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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Following footsteps on the IST path
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
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 queries.
Additional details announced on virtual commencement for the Class of 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
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. Further, the University will adjust tuition for the summer sessions in light of the ongoing pandemic and the persistent fiscal strain it is causing across Pennsylvania and the country.
'Ahead-of-the-trend' College of IST prepared security adviser for his career
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 profession as a security adviser at Liberty Mutual.
Penn State competes in Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition regional finals
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
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. Students were invited to submit their ideas to improve the world by providing solutions for problems within the areas of education, health, humanitarian challenges, sustainability and climate change.
Seed grants jump-start 47 interdisciplinary teams to conduct COVID-19 research
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. In total, the initiative awarded $2.25 million to 47 teams of researchers from three campuses, 10 colleges and more than 25 departments.
Cybersecurity professional speaks to students via Zoom
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
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
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
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 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.
Research aims to help online workers build skills to advance their career paths
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
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
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. The virtual ceremony will recognize all Penn State undergraduate students and all graduate students in the Penn State Graduate School.
Penn State researchers explore what's next with COVID-19 in videos
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. With volunteer assistance from Penn State faculty and staff from across the campuses, the video will be available with subtitles in 10 languages.
IST students gather information to help inform emergency management officials
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
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.
IST alumnus advises federal leaders on information technology policy matters
As U.S. citizens engage with the federal government for their digital needs such as enrolling in government benefits online or completing the census online for the first time, College of Information Sciences and Technology alumnus Jordan Burris is working behind the scenes to enable the successful delivery of the federal government’s digital services.
Two IST undergraduate researchers present at iConference
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 in contemporary society. The conference has now been moved to a virtual format.
Penn State experts contribute to NATO counterterrorism training curriculum
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'
Two College of Information Sciences and Technology students have been named to this year’s list of Top 50 Hackers by Major League Hacking. The Top 50 Hackers list is composed of individuals worldwide who were nominated and selected in recognition of the ways they have impacted the hacking community.
Information Sciences and Technology faculty, staff recognized with annual awards
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
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
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
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
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'
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 technology.
Student’s Penn State experience fuels personal growth
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
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
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
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
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
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. As humanitarian organizations respond to aid the displaced individuals and families, could helpful information in the Venezuelan refugee crisis in Ecuador be used more effectively, overcoming software, analytic or organizational limitations?
Disrupting the sleep market was all in a day's work for alumnus JT Marino
Every parent knows college students like sleep. College of Engineering graduate John-Thomas “JT” Marino, however, committed all his energy to sleep after graduating in 2012 when he started Tuft & Needle — a direct-to-consumer online mattress retailer with a “bed in a box” concept — completely disrupting the way consumers purchase their beds.
Scholarships from University Libraries available for Penn State undergraduates
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
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. Today, Shatinsky now holds the title of president of IST Benefiting THON – a student organization that strives to bring the college’s community together to support Dance Marathon.
Program to introduce undergrad researchers to machine learning in cybersecurity
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
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
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
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
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. That’s why once she heard about TEDxPSU — the Penn State version of the nationally recognized Ted Talks — she got involved right away.
Penn State receives five-year $3.7 million grant to study virus evolution
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
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
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 concentration.
Select IST students get hands-on experience with Penn State IT pros
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. The initiative, designed to give prospective information technology (IT) professionals an hour-by-hour, on-the-job shadowing experience, was co-sponsored by Penn State IT and the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
Alumnus uses IST skills to drive content analytics at Audible
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. Now, as the director of content analytics at Audible Inc., he realized those predictions were true.
Student who lost his leg in hunting accident has some doors close, others open
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
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. Now, he’s pursuing a degree in security and risk analysis through Penn State World Campus to better understand how the internet is changing the dynamic of police and investigative work in the country.
Using machine learning to reduce traffic congestion
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.