Improving people's lives by creating new knowledge
From reducing police stressors in order to improve outcomes, to discovering new antibiotics through campus soil samples, Penn State Schuylkill's interdisciplinary researchers solve problems that impact the communities we serve. The research conducted by our faculty and students fulfills one of three pillars of the University's land-grant mission: to conduct and promote research to improve people’s lives.
Penn State Schuylkill research covers a broad range of topics, such as biology, business, chemistry, criminal justice, healthcare, humanities, physics, psychology, and more. Many of these projects directly impact the communities of Schuylkill County and the surrounding region in critical areas including:
- fresh water algae and lake health
- discovering novel compounds that can help manage parasites that cause disease
- helping community organizations work together to maximize impact
- honey bee health, population decline, and colony management
- bullying in rural areas
- examination, analysis, and documentation of Eastern European holiday traditions exhibited in local cultural practices
- opioid abuse and addictions recovery
- reducing alcohol abuse in rural communities
- rhetorical analysis of texts and theatrical productions to better understand current events
Fostering an environment for student engagement
Our students are able to get involved with these projects from the first semester of their first year of classes, working within their own disciplines or across other areas of interest. Students can partner with faculty to work on existing research projects, or produce their own original research. Additionally, these student researchers often:
- earn opportunities to present their research at campus and University-wide events
- have their research published in prestigious academic journals
- travel to research conferences in places that have included Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and more, expanding their minds while broadening their horizons
Students who are interested in becoming undergraduate researchers should contact Dr. Lee Silverberg, professor of chemistry and STEM Division coordinator, to get connected with a faculty research mentor.