News

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.

Penn State announces 2022 University-wide faculty and staff awards

Penn State announces 2022 University-wide faculty and staff awards

Each year, Penn State recognizes outstanding faculty and staff with annual awards in teaching and excellence. These awards highlight many of the faculty and staff who go above and beyond.

Read more...

IST Assistant Professor Linhai Song honored with NSF CAREER award

IST Assistant Professor Linhai Song honored with NSF CAREER award

Linhai Song, assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, is the recipient of a 2022 Faculty Early Career Development award from the National Science Foundation. The CAREER award is the most prestigious award given by the NSF in support of junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar through outstanding research, excellent teaching, and the integration of education and research.

Read more...

Ritter named recipient of 2022 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award

Frank Ritter, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology and director of the Applied Cognitive Science Lab, has received the 2022 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award. 

Read more...

Six receive Faculty Scholar Medals

Six University faculty members have received 2022 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement.

Read more...

Bardzell honored with 2022 McKay Donkin Award

Bardzell honored with 2022 McKay Donkin Award

Jeffrey Bardzell, associate dean of undergraduate and graduate studies in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, has earned the 2022 McKay Donkin Award. 

Read more...

Fonseca, Harrell-Levy, Schocker named 2022 Penn State Teaching Fellows

Fred Fonseca, associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology; Marinda Harrell-Levy, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Brandywine and Jessica Schocker, associate professor in social studies education and women's studies at Penn State Berks; have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2022 Penn State Teaching Fellows.

Read more...

Huang recognized with Undergraduate Program Leadership Award

Huang recognized with Undergraduate Program Leadership Award

Sharon Huang, associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, is the recipient of Penn State's 2022 Undergraduate Program Leadership Award. 

Read more...

Using tweets to predict real-time food shortages

Using tweets to predict real-time food shortages

The sentiments and emotions expressed in tweets on Twitter can be used in real time to assess where supply chain disruptions due to a pandemic, war or natural disaster may lead to food shortages, according to researchers at Penn State and the Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.

Read more...

Lecture on explainable machine learning to be presented April 12

Umang Bhatt, a doctoral candidate in the Machine Learning Group at the University of Cambridge, will present a free public lecture titled “Challenges and Frontiers in Deploying Transparent Machine Learning” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 12.

Read more...

2022 Graduate Exhibition Award winners announced

Sixty-eight Penn State graduate students received awards for their research and creative scholarship in the 37th annual Graduate Exhibition. A complete list of winners is available below.

Read more...

IST ConnectX

IST ConnectX

A special shoutout to College of Information Sciences and Technology alumni who returned to Penn State for IST ConnectX and a Happy Valley Networking Social on Friday, March 25. During the day, alumni speakers presented in two different IST classrooms to share their professional experiences with students.

Read more...

IST’s Dongwon Lee receives Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award

IST’s Dongwon Lee receives Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award

Dongwon Lee, professor of information sciences and technology, is the recipient of a 2022 Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award. Lee will complete his Fulbright fellowship in the psychology department at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom as part of his sabbatical leave during the 2022-23 academic year. 

Read more...

IST student blends tech and creative skills to help build platform for dancers

IST student blends tech and creative skills to help build platform for dancers

Fourth-year cybersecurity analytics and operations student Eugene Ryoo is drawing on the technical and soft skills he's gained in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology to make a positive change in a niche domain: the professional ballet industry. Ryoo is working with a team of Penn State students to lead The Ballet Scout, a centralized system where dancers can locate auditions, training programs, jobs and housing needs.

Read more...

Penn State social scientists anticipate Ukrainian refugees’ needs, challenges

Penn State social scientists anticipate Ukrainian refugees’ needs, challenges

In one of the largest mass migration flows in recent history, approximately 3.4 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since late February. While it is too soon to know the full impact of the war in Ukraine, Penn State social science researchers have been looking at other displaced populations to anticipate Ukrainian refugees’ short-term needs and long-term challenges. 

Read more...

New model could have ‘Moneyball’-like impact on baseball players’ value

New model could have ‘Moneyball’-like impact on baseball players’ value

In the movie “Moneyball,” a young economics graduate and a cash-strapped Major League Baseball general manager introduce a new way to evaluate baseball players’ value. Their innovative idea to compute players’ statistical data and salaries enabled the Oakland A’s to recruit quality talent overlooked by other teams — completely revitalizing the team without exceeding budget.

Read more...

College of IST names Garraway assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion

College of IST names Garraway assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion

The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology has named Jocelyn Bennett Garraway assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion. Holding three degrees from the University, Bennett Garraway has more than 30 years of experience as a counselor, educator and administrator. She began her new position March 1.

Read more...

National Guard hosts third annual Cyber Wi-Fighter hacking event at IST

National Guard hosts third annual Cyber Wi-Fighter hacking event at IST

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.

Read more...

Weebly Founder, IST alumnus David Rusenko speaks on 'Dare to Disrupt' podcast

Weebly Founder, IST alumnus David Rusenko speaks on 'Dare to Disrupt' podcast

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. 

Read more...

Westin Scholar Award strengthens security skills for IST, Schreyer student

Westin Scholar Award strengthens security skills for IST, Schreyer student

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.

Read more...

IST Identity Talks series presents ‘Strength in Diversity’ on April 5

IST Identity Talks series presents ‘Strength in Diversity’ on April 5

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.

Read more...

Lecture on bias in language technologies to be presented April 5

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.

Read more...

On the Bridge - March 2022

On the Bridge - March 2022

A compilation of recent news, highlights and achievements from the College of Information Sciences and Technology community.

Read more...

6 student startups each receive $15,000, selected into Summer Founders program

6 student startups each receive $15,000, selected into Summer Founders program

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.

Read more...

Tech activist Timnit Gebru to deliver distinguished lecture on ethical AI

Tech activist Timnit Gebru to deliver distinguished lecture on ethical AI

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.

Read more...

11 prominent young Penn Staters to be honored with Alumni Achievement Award

11 prominent young Penn Staters to be honored with Alumni Achievement Award

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.

Read more...

Longtime donor honors parents by endowing technology scholarship in IST

Longtime donor honors parents by endowing technology scholarship in IST

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.

Read more...

Scientists tap AI betting agents to help solve research reproducibility concerns

Scientists tap AI betting agents to help solve research reproducibility concerns

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.

Read more...

Pomerantsev to deliver lectures on misinformation, Ukraine March 31 and April 1

Pomerantsev to deliver lectures on misinformation, Ukraine March 31 and April 1

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.

Read more...

College of IST announces eight seed grant recipients

College of IST announces eight seed grant recipients

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.

Read more...

Lecture on leveraging machine learning in nonprofits to be presented March 15

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.

Read more...

Be You in Tech Summit to celebrate, recognize strength of diversity in tech

Be You in Tech Summit to celebrate, recognize strength of diversity in tech

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.

Read more...

Guided understanding, not rules, could help children stay safer online

Guided understanding, not rules, could help children stay safer online

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? 

Read more...

Facial recognition tech in public could yield perceptions of workplace fairness

Facial recognition tech in public could yield perceptions of workplace fairness

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?

Read more...

Lecture on 'AI for Cyber-Safety' to be presented March 4

Lecture on 'AI for Cyber-Safety' to be presented March 4

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.

Read more...

Three industry experts, Penn State alumni join IST Dean’s Advisory Board

Three industry experts, Penn State alumni join IST Dean’s Advisory Board

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.

Read more...

IST sets graduates up ‘to do well in life,’ says member of first class

IST sets graduates up ‘to do well in life,’ says member of first class

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.

Read more...

Lecture on data privacy to be presented March 1

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.

Read more...

Insights from Experts: COVID-19 and the mental health of essential workers

Insights from Experts: COVID-19 and the mental health of essential workers

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.

 

Read more...

Doctoral student draws on IST skills in startup for AI-driven diagnostic tool

Doctoral student draws on IST skills in startup for AI-driven diagnostic tool

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.

Read more...

Penn State establishes the Geroscience and Dementia Prevention Consortium

Penn State establishes the Geroscience and Dementia Prevention Consortium

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.

Read more...

Science federation highlights Penn State proposal to combat diseases of despair

Science federation highlights Penn State proposal to combat diseases of despair

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.

Read more...

6 Penn State student startups set to compete for $30,000 in Inc.U Competition

6 Penn State student startups set to compete for $30,000 in Inc.U Competition

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.

Read more...

IST Identity Talks series Feb. 28 presents ‘Women in Tech’

IST Identity Talks series Feb. 28 presents ‘Women in Tech’

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.

Read more...

NASA scholarship puts IST student on path to fulfill childhood dream

NASA scholarship puts IST student on path to fulfill childhood dream

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.

Read more...

James Wang named distinguished professor of IST

James Wang named distinguished professor of IST

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.

Read more...

Penn State names 21 new distinguished professors for 2022

Penn State names 21 new distinguished professors for 2022

Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs has named 21 distinguished professors for 2022.

Read more...

Twenty teams compete for $50,000 prize pool in the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge

Twenty teams compete for $50,000 prize pool in the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge

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.

Read more...

Students propose human-centered tech solutions in capstone course

Students propose human-centered tech solutions in capstone course

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.

Read more...

IST Identity Talks series Feb. 8 presents, ‘Celebrating Black History’

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.

Read more...

Dope Labs podcast creators to host science communication workshops at Penn State

Dope Labs podcast creators to host science communication workshops at Penn State

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.

Read more...