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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Maitland earns Fulbright Global Scholar Award
May 15, 2020
Carleen Maitland, associate professor of information sciences and technology, is a recipient of a Fulbright Global Scholar award.
Mentorship program strengthens professional network for IST students
May 14, 2020
Sometimes, the greatest lessons come from someone who has lived them. That’s why the College of IST has revitalized its alumni mentorship program — to give students meaningful, real-world and professional guidance from alumni who have experience in the industry.
IST seed grants support tech projects related to COVID-19
May 14, 2020
The College of Information Sciences and Technology recently announced six projects that will receive funding from the college’s seed grant program. Each project will take different approaches to tackle various challenges and needs related to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Projects use technology to assist people with rare medical conditions
May 14, 2020
There are many health conditions that individuals experience — especially those that are rare or underrepresented — which could benefit from new technologies.
IST student creates app to help underrepresented students find community
May 11, 2020
A College of Information Sciences and Technology student has created a way to help new students, particularly those who are underrepresented, discover community on campus at the touch of a button.
IST announces 2020 Dean's Circle of Teaching Excellence recipients
May 11, 2020
For their contributions to the teaching mission of the College of Information Sciences and Technology, nine faculty members have been selected as recipients of the 2020 Dean’s Circle of Teaching Excellence award.
Online tutor helps general public turn COVID-19 prevention efforts into action
May 6, 2020
Penn State researchers have developed a comprehensive online tutor to educate the general public about the science behind COVID-19 and appropriate steps anyone can take to help reduce its transmission.
Institute awards 32 computational and data sciences seed grants
May 6, 2020
The Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, in conjunction with several Penn State colleges, awarded more than $725,000 in seed grants to fund 32 new computational and data sciences projects.
Using data to maximize hospital resources
May 1, 2020
As a student in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, Steve Ney learned critical skills, from coding to data design and architecture.
IST professor receives Fulbright Cyber Security Award
April 30, 2020
Anna Squicciarini, associate professor of information sciences and technology, has received a Fulbright Cyber Security Award to conduct research in London in summer 2021.
Competing for views: IST student develops app for extreme sports athletes
April 28, 2020
Thaddeus Lorenz, senior in information science and technology, wasn’t always sure what his academic path would be. After starting at Penn State in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, he took some classes centered on one of his passions: coding.
Web of psychological cues may tempt people to reveal more online
April 28, 2020
In a study published in the latest Proceedings of Computer-Human Interaction, a team of Penn State researchers identified a dozen subtle — but powerful — reasons that may shed light on why people talk a good game about privacy, but fail to follow up in real life.
Anxious about public speaking? Your smart speaker could help
April 27, 2020
A team of Penn State researchers has developed a public-speaking tutor on the Amazon Alexa platform that could help users reduce their public speaking anxiety.
Do privacy controls lead to more trust in Alexa? Not necessarily, research finds
April 23, 2020
Giving users of smart assistants the option to adjust settings for privacy or content delivery, or both, doesn’t necessarily increase their trust in the platform, according to a team of Penn State researchers. In fact, for some users, it could have an unfavorable effect.
College of IST announces spring 2020 student marshals
April 22, 2020
The College of Information Sciences and Technology will honor two graduates as student marshals at spring 2020 commencement.
Following footsteps on the IST path
April 21, 2020
Being apart from family is a tough part of college for many students, but Kelly and Kevin Costello are two Penn Staters who were able to spend two years in Happy Valley together — not only on the Penn State campus, but in the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
Human and AI annotations aim to improve scholarly results in COVID-19 searches
April 17, 2020
Seed funding provided by the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences and the Institute for Computational and Data Science is supporting two research teams from the College of Information Sciences and Technology in their efforts to provide faster and more efficient search results to COVID-19 research
Additional details announced on virtual commencement for the Class of 2020
April 16, 2020
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, Penn State will host its first virtual commencement. The ceremony will be livestreamed, and available internationally, at https://spring2020.commencement.psu.edu/.
Penn State to continue remote learning, online courses into summer
April 15, 2020
Given the continuing challenge and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic and to protect the health of students, faculty and staff, Penn State has made the decision to extend virtual delivery of courses into the summer.
'Ahead-of-the-trend' College of IST prepared security adviser for his career
April 15, 2020
The experiences that Chris Eggerman, a 2017 graduate, had while at Penn State gave him a glimpse of the challenges and rewards he would enjoy in a career, and, paired with his education in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, equipped him with the skills he uses in his current prof
Penn State competes in Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition regional finals
April 15, 2020
Penn State’s Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) team reached new heights earlier this month when they participated in the regional finals of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition for the first time.
Ten student teams compete for $25,000 prize pool in the Nittany AI Challenge
April 15, 2020
Ten student teams will be funded to use AI for Good to build and submit a minimum viable product in the Nittany AI Challenge for a chance to compete for a portion of a $25,000 prize pool.
Seed grants jump-start 47 interdisciplinary teams to conduct COVID-19 research
April 14, 2020
With speed and ingenuity, more than 100 researchers across Penn State are shifting their research programs to address the COVID-19 crisis, thanks to funding from a seed grant initiative led by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
Cybersecurity professional speaks to students via Zoom
April 10, 2020
Penn State Greater Allegheny’s current students recently joined a virtual conversation about Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, Greater Allegheny’s newest 4-year program starting this fall.
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.