Good morning, State College.

Penn State’s Ag Progress Days will host nine free tours on farming skills from Aug.

11 to Aug. 13 at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs (9 miles southwest of town); tours cover topics from pasture and crop management to pond and tree identification.

Penn State gave the Ray T.

Fortunato Award for Excellence in HR to Mary Fitzpatrick (HR records manager) and Erin Morton (HR partner for five campuses) at a recent HR Town Hall event. The award honors their strong work and commitment to improving HR services.

Penn State associate professor Abhronil Sengupta will attend the National Academy of Engineering’s Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering 2026 Symposium from Sept.

21-24 at the University of Texas at Austin. He will join 73 engineers in exploring links between neuroscience and AI (sponsored by AMD).

Penn State named graduate student and National Guard staff sergeant Anthony Altobelli as the 2026 LT.

Michael P. Murphy Award recipient for exceptional work in geospatial intelligence; he works as a GIS analyst at PennDOT and studies geospatial intelligence leveraging his military experience (honoring LT. Michael P. Murphy’s legacy).

Penn State professor Amy Pritchett joins a nine-member National Academies committee to examine airspace safety protocols after the 2025 crash at DCA.

The group is meeting through summer and early fall to review risks and recommend improvements — an effort to prevent future tragedies.

Wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota is lowering air quality across Pennsylvania today, with Centre County facing unhealthy levels due to a Code Red Alert.

Residents should limit outdoor activities and avoid open burning + using gas-powered equipment to reduce air pollution.

Penn State Extension experts explained that washing fruits and vegetables reduces some contaminants but does not completely remove cyclospora, a parasite linked to stomach bug symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and fatigue.

They advise continuing to eat fresh produce while following safe food handling practices and monitoring CDC updates.

York resident Brittani Snyder is making progress with treatment at Penn State Health Facial Nerve Clinic (using Botox injections and facial exercises) after a tick bite triggered facial synkinesis that disrupted her smile, and she now experiences improved symmetry and reduced twitching.

Former Penn State football linebacker Jason Cabinda has joined The CW’s ACC broadcast crew as a lead booth analyst for the 2026-27 season – he played six NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions.

Penn State will start its fall season without its longtime running backs and shift to a new group led by senior transfer Carson Hansen (with junior transfer James Peoples and redshirt sophomore Quinton Martin Jr.) in Happy Valley; the trio is expected to reestablish the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack.

After a challenging 2026 season, eight Nittany Lions transferred via the portal as Penn State rebuilds its baseball roster.

Key moves include pitcher Mason Horwat to Miami and hitter Jack Porter to Washington (among others).

Penn State baseball pitcher Colin Fitzgerald signed with the Athletics as an undrafted free agent on Wednesday, with the team announcing his deal.

Born in Lititz, he transferred from Maine and served as the Friday starter in his final season at Penn State.