The strength of the College of IST is demonstrated through the successes and accomplishments of its students, faculty, alumni, and programs. Read more about how the college and its people are driving innovative change and taking on the challenges of the Information Age.
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Penn State junior Jessica Strait named Cargill Global Scholar
August 7, 2020
Jessica Strait, a Penn State junior studying Applied Data Sciences, has earned a spot in the 2020 Cargill Global Scholars program.
Candice Sheaffer named College of IST student marshal for summer commencement
August 7, 2020
The College of Information Sciences and Technology has named Candice Sheaffer as student marshal for the University’s summer 2020 commencement. Sheaffer will earn her degree in security and risk analysis, information and cyber security option, through Penn State World Campus.
Associate dean for undergraduate and graduate studies hired in College of IST
August 4, 2020
Jeffrey Bardzell has been named associate dean for undergraduate and graduate studies in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, effective Aug. 1.
IST alumnus, student partner for virtual pet-adoption-internship experience
July 30, 2020
When College of Information Sciences and Technology alumnus Kurt Heslop needed to update the website for an Oregon-based animal shelter, for which he serves on the board, he sought out a Penn State student to help complete the task.
Building an image classifier to aid in disaster response
July 28, 2020
This spring, students in the data sciences capstone course at the College of Information Sciences and Technology worked with a team of MIT Lincoln Laboratory Beaver Works researchers to make real-world contributions toward improving image classifiers for disaster response.
Nonprofit provides STEAM education to underserved youth in Atlanta
July 28, 2020
Joe Lewis, a 2010 graduate of the College of Information Sciences and Technology, created a nonprofit organization to give children in underserved communities in Atlanta the opportunity to learn about and experience technology after noticing disparities that existed in the city's school syst
Students using AI to help reshape public transportation during COVID-19
July 28, 2020
Penn State students are using artificial intelligence to analyze how COVID-19 is affecting the number of people who telework and the impact that will make on public transportation in Philadelphia.
Project-based learning leads to leadership role for College of IST alumna
July 22, 2020
Shara Beach Ryan’s list of career experiences is quite extensive — she has worked as an advertising campaign manager, front-end developer, business analyst, project and product manager, marketer and user-interface designer.
Learning designers and faculty show quick collaboration in times of change
July 21, 2020
Educators and instructional and learning designers at Penn State have been key elements of the pivot to remote instruction as the University works to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alumnus-driven startup aids IST students seeking internship experiences
July 20, 2020
When the novel coronavirus pandemic struck, and many College of Information Sciences and Technology students faced challenges in securing summer internships due to public health guidelines, an IST alumnus rose to the occasion to help students get the experience they needed.
Penn State sophomore runs summer STEM program for underprivileged children
July 15, 2020
As a child, Rahil Mehta found that many science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts weren't taught in a participatory way.
IST student awarded Erickson Discovery Grant to further Tumblr research
July 1, 2020
Courtney Smith, a rising Penn State junior studying security and risk analysis, recently received a 2020 Erickson Discovery Grant to further her research on parasocial relationships between 18- to 25-year-old Tumblr bloggers and celebrities.
Center for Security Research and Education announces seed grant awardees
June 30, 2020
The Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE) has selected 13 interdisciplinary projects through its spring 2020 seed grant program.
Hacker bootcamp: Alumnus creates cybersecurity experience for IST students
June 29, 2020
With students in the College of Information Sciences and Technology having offers rescinded from their internship placements, one alumnus launched an eight-week virtual hacker bootcamp to give a group of students professional experiences this summer.
Initial COVID-19 infection rate may be 80 times greater than originally reported
June 22, 2020
A new study from Penn State tracked excess influenza-like illness data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate that the number of early COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may have been more than 80 times greater and doubled nearly twice as fast as originally believed.