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.
If you have a story idea or questions about IST news, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Trained AI models exhibit learned disability bias, IST researchers say
Artificial intelligence tools, such as sentiment analysis and toxicity detection models, often exhibit biases toward people with disabilities, according to a new paper from researchers in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology. The work won the Best Short Paper Award from the Association for Computation Linguistics.
Penn State Berks’ Abdullah Konak named IST Faculty Member of the Year
Abdullah Konak, distinguished professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State Berks, was recently named the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology Statewide Faculty Member of the Year. He was presented with the award at the fall IST faculty meeting on Oct. 27.
Search launched for the next dean of Penn State’s College of IST
Penn State is seeking nominations and candidates for the next dean of the College of Information Sciences and Technology. Nominations and applications will be accepted until the position is filled, and interested parties are encouraged to submit applications by Jan. 8, 2024.
College of IST names student marshal for fall 2023 commencement ceremony
The College of Information Sciences and Technology has named Hardik Jain as its student marshal for the fall 2023 commencement ceremony. Jain will receive his bachelor of science degree in enterprise technology integration with a focus on application development on Dec. 16 in the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park.
What if Alexa or Siri sounded more like you? Study says you’ll like it better
The more Siri or Alexa sounds like you, the better you'll like the service, according to researchers. The multi-institutional team published their findings in the current issue of the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies.
Order of the Sword and Shield National Honor Society installs Penn State chapter
The College of Information Sciences and Technology inducted 20 students into the new Penn State chapter of the Order of the Sword and Shield National Honor Society.
$7M grant funds project to develop new ways to protect mushroom crops
A new grant for more than $7 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will fund an upcoming project led by Penn State researchers, who aim to develop new pest management tools for mushroom crops.
Nittany AI Challenge Ideation Workshop set for Nov. 30
The Nittany AI Challenge Ideation Workshop: Agriculture and Environmental Sustainability on Nov. 30 will connect students with experts and local nonprofit leaders in agricultural and environmental sustainability to explore how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used to address real-world problems in the field.
$1.45M NSF grant to fund new research into how grasses thrive in dry climates
A new $1.45 million grant from the National Science Foundation will allow Penn State researchers, including undergraduate students, to explore how pores on plant surfaces work and might be engineered to enhance photosynthesis and efficient water use.
Renaissance Fund honors Barbara and Edgar Farmer, raises funds for scholarships
Penn State’s 47th annual Renaissance Fund celebration on Nov. 1 honored local community leaders and education pioneers Barbara and Edgar Farmer. The event hosted more than 300 attendees and helped to raise $193,364 for endowed scholarships to benefit students with financial need.
Liberal Arts, IST student scores sports technology internship with Miami Dolphins
Azziyah LaRue, a fourth-year student double majoring in sociology and security and risk analysis with a minor in information sciences and technology, interned with the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium this past summer.
World Campus celebrates science and technology programs
Penn State World Campus is highlighting its science and technology programs during its 25th anniversary.
Penn Staters invited to compete to find bias in generative AI tools
Penn State’s Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence will host “Bias-a-thon,” a competition to expose biases in current-day AI tools. The virtual event will take place from Monday, Nov. 13, to Thursday, Nov. 16, and is open to anyone with an active Penn State email address.
Enterprise architecture and business transformation program marks 10 years
The Penn State master's degree in enterprise architecture and business transformation has now been available for 10 years. Offered by Penn State World Campus in partnership with the College of Information Sciences and Technology and the Smeal College of Business, the 100% online program is designed to meet the needs of the evolving enterprise architecture career field.
Most websites do not publish privacy policies, researchers say
Penn State researchers crawled millions of websites and found that only one-third of online organizations made their privacy policy available for review. They received the Best Student Paper award at the 23rd Association for Computing Machinery Symposium on Document Engineering, also known as DocEngr'23, for their work.
Trustees committee discusses AI and its implications for higher education
Artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities far outweigh the challenges for use at universities, according to Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz. He led a panel discussion on AI and its implications for higher education at the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Academic Affairs, Research and Student Life meeting on Oct. 19.
Information Sciences and Technology graduates honored at first Alumni Symposium
Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology honored graduates Nathan McNeese and Christy Grim at the first IST Alumni Symposium, held Oct. 20 at the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub Building.
Penn State partners with Gov. Shapiro to shape AI governance and strategy
Penn State has partnered with Gov. Josh Shapiro to provide expert guidance on artificial intelligence (AI) strategies and governance. This partnership aims to leverage Penn State's AI expertise and resources to help shape responsible AI standards for state agencies, aligning with the growing importance of AI technology in governance.
Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference shines spotlight on innovation
Penn State students, faculty and alumni entrepreneurs joined with venture firms and startup founders from across the United States for the 2023 Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference, held Oct. 16-17 at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey.
IST researchers earn best paper award at natural language generation conference
A paper authored by students and faculty from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology received the Best Long Paper award at the 16th International Natural Language Generation Conference.
Media Mention: ‘Can You Hide a Child’s Face From A.I.?’
Where: The New York Times, “Can You Hide a Child’s Face From A.I.?”
Who: Priya Kumar, assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST)
Human body movements may enable automated emotion recognition, researchers say
Penn State researchers combined computing, psychology and performing arts to develop an annotated human movement dataset that may improve the ability of artificial intelligence to recognize the emotions expressed through body language. Their work was featured on the cover of the journal Patterns.
Tenured, promoted faculty honored through books at Oct. 2 recognition program
Recently tenured and promoted Penn State faculty across the University were honored Oct. 2 through Penn State’s Promotion and Tenure Recognition Program, now in its 21st year, during a private event held in the Paterno Family Humanities Reading Room on the second floor of Pattee Library at the University Park campus.
Media Mention: “Chat GPT for Software Security — How it Assists Attackers & Security Analysis”
Where: Cyber Security News, “ChatGPT for Software Security: How It Assists Attackers & Security Analysts”
Media Mention: “Going Phishing on Campus”
Where: Inside Higher Ed, “Going Phishing on Campus”
Who: Shomir Wilson, assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST)
Stuckeman symposium to highlight issues surrounding displacement in architecture
The Stuckeman School will host a research symposium Nov. 13-14 to examine the relationship between refugee displacement, climate and architecture.
Sending a 'We Are!' to these Penn Staters
As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 12 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked for them in their work at the University.
Center for Socially Responsible AI invites seed funding proposals
The Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence invites short proposals for its annual seed funding program. Penn State faculty are can submit proposals for research that advance the center's mission of promoting, practicing and studying socially responsible ways of using, building and deploying AI technology.
IST researcher among recipients of $29 million fusion energy sciences grant
Romit Maulik, assistant professor in the Penn State College of IST, is one of 19 recipients funded with this U.S. Department of Energy grant and will explore machine learning for improved nuclear fusion disruption mitigation.
Human abstractness may make smart contracts smarter, researchers report
Smart contracts, or computer programs that automatically execute certain agreed-upon actions when agreed-upon conditions are met, are considered safer for online transactions than traditional contracts, but they are not error-proof. Researchers from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology were part of a multi-institution effort to make smart contracts easier to develop, easier to verify and, ultimately, safer to use.
New filtering approach may improve online health information experience
A Penn State research team has proposed a new information-filtering approach for predicting future health information needs of online community participants as they move through different stages in their illness. They published their approach in the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics.
College of Information Sciences and Technology welcomes nine new faculty members
The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology has welcomed nine new faculty members in 2023. The two tenure-line members and seven non-tenure-line members represent the college’s four research areas: data sciences and artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, privacy and security, and social and organizational informatics.
IST data sciences student Carson Pedaci is Penn State Blue Band’s new drum major
Carson Pedaci, a third-year student in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, is the new drum major for the Penn State Blue Band. In an interview with IST, he discussed his musical background, his decision to study data sciences and the drum major’s trademark flip.
IST promotes STEM to thousands at National Girl Scout Convention
The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology hosted a STEM activity booth at the 56th triennial National Girl Scout Convention at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, last month.
College of IST student interns share experiences, offer internship advice
Four students from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology shared their summer internship experiences. All undergraduate students in the college are required to complete at least one internship before graduation.
Presidential Leadership Academy announces 2023 cohort of students
Penn State’s Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA) has selected its new cohort of 30 exceptional second-year students. It is the 14th group of new PLA members since 2009 when the academy was founded by alumni Edward R. and Helen S. Hintz.
Alumna pays it forward through endowed IST scholarship
Penn State alumna Jen Romano has made a commitment to establish the Jennifer Romano Dean’s Advisory Board Matching Scholarship in the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
New course examines opportunities, challenges, concerns around generative AI
“Emerging Technologies in Popular Culture,” a new course offered by the Penn State College of Information Systems and Technology, invites undergraduates to explore the questions, opportunities and challenges related to generative artificial intelligence.
Sending a ‘We Are!’ to these Penn Staters
As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize nine Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.
Media Mention: 'Lew-Port graduate named interim dean of Penn State school'
Where: Yahoo! News, “Lew-Port graduate named interim dean of Penn State school”
Who: Andrea Tapia, associate dean for research in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST)
College of Information Sciences and Technology names student marshal
The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has named its student marshal for summer 2023. Tessa Beauchat, a human-centered design and development student and Schreyer Honors College Scholar, will lead her IST classmates into the University's commencement ceremony on Aug. 12 in the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park
Media Mention: ‘AI Will Heighten Cybersecurity Risks for RIA’s’
Where: WealthManagement.com, “AI Will Heighten Cybersecurity Risks for RIAs”
Who: Shomir Wilson, assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST)
Media Mention: ‘Opinion: Mark Zuckerberg’s family photo raises this crucial question’
Where: CNN, “Opinion: Mark Zuckerberg’s family photo raises this crucial question”
Who: Priya Kumar, assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST)
Carleen Maitland named interim associate dean for research in the College of IST
Carleen Maitland, professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, has been named interim associate dean for research, effective Aug. 1.
Renaissance Fund selects Edgar and Barbara Farmer as 2023 honorees
As Penn State’s Renaissance Fund celebrates its 47th year of recognizing outstanding community members and helping students in need, the Renaissance Fund Committee has selected local community leaders and education pioneers Edgar and Barbara Farmer as its 2023 honorees. A reception in the Farmers’ honor will be held on Nov. 1.
Mary Beth Rosson, long-time leader in the College of IST, retires
Mary Beth Rosson, professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, retired on June 30. Rosson served in many leadership roles throughout her career with the University.
Andrea Tapia named interim dean of College of IST
Andrea Tapia, associate dean for research and professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), has been named interim dean for the college, effective Aug. 1. She will assume the role following the departure of Andrew Sears, as announced on June 28.
Lynette Yarger named full-time associate dean in Schreyer Honors College
Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College has promoted Lynette Yarger to full-time associate dean for equity and inclusion as of July 1. Prior to that date, the professor of information sciences and technology had filled the role on a part-time basis.
College of IST Dean Andrew Sears announces departure
Andrew Sears, dean of the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), has announced his departure from the University, effective July 31. Sears will assume the position of dean of the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) on Aug. 1.
Alumnus honors parents through endowed IST scholarship
Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology alumnus Colin Murphy, class of 2003, recently made a commitment to establish the Richard and Veronica Murphy Dean's Advisory Board Matching Scholarship in honor of his mother and in memory of his father. The gift will be matched by a fund supported by members of the IST advisory board.