the basic science and greatest challenges of climate change from a variety of perspectives.
On Oct. 11, Kathleen Keller from Penn State’s Department of Nutritional Sciences and Food Science will talk about “Children’s Food Preferences: Raising Healthy Eaters in an Unhealthy Food Environment.” Why do some children like vegetables while others flat out reject them? How do our food preferences change over time? Can we grow to love foods that we initially dislike? All these questions and more will be answered.
“Factors & Barriers to Adoption of Sustainable Structural Materials: A Case Study of the New Kensington Urban Renewal Program” will be held Oct. 18. Esther Obonyo from Penn State’s Department of Architectural Engineering will discuss the factors and barriers to reinventing the Rust Belt’s smaller cities such as New Kensington. The environment within these areas is characterized by crumbling streets, empty factories, abandoned buildings, blighted neighborhoods, and desolate downtowns.
The fall schedule wraps up Oct. 25 with “Evan Pugh’s Penn State: America’s Model Agricultural College.” Roger Williams, former executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association, will talk about Pugh’s efforts to build America’s first successful agricultural college at Penn State.
All Research Unplugged events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit schlowlibrary.org.