Good morning, State College.

IST students shared summer internship photos showing over 400 students engaging with 372 employers in 15 industries across 17 countries.

The internships — offered in person and hybrid — gave them hands-on experience to build future skills.

The Penn State AI Hub honored 14 community members with 2026 AI Awards for their research projects and breakthroughs in AI.

The annual competition showcased work in societal impact, thesis projects and doctoral dissertations on campus.

Penn State students traveled to Ireland this summer for a faculty-led course on democratic deliberation and Irish culture and visited Dublin, Galway and Lahinch to study traditions and political practices while completing a documentary project.

This summer, Penn State doctoral candidate Ava Veith interned with the grounds crew at MetLife Stadium for the World Cup, measuring and reporting key field data (metrics like hardness and moisture) to support data-driven decisions.

Two other graduate students worked with FIFA crews in Miami.

Bryan Thelisma, a fourth-year nursing student at Penn State Nese College of Nursing, was elected student representative of the National Black Nurses Association in the 2026 election.

He will serve as liaison between NBNA and nursing students and be sworn in on Aug. 2 in St. Louis.

Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute announced a funding program to help social science faculty cover fees at the Federal Statistical Research Data Center — proposals may request up to $5,000 anytime during the year.

All funds must be used solely for the Census Research Data Center.

Penn State’s Stuckeman School will welcome Hongbing Tang as an assistant professor in landscape architecture starting fall 2026.

Tang comes from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and brings extensive experience in regional planning and design.

Former Penn State dean Susan Welch’s final book, The Hunted: The Holocaust through the Experiences of Twenty European Jews, was published recently by Berghahn Books thanks to the efforts of her brother Robert Welch and Professor Lee Ann Banaszak (and colleagues) to honor her legacy by sharing firsthand Holocaust testimonies.

State and local leaders met yesterday at Way Fruit Farm to discuss a $10M fund to help growers recover from a late-spring freeze that damaged fruit crops in Centre County.

The state Department of Agriculture will issue program guidelines by mid-August as aid is scheduled to start early fall.

Penn State men's basketball is reshaping its program after losing 10 players for next season.

Head coach Mike Rhoades said the new roster—six from the transfer portal, two from overseas and one high school commit—will build team chemistry and better prepare them to compete in the Big Ten.

Centre County will welcome over 8,000 athletes from 40 states to compete in the State Games of America starting Friday, July 24 at venues including Penn State campus, with competitions running through Sunday, Aug 2.

An opening ceremony is scheduled at Bryce Jordan Center on July 31.