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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National Guard hosts third annual Cyber Wi-Fighter hacking event at IST
March 30, 2022
On March 16, approximately 45 Penn State students gathered in the Westgate Building to compete in a three-hour Cyber Wi-Fighter Hacking Challenge hosted by the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Army cyber team in collaboration with the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
Weebly Founder, IST alumnus David Rusenko speaks on 'Dare to Disrupt' podcast
March 29, 2022
David Rusenko, founder of Weebly and a 2007 Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology graduate, appears on the latest episode of the "Dare to Disrupt" podcast.
Westin Scholar Award strengthens security skills for IST, Schreyer student
March 29, 2022
Kathryn Frankenberg’s exemplary dedication and interest in the world of data privacy is highlighted throughout her experiences both inside and outside of the classroom at the College of Information Sciences and Technology. She recently was selected as a Westin Scholar.
IST Identity Talks series presents ‘Strength in Diversity’ on April 5
March 29, 2022
Members of the Penn State community are invited to join the College of Information Sciences and Technology for “IST Identity Talks – Strength in Diversity,” to be held virtually from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 5.
Lecture on bias in language technologies to be presented April 5
March 28, 2022
Su Lin Blodgett, a postdoctoral researcher in the Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics group at Microsoft Research Montréal, will present a free public lecture titled “Towards Equitable Language Technologies” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 5. The lecture will be held live via Zoom View Webinar. No registration is required.
On the Bridge - March 2022
March 28, 2022
A compilation of recent news, highlights and achievements from the College of Information Sciences and Technology community.
6 student startups each receive $15,000, selected into Summer Founders program
March 23, 2022
Six Penn State student startups with representation across three different campuses plus the Graduate School at Penn State have been selected into the 2022 Invent Penn State Summer Founders program. Each student team will receive a $15,000 grant to work full time on its startup, social good or nonprofit over the summer at Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank.
Tech activist Timnit Gebru to deliver distinguished lecture on ethical AI
March 21, 2022
Timnit Gebru, a widely respected leader in artificial intelligence ethics research who said she lost her job at Google for raising issues about their AI practices and discrimination in the workplace, will present a free public lecture titled “The Quest for Ethical Artificial Intelligence” at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, via Zoom. No registration is required.
11 prominent young Penn Staters to be honored with Alumni Achievement Award
March 17, 2022
The Penn State Alumni Association will honor 11 prominent young alumni at the Alumni Achievement Awards Ceremony on Friday, March 18. The ceremony will be livestreamed at 6:30 p.m.
Longtime donor honors parents by endowing technology scholarship in IST
March 16, 2022
For Elizabeth King, the opportunity to attend Penn State was made possible thanks to her parents as well as through scholarship support she received. As an alumna and longtime donor, King is honoring her parents by establishing a scholarship in their name at the College of Information Sciences and Technology to help students with financial need to secure essential technology, including computers that will be used as they complete an IST degree.
Scientists tap AI betting agents to help solve research reproducibility concerns
March 16, 2022
Scientists are increasingly concerned about that the lack of reproducibility in research may lead to, among other things, slower scientific output and less public trust in science. Now, a team of researchers report that creating a prediction market where artificially intelligent — AI — agents bet on hypothetical replication studies could lead to an explainable, scalable approach to estimate confidence in published scholarly work.
Pomerantsev to deliver lectures on misinformation, Ukraine March 31 and April 1
March 15, 2022
Peter Pomerantsev, a senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, will visit Penn State's University Park campus March 31 and April 1 to present two lectures on his work. The first lecture at 4 p.m. on March 31 in Paterno Library’s Foster Auditorium will be based on his book “This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality.” The second lecture at 3:30 p.m.
College of IST announces eight seed grant recipients
March 14, 2022
The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) recently announced eight projects that will receive funding from the college’s seed grant program. The program provides early-stage funding to support research activities and generate preliminary results that will eventually lead to bigger projects involving external funding.
Lecture on leveraging machine learning in nonprofits to be presented March 15
March 8, 2022
Ryan Shi, a doctoral candidate in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, will present a free, public webinar titled “From a Bag of Bagels to Bandit Data-Driven Optimization” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15.
Be You in Tech Summit to celebrate, recognize strength of diversity in tech
March 8, 2022
Penn State students are invited to attend the inaugural 2022 Be You in Tech Summit: Bringing Your Authentic Self to the Information Age, to be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at Hyatt Place in downtown State College.
Guided understanding, not rules, could help children stay safer online
March 3, 2022
As an increasing number of children use digital technologies to play, communicate, create, socialize and learn, the number of opportunities for their privacy to be exploited continues to grow. With many parents unaware of looming threats, and few formal school-based curricula on the topic, how can young users learn how to stay safe online?
Facial recognition tech in public could yield perceptions of workplace fairness
March 3, 2022
Many people use facial recognition technology on their personal devices, to quickly and securely enter a password or complete an online transaction. But when that same technology is deployed in public settings — such as to screen airport passengers or to grant access to a secure location — how do individuals whose images are captured feel?
Lecture on 'AI for Cyber-Safety' to be presented March 4
March 1, 2022
Srijan Kumar, assistant professor at the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology, will present a free public lecture titled “Advances in AI for Cyber-Safety” at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 4.
Three industry experts, Penn State alumni join IST Dean’s Advisory Board
March 1, 2022
The College of Information Sciences and Technology recently welcomed three new additions to its Dean’s Advisory Board: Doug Balog, founder and president of DB Group Consulting LLC and recently a senior executive at IBM; Angela Govila, executive director, product lead for embedded banking at J.P. Morgan Payments; and Chandra McMahon, senior vice president and chief information security officer at CVS Health.
IST sets graduates up ‘to do well in life,’ says member of first class
February 28, 2022
For Maggie Sapovchak, one of the members of the first class of graduates of the then-School of Information Sciences and Technology who earned their degrees in 2003, the impact of being a part of a tight-knit group of students who worked together to grow a program has been life-changing.
Lecture on data privacy to be presented March 1
February 24, 2022
Praneeth Vepakomma, a doctoral student at MIT, will present a free public lecture titled “Differential Privacy for Measuring Nonlinear Correlations between Sensitive Data at Multiple Parties,” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1.
Insights from Experts: COVID-19 and the mental health of essential workers
February 24, 2022
Johnna Blair, IST doctoral candidate at Penn State, is investigating how essential workers used Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic to connect with others about shared experiences, from coping with mental health conditions to voicing workplace concerns.
Doctoral student draws on IST skills in startup for AI-driven diagnostic tool
February 23, 2022
Thanh Le, doctoral student in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, and his fellow Moichor co-founders are setting out to change old-school veterinary diagnostics through their software that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to leverage data-driven image learning to classify cells.
Penn State establishes the Geroscience and Dementia Prevention Consortium
February 22, 2022
The overarching goal of the Penn State Geroscience and Dementia Prevention Consortium is to accelerate the scientific discoveries that will prevent or delay age-related neurodegeneration.
Science federation highlights Penn State proposal to combat diseases of despair
February 17, 2022
The Federation of American Scientists has chosen to highlight a proposal by Penn State researchers for the U.S. government to spearhead a nationwide effort to use artificial intelligence and data science techniques to tackle the epidemic of diseases of despair, a term that is used to collectively refer to substance abuse, alcohol dependence and suicidal ideation.
6 Penn State student startups set to compete for $30,000 in Inc.U Competition
February 17, 2022
Six Penn State student startup teams have been selected as finalists in the Invent Penn State Inc.U Competition and are set to compete for $30,000 in funding on “The Investment,” a WPSU Shark Tank-like television production that will be livestreamed during Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC.
IST Identity Talks series Feb. 28 presents ‘Women in Tech’
February 16, 2022
Members of the Penn State community are invited to join alumni of the College of Information Sciences and Technology for "IST Alumni Identity Talks – Women in Tech," to be held virtually from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28.
NASA scholarship puts IST student on path to fulfill childhood dream
February 16, 2022
For Rajiv Thummala, a third year Schreyer Honor’s Scholar studying cybersecurity analytics and operations in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, his Penn State education, further supported by a recent NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium scholarship, could help him to fulfill a childhood dream of working with space and put him on the path toward his ultimate career goal: working with the U.S.
James Wang named distinguished professor of IST
February 16, 2022
James Wang, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, has been conferred the title of distinguished professor, the highest professorial distinction at the University.
Penn State names 21 new distinguished professors for 2022
February 15, 2022
Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs has named 21 distinguished professors for 2022.
Twenty teams compete for $50,000 prize pool in the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge
February 8, 2022
Twenty student teams using AI for good in the fields of health, environment, education and humanitarianism will compete for a pool of $50,000 by creating solutions to real-world problems during the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge.
Students propose human-centered tech solutions in capstone course
February 3, 2022
In the first-ever capstone course for the human-centered design and development program, two teams of students put the skills they’ve learned at IST to the test through a semester-long project. The objective: use human-centered approaches to investigate a research question, develop a prototype of an application, and evaluate it with the target audience.
IST Identity Talks series Feb. 8 presents, ‘Celebrating Black History’
February 1, 2022
Members of the Penn State community are invited to join alumni of the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) for "IST Alumni Identity Talks – Celebrating Black History," to be held virtually from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8.
Dope Labs podcast creators to host science communication workshops at Penn State
February 1, 2022
Dope Labs podcast creators and hosts Titi Shodiya and Zakiya Whatley will present Dope Labs Science Communication Week at Penn State, a four-day remote event that will introduce researchers to the broader science communication community and teach them to use social media, storytelling and a web presence to network with other scientists and engage with broad audiences. The event takes place Feb. 7-10.
Anna Squicciarini named Frymoyer Chair in IST
January 28, 2022
Anna Squicciarini, Penn State professor of information sciences and technology, has been named Frymoyer Chair in Information Sciences and Technology, effective Dec. 1.
Alumna promotes privacy and information security at Penn State
January 27, 2022
Recent World Campus graduate Holly Swires is using the knowledge she gained at Penn State to give back to the University by building forward-thinking privacy and information security programs in her dual roles as chief privacy officer and assistant chief information security officer at Penn State.
Penn State alumna Amy Stever named IST’s assistant dean for academic services
January 27, 2022
The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology announced that Amy Stever has assumed the role of assistant dean for academic services, effective Jan. 1. She has been serving in the interim role since September.
Center for Socially Responsible AI awards seed funding to seven projects
January 27, 2022
The Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence recently announced the results of its second seed funding competition, awarding more than $96,000 to advance seven interdisciplinary research projects that feature researchers from 11 colleges and institutes.
On the Bridge - January 2022
January 26, 2022
A compilation of recent news, highlights and achievements from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology community.
AI for Social Impact series continues Jan. 28 with the 'Science of Science'
January 25, 2022
Presented by the Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence, the AI for Social Impact Seminar Series will continue with a talk by Dashun Wang, professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. Wang’s talk, titled “Initial Progress on the Science of Science,” will be held from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Jan.
U.S. News ranks Penn State World Campus online graduate and bachelor's programs
January 25, 2022
Penn State World Campus has been included in the 2022 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Online Programs rankings, with placement in the top 20 or better among graduate degree programs that include engineering, business, education, and information technology; bachelor’s degree programs; and the best programs for veterans.
'Black box gaslighting' challenges social-media algorithm accountability
January 19, 2022
Kelley Cotter, assistant professor in Penn State's College of Information Science and Technology, examined ongoing debate between social media influencers who claim their content is algorithmically suppressed and the social media platforms that deny it but do not provide transparent information on how they operate.
Penn State awarded $3.4 million contract to target plastic waste
January 17, 2022
Penn State has been awarded a $3.4 million contract from the REMADE Institute to fund research targeting the inefficient methods currently used to process and upcycle mixed plastic waste.
IST alumnus builds a brand as Pittsburgh food influencer
January 13, 2022
Alex Goodstein, who graduated from the College of Information Sciences and Technology in 2009, has a palate-pleasing side hustle as a Pittsburgh-area food influencer. He will share his food influence with the Penn State community during a live cooking session as part of the Penn State Cooking Classic — a four-week cooking event series this spring sponsored by the Penn State college and campus alumni societies — at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, on Zoom.
'Socially Responsible AI' lecture series to highlight early career researchers
January 12, 2022
Sherry Tongshuang Wu, a doctoral candidate in computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, will deliver the inaugural lecture of the Young Achievers Symposium organized by the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence. Wu’s talk, “Interactive AI Model Debugging and Correction,” will be held Jan. 18 via Zoom.
Have an idea to change the world? Submit it in the Nittany AI Challenge
January 11, 2022
Penn State students from University Park, all Commonwealth Campuses and Penn State World Campus are invited to form a team and submit ideas about how to improve the world using the power of artificial intelligence by entering the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge. The teams chosen will compete for a prize pool of $50,000; the deadline to submit an idea is Jan. 31.
Paper on geovisual analytics wins “Test of Time” award
January 10, 2022
A 2011 paper authored by Penn State researchers outlining a geovisual analytics approach to support geographically grounded situational awareness of crisis events using social media was selected to receive the 2021 IEEE Symposium on Visual Analytics Science and Technology Test of Time award.
Happy Valley LaunchBox supports company serving underrepresented students
January 3, 2022
With help from Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank, Joel Sakyi founded Vybrnt, a startup that provides underrepresented students better access to resources and opportunities that help them succeed during their time at college.
Nandita Suresh honored as College of IST student marshal
December 8, 2021
The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology will honor Nandita Suresh as student marshal at fall 2021 commencement, which will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, in the Bryce Jordan Center. “Being a student marshal is in one word, unbelievable,” she said. “There are so many bright, hardworking students here at the College of IST, and being able to represent our class is one of the most gratifying and humbling experiences of my life.”
IST grad student intern applies data science skills in construction industry
December 3, 2021
As a College of Information Sciences and Technology student pursuing a master’s degree in informatics, Kristen Williams had the opportunity this past summer to apply what she’s learned through her concentration in data science in a summer internship in the construction manufacturing industry.