Sadan Kulturel-Konak, professor of management information systems and the director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center at Penn State Berks, has been selected as VentureWell Ecosystem Futures Fellows for the inaugural 2025 cohort.
Faculty librarians conduct scholarly research across disciplines and with far-reaching impacts. Penn State University Libraries faculty librarians’ research is not only impactful, it is highly productive, as evidenced by a study published in the July 2023 issue of College & Research Libraries, the official, peer-reviewed scholarly research journal of the Association of College and Research Libraries.
The benefits of virtual reality (VR) appear to extend beyond video games, according to Penn State Berks senior kinesiology major Diana Stoltzfus and Associate Professor of Kinesiology Praveen Veerabhadrappa. They recently found that using VR during exercise can improve the experience and reduce the perceived effort for college students.
With approximately 12% of the population in Berks and Schuylkill Counties living in poverty, food banks are a critical resource for those who face hunger issues. Penn State Berks faculty are collaborating with faculty at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of local food banks. The team has recently received a seed grant from the Penn State Institute for Computational Data Sciences as part of the Inter-Institutional Program for Diversifying Research to explore this issue.
The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime surrounding it into a shape that can look like a football, according to a new study led by Penn State Berks Professor of Physics Ruth Daly. That football shape suggests the black hole is spinning at a substantial speed, which researchers estimated to be about 60% of its potential limit.
Azar Panah, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State Berks, coordinated an educational art exhibition inspired by fluid dynamics at the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences. The Traveling Gallery of Fluid Motion presents “Chaosmosis: Assigning Rhythm to the Turbulent,” which opened on Oct. 2 and will remain on view through Feb. 23, 2024, at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C.
The latest issue of the Wind Vision Report estimates that wind energy will supply 20% of the country’s electricity in 2030, and 35% in 2050. Increasingly larger wind farms pose a challenge due to the land area required. Penn State Berks recently received funding for a proposal titled “Evaluation of Clustering Effect in Harmony Turbine's Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Farms” to study this alternative method. The grant is for $69,833, and it will be matched in its entirety by Penn State.
The Institute for Computational and Data Sciences has awarded the first round of RISE seed grants, supporting research including standardizing satellite weather analysis to predicting, predicting wireless signal penetration using deep learning, using automated data processing systems for neuroimaging and analyzing exoplanet survey data.
A Penn State Berks-led research team built a multidimensional model to measure the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education. The model not only includes teaching entrepreneurial skills, but also addresses the students’ intentions to start a business and their perceptions of the barriers they might encounter when starting a business.
