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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World Campus IST graduate heads security engineering for Disney+
July 12, 2021
Jacob Meissner never imagined he’d work in technology after obtaining his bachelor’s degree in English from Penn State.
Busy student's patience leads to another valuable opportunity
July 8, 2021
Erica Mi, a rising junior at Penn State, is working for IBM this summer as part of a project management internship — the latest endeavor she’s exploring during an ambitious college career.
Women and lower-education users more likely to tweet personal information
July 7, 2021
When it comes to what users share on Twitter, women and users who never attended college voluntarily disclose more personal information than users from other socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds — potentially making these populations more susceptible to online privacy threats, according to a
IST intern leverages computer vision to inform PepsiCo manufacturing operations
July 7, 2021
When Nia Anderson started thinking of career paths as she nears graduation, she saw herself as a business analyst.
IST alumnus creates scholarship to honor family legacy
July 2, 2021
As a member of the College of Information Sciences and Technology’s first graduating class and a long-time alumni volunteer, Steve Pipino has established the Pipino Family Annually Funded Scholarship in the college to benefit first-generation students and students with demonstrated need.
Student creates software solutions to help users be more efficient
June 30, 2021
Penn State senior Jason Nucciarone is using the skills he gained through the human centered design and development program at the College of Information Sciences and Technology to make technology more efficient for users.
Presidential Leadership Academy announces new class
June 29, 2021
The Presidential Leadership Academy at Penn State recently announced its Class of 2021.
Susser awarded Haile Family Early Career Professorship at IST
June 25, 2021
Assistant Professor Daniel Susser has been awarded the Haile Family Early Career Professorship in Information Sciences and Technology.
IST faculty named executive VP of society on computer-human interaction
June 24, 2021
Shaowen Bardzell, professor of information sciences and technology, has been elected as executive vice-president for the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI), the premier international society for all professionals, academics and st
$1.2 million NSF grant to create search engine for online privacy research
June 23, 2021
A $1.2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant will help researchers build a search engine and create other resources for scientists who need to scour billions of online documents to improve online privacy.
IST research well-represented at top Communities and Technologies conference
June 22, 2021
A research group from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology is well-represented at the virtual 10th International Conference on Communities and Technology, which began June 21.
Clickbait headlines might not lure readers as much, may confuse AI
June 18, 2021
A Penn State team of researchers found that clickbait often did not perform any better and, in some cases, performed worse than traditional headlines. They also found that artificial intelligence systems designed to spot clickbait struggled with the task.
Parenting teens: Is there an app for that?
June 17, 2021
Penn State researchers, with funding from the Mental Research Institute, are developing a smartphone app to promote positive, engaged family relationships that support healthy development for adolescents.
Treating non-humans as stakeholders key to sustainable technologies
June 11, 2021
Researchers from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology made a methodological contribution toward a potential answer to the challenging problem of how to operationalize posthuman concepts into practice for human-computer interaction through the art of noticing — specificall
Gamrat co-authors book chapter on state of microlearning in higher ed
June 11, 2021
Chris Gamrat, instructional designer at the College of Information Sciences and Technology, is co-author on a chapter in the new
Essential workers' tweets show surprising positivity during pandemic
June 9, 2021
During the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers tweeted less often than general users about COVID-19 but more about overall mental health issues, according to researchers at the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology.
Talk to explore power of taxonomy and embedding in text mining
June 8, 2021
Jiawei Han, Michael Aiken Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will present a talk as part of the Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence Distinguished Lecture Series at 11:30 a.m. on June 14 via Zoom.
Doctoral candidate aims to help international students attain higher education
May 25, 2021
As a child growing up in Nepal, Bikalpa Neupane never thought he would come to the U.S. for a college education, much less a graduate degree.
Study of police language aims to find patterns that may lead to tragic outcomes
May 25, 2021
With a new grant from the National Institutes of Health, an interdisciplinary team of researchers aims to examine police radio communications to observe what happens during adverse encounters between police officers and male minority youth and study any patterns of interaction that may lead to un
University Libraries Research Awards honor 100 students from 19 campuses
May 24, 2021
Penn State University Libraries presented its fourth annual Undergraduate Research Award: Excellence in Information Literacy honors to 100 students at nearly all undergraduate Penn State campuses.
Seminar series to explore how artificial intelligence can improve health care
May 24, 2021
A new seminar series that aims to initiate a dialog between healthcare practitioners, clinical researchers, and artificial intelligence and data science experts on strategies for realizing the promise and potential of AI in healthcare starts June 8.
Two faculty members receive Amazon Research Awards
May 19, 2021
Penn State faculty members James Wang, professor of information sciences and technology, and Rui Zhang, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, each received a 2020 Amazon Research Award, which was announced publicly in April of this year.
Inclusive social network created by alumna to empower young women leaders
May 19, 2021
Penn State alumna Jayme Anne Goldberg is the founder of Consequential Flowers, a social media network designed to help female students and young professionals develop impactful leadership skills.
Talk to examine network heterogeneity on graph neural networks
May 18, 2021
Philip S. Yu, distinguished professor and the Wexler Chair in Information Technology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will kick off the Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence Distinguished Lecture Series at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 27 on Zoom.
2021 Guentter Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award finalists, winner named
May 14, 2021
Penn State University Libraries and the Schreyer Honors College recognized the 10th annual finalist presentations and winner of the recently endowed Robert F. Guentter Jr. Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award on May 6, immediately following the three finalists’ remote presentations.
Observing eco farmers could guide sustainable information technology innovation
May 14, 2021
Cutting-edge agricultural technology has advanced in recent years, introducing innovations from self-driving tractors and laser scarecrows to robotic bees that aid in pollination.
College of Engineering announces Learning Factory capstone project winners
May 12, 2021
The College of Engineering has announced the winners of the spring Learning Factory Capstone Design Project Showcase, which took place virtually for the second year in a row.
AI-powered software to improve public health outcomes in underserved communities
May 12, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a struggle for many students. But for Kareem Jelks, the pandemic has fueled his passion to help others, especially those in underserved communities.
Virtual conference explores artificial intelligence in a post-COVID world
May 11, 2021
On May 13, the Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence hosted "AI in a Post-COVID World," a virtual conference that will brought together experts from a variety of disciplines to discuss how artificial intelligence has aided in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.<
Using data science to boost diversity, using diversity to boost data science
May 5, 2021
Data science can only be data science for good when it can be data science for all.
Twitter data unveils issues nursing mothers face, informs proposed interventions
May 5, 2021
Social media has become a platform for new mothers to openly share their experiences of the joys and challenges of parenthood.
Penn State participates in virtual social science advocacy day
May 4, 2021
Penn State researchers recently participated in the Consortium of Social Science Association’s annual Social Science Advocacy Day, meeting virtually with Congress and their staff during this annual event.
IST experience leads to alumnus’ work exploring breakups in the digital age
April 30, 2021
After a romantic breakup, there are often decisions to be made regarding the partners’ shared possessions, such as who takes the house and who gets the cat, and who keeps the friends.
Lavender Recognition to be held on April 30
April 29, 2021
2021 marks the 20th celebration of LGBTQ+ graduates during the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity’s Lavender Recognition ceremony.
After change of course, IST alumnus lands career in academics
April 28, 2021
When Porter Jenkins came to Penn State to pursue a doctorate in marketing, he never imagined he’d one day have a full-time career in academics, teaching and conducting research on data sciences and machine learning.
Amazon Alexa skill offers supportive care to breast cancer patients
April 27, 2021
Penn State researchers have developed an Amazon Alexa skill to remotely deliver validated interventions to metastatic breast cancer patients in the comfort of their own homes.
AI Hub to help enhance Penn State's global leadership in artificial intelligence
April 23, 2021
Penn State has launched an expanded initiative in Artificial Intelligence (AI), termed the AI Hub, which will bring together the University’s considerable resources and talent in AI to further advance its position as a global leader developing fundamental innovations in AI, in using AI and machin
Penn State launches new artificial intelligence center for engineered systems
April 23, 2021
A newly founded, interdisciplinary research center established to further foundational and applied artificial intelligence in engineered systems will be housed in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Penn State College of Engineering.
Penn State center to advance AI tools to accelerate scientific progress
April 23, 2021
A new research center, the Center for Artificial Intelligence Foundations and Scientific Applications, or CENSAI, will unite Penn State researchers to explore the use of artificial intelligence as a tool to dramatically accelerate the scientific process, an initiative that the center’s organizers
Dual degrees shape research interests for IST assistant professor
April 21, 2021
Justin Silverman, who joined the College of Information Sciences and Technology last year as an assistant professor with a focus in biomedical statistics, made global headlines last summer for his study suggesting that 80% of U.S. COVID-19 cases went undetected in March 2020.
Erin Flannery to represent College of IST as student marshal
April 20, 2021
For College of Information Sciences and Technology student marshal Erin Flannery, Penn State gave her the opportunity to explore a number of diverse degree pathways and research activities.
Explanations in online symptom checkers could improve user trust
April 15, 2021
Have you recently turned to your mobile device or computer to find out if your cough, sniffle or fever could be caused by COVID-19?
Shortened internship leads to rewarding gig archiving pandemic perspectives
April 15, 2021
Like many college students across the country, Nick Alico saw his summer internship cut short last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
New AI framework introduced for cutting a 'multi-layered cake'
April 14, 2021
Expanding on an established problem in mathematics and computer science known as fair cake-cutting — a metaphor for cutting a cake in a way that each participant receives a slice that they believes to be fair — Hadi Hosseini, assistant professor at the Penn State College of Information Sciences a
Global alumni profile: Bimal Balakrishnan
April 14, 2021
Bimal Balakrishnan, who spent seven years at the university as a master and doctoral degree student from 2001-08, credits the mentorship he received at the University for putting him on his life’s path.
Graduate School alumnus recognized for lifetime achievements
April 8, 2021
Edward Frymoyer has received the Penn State Graduate School Alumni Society Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes alumni who have achieved exceptional success throughout the course of their career and have demonstrated loyalty to the University and the Alumni Association.
IST faculty tips for post-pandemic instruction appear in EDUCAUSE Review
April 6, 2021
When remote teaching and learning abruptly replaced traditional classroom instruction at the start of the pandemic, innovations and adaptations were introduced that could be considered to continue in post-pandemic education, according to experts from the Penn State College of Information Sciences
Educational equity scholarship honors family legacy for IST alumni couple
April 2, 2021
For Angela Govila and Ankur Tarnacha, the College of Information Sciences and Technology is the foundation for everything they have. The two first met as students in 2003, and Tarnacha soon after asked Govila out for a cup of coffee. The rest, they say, is history.
Subscription database for dancers pitch wins 2021 IdeaMakers Challenge
April 2, 2021
The winning idea in the 2021 IdeaMakers Challenge, as part of Penn State Startup Week sponsored by PNC, was a digital subscription service to a database that helps dancers find hundreds of programs, schools and jobs to develop their skills.
All-woman Nittany AI Challenge team creates solution to reach tech-life balance
March 31, 2021
Screen time burnout? Many people are feeling it these days because of extended use of technology due to remote learning and remote working situations.