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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Two IST doctoral students earn IBM Ph.D. Fellowships
April 10, 2020
Yueqi Chen and Wenbo Guo, both studying in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, are among 24 doctoral students worldwide who have been awarded 2020 IBM Ph.D. Fellowships.
Virtual tutors help train nursing students for trauma care
April 9, 2020
A new web-based tutor developed by researchers in the College of Information Sciences and Technology is helping nursing students earn clinically relevant exposure to trauma care concepts, training that can't occur in a clinical setting because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Teams’ technology tools may give researchers a boost in quest to stop COVID-19
April 8, 2020
Teams of Penn State data scientists and students, including ones led by the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), recently developed tools that they hope will help researchers better understand — and potentially stop — the spread of the n
Research aims to help online workers build skills to advance their career paths
April 8, 2020
A new research project led by Benjamin Hanrahan, assistant professor of information sciences and technology, aims to enrich online platform workers and improve the marketplace for online work.
Penn State launches online version of its bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity
April 6, 2020
Penn State is expanding its online portfolio of information technology degrees with one focused on how to prevent and respond to cyber attacks at a time of the rapid growth in the cybersecurity industry.
Penn State to recognize class of 2020 with virtual commencement ceremony
April 6, 2020
In response to the growing coronavirus pandemic, orders from the state government and recommendations from global public health organizations, Penn State will hold its spring 2020 commencement ceremony via livestream on May 9.
Penn State researchers explore what's next with COVID-19 in videos
April 2, 2020
How will COVID-19 end? Matthew Ferrari and Nita Bharti of the Penn State Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics explore this question in a new video produced in collaboration with WPSU.
IST students gather information to help inform emergency management officials
April 1, 2020
A group of students in the College of Information Sciences and Technology are using their collective knowledge and skills to help inform Penn State emergency management officials during the evolving global coronavirus outbreak.
NSF CAREER Award work aims to reimagine algorithmic managers driving gig economy
March 30, 2020
Benjamin Hanrahan, assistant professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State, will explore how digital tools to automate and remotely manage workers may negatively impact those workers and their rights.
Two IST undergraduate researchers present at iConference
March 23, 2020
Two undergraduate researchers from the College of Information Sciences and Technology were invited to present their work in Boras, Sweden, this week at iConference 2020 — a forum through which information scholars, researchers and professionals share their insights on critical information issues
Penn State experts contribute to NATO counterterrorism training curriculum
March 23, 2020
A new international publication, which will be utilized as a framework for counterterrorism training in organizations around the world, has expert input from several Penn State faculty, students and alumni.
Two College of IST students recognized among 'Top 50 Hackers'
March 22, 2020
Two College of Information Sciences and Technology students have been named to this year’s list of Top 50 Hackers by Major League Hacking.
Information Sciences and Technology faculty, staff recognized with annual awards
March 20, 2020
Faculty and staff members in the College of Information Sciences and Technology were recently recognized for their outstanding contributions to the college, the University community, and the world as part of the college’s annual faculty and staff awards.
Virtual office hours offer remote teaching help
March 16, 2020
To continue supporting Penn State faculty’s remote teaching, Teaching and Learning with Technology is offering virtual office hours each day during the week of March 16. During these sessions, instructors can get help with transitioning their courses from a residential format to remote.
IST knowledge translates to creativity for student musician
March 16, 2020
Nicholas Arndt -- senior, information sciences and technology -- has always had an interest in technology and a passion for music. His experience at Penn State is giving him the opportunity to bring both of his interests together.
Crowdsourcing plot lines to help the creative process
March 13, 2020
Creative authors could soon have a new option to help overcome writer’s block, thanks to a system launched by researchers in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State.
Penn State adds new areas of study to its top-10-ranked online MBA
March 6, 2020
The Penn State Online MBA now has concentrations with additional courses of study in the fields of information technology, engineering, health care, homeland security, international affairs, public administration and economic development.
Women across IST at Penn State are creating a 'culture of empowerment'
March 2, 2020
The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology recently hosted a “Sit With Me” initiative, which was held as part of the global campaign powered by the National Center for Women & Information Technology to recognize and validate the important role women play in creating future
Student’s Penn State experience fuels personal growth
February 28, 2020
Looking back on his Penn State journey, Jonathan Adrien said he is grateful for the opportunity to have evolved into an even better version of himself.
Financial literacy mentoring program provides 'lifeline' for Penn State students
February 28, 2020
The Mentoring Program in the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center is enabling students to benefit from the perspectives of experienced adults.
Making drones a part of everyday life
February 28, 2020
As a staff research associate in the Homeland Protection and Air Traffic Control Division at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Penn State alumnus Andrew Weinert focuses on enabling drones to be safely and efficiently integrated into national airspace.
Schreyer Honors scholar applies neural networks to better predict severe storms
February 27, 2020
As part of his honors thesis, a Penn State and Schreyer Honors student is researching data that could help increase preparation time for severe storm systems.
Profit-prediction system may lower suicide rates among indebted Indian farmers
February 27, 2020
Researchers from the College of Information Sciences and Technology are taking steps to address the alarming rate of suicides among indebted farmers in India, by developing a deep-learning algorithm as the first step in a decision-support system that could predict future market values of crops.
Improving qualitative data management by agencies responding to refugee crises
February 21, 2020
As of September 2019 there were approximately 330,000 Venezuelans that had fled to neighboring Ecuador amid an economic and political crisis in their home country.
Disrupting the sleep market was all in a day's work for alumnus JT Marino
February 20, 2020
Every parent knows college students like sleep.
Scholarships from University Libraries available for Penn State undergraduates
February 19, 2020
Undergraduate students who access Penn State University Libraries’ resources or services and who struggle to pay for their education are encouraged to apply for 2020 University Libraries scholarships, available to a wide variety of student majors.
Bringing the IST community together in support of THON
February 18, 2020
Katt Shatinsky has been familiar with THON since she was young and remembers seeing students canning for money on her drives through Pennsylvania to visit family. But it wasn’t until her freshman year at Penn State that she realized how much she wanted to get involved.
Program to introduce undergrad researchers to machine learning in cybersecurity
February 17, 2020
Undergraduate students interested in machine learning in cybersecurity research activities are invited to apply to a new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program, to be hosted this summer at the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
New research center will focus on socially responsible artificial intelligence
February 14, 2020
Penn State has launched the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence, a multi-unit research center that promotes the thoughtful development and application of AI and studies its impact on all areas of human endeavor.
Twenty teams funded to develop 'AI for Good' in the Nittany AI Challenge
February 13, 2020
Twenty teams have been awarded $500 to pursue their ideas to use artificial intelligence for good in the 2020 Nittany AI Challenge to improve the world by providing solutions for problems within the areas of education, health, humanitarian challenges, sustainability and climate change.
Citizen scientists may be an untapped resource for water quality improvement
February 10, 2020
Raising awareness and offering technological tools to the thousands of citizens groups in the U.S. that monitor water quality might help community leaders tap these volunteers as a way to improve access to plentiful, clean water and possibly avoid water-related crises.
TEDxPSU curator and president gained leadership skills through IST
February 10, 2020
For Leah Miller, a junior studying data sciences in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, activities outside of the classroom are just as essential to the Penn State experience as education in her classes.
Penn State receives five-year $3.7 million grant to study virus evolution
February 7, 2020
The evolution of viruses will be the focus of a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s new program on convergence research, to an interdisciplinary team led by Penn State. The grant is in two phases, depending on successful completion of phase one milestones.
Open, affordable textbook efforts save students $4.8 million in potential costs
February 7, 2020
Strategic efforts by Penn State University Libraries faculty and staff over the past three years to lower or eliminate the cost of textbooks and other course materials has paid off — nearly 20 times over — in potential savings for Penn State students.
Former Marine awakens entrepreneurial spirit through Penn State's Online MBA
February 4, 2020
In May 2018, former Marine Robert Bussey enrolled in the Penn State Online MBA program, led by the Penn State Smeal College of Business and delivered by Penn State World Campus, to ultimately build a company from scratch after taking courses in the corporate innovation and entrepreneurship concen
Select IST students get hands-on experience with Penn State IT pros
January 30, 2020
As thousands of their classmates got a break from classes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a handful of Penn State students went to work as the first group to take part in Penn State’s IT Career Exploration Program.
Alumnus uses IST skills to drive content analytics at Audible
January 27, 2020
When Steve Cassey began his journey at Penn State’s then-new School of Information Sciences and Technology nearly 20 years ago, he was told that there would be an abundance of relevant jobs available in the tech field within 15 years.
Student who lost his leg in hunting accident has some doors close, others open
January 27, 2020
RJ Shirey, a sophomore in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, overcame life-changing trauma: a gunshot that led to the amputation of his right leg. Today, he uses his disability to benefit the lives of those around him.
Enhancing a law enforcement career with a Penn State cybersecurity education
January 21, 2020
With a law enforcement career spanning more than 20 years and an established private investigations firm of his own, Ron Long could be considered an expert in the field of investigative work.
Using machine learning to reduce traffic congestion
January 17, 2020
Researchers in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology are advancing work that utilizes machine learning methods to improve traffic signal control at urban intersections around the world.
The impacts of automation and AI on the next WPSU 'Digging Deeper'
January 17, 2020
Penn State President Eric Barron and a pair of University experts will discuss the impacts of automation and artificial intelligence during the next episode of WPSU Penn State’s “Digging Deeper” on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Penn State to host Study Abroad Week from Jan. 20 to 24
January 16, 2020
Penn State will host Study Abroad Week 2020 during the week of Jan. 20-24 on the University Park campus. Students who attend can learn more about the process of applying, what funding is available, and career enrichment opportunities; and meet other students who have gone abroad.
Technology for cosmetics consumers
January 14, 2020
For their final project, students in the Foundations of Human-Centered Design and Development course in the College of Information Sciences and Technology had the opportunity to gain real-world industry perspective and feedback on the prototypes they spent the semester building.
Six top-10 rankings for Penn State in U.S. News’ 2020 Best Online Programs
January 14, 2020
Penn State World Campus is recognized in six top-10 rankings of U.S. News and World Report’s 2020 Best Online Programs. U.S. News also ranked Penn State World Campus in six categories of its Best Online Programs for Veterans lists.
One family, one college, four different career paths
January 9, 2020
Many times, attending Penn State is a family tradition, but one family takes that tradition to a whole new level.
Scholars invited to submit papers on privacy, technology and vulnerability
January 7, 2020
Penn State’s Dickinson Law, the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), and Monash University have joined together to sponsor the “Privacy, Technology and Vulnerability Workshop,” which will be held at Monash University Prato Centre in Prato, Italy on June 22-23.
From picking locks to leading information security
January 3, 2020
“A lock isn’t designed to keep people out; it’s designed to slow people down.” That was the key point that Nick Leghorn, Penn State class of 2010, took away from a hacking conference that he attended as a student.
Multi-college, online Digital Multimedia Design program sees first graduates
December 17, 2019
Penn State’s new Digital Multimedia Design program is seeing its first graduates this week. The interdisciplinary program is offered through Penn State World Campus by the College of Arts and Architecture, College of Communications, and College of Information Sciences and Technology.
These Penn State grads feel confident about their future goals
December 16, 2019
Adalice Burgos and Aaron Spak balanced their jobs and families while working toward their degrees. They’ll share their stories of their educational journeys at an event for Penn State World Campus students this Friday.