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IST town hall recognizes alumni for their achievements in technology

10/18/12

Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) hosted a town hall Oct. 16 with three Penn State alumni who highlighted how they succeeded in their fields. Brig. Gen. Dana Born, dean of the faculty, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Paul Bell, former president of Global Public and Large Enterprise, Dell; and John Meyer, co-chairman/ CEO, Arise Virtual Solutions and IST Advisory Board member, were on campus to be recognized by the Alumni Association as Alumni Fellows, the most prestigious award given by the association.

IST Alumni Society scholarship now endowed

10/18/12

Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has exceeded its $50,000 goal for the IST Alumni Society Trustee Scholarship by raising a total of $60,156. The accomplishment, which marks the end of a five-year campaign, secures an endowed scholarship for IST with annual matching from the University. The funds will directly help students who otherwise couldn't afford a Penn State IST education.

Tennessee State grant funds Liu's research to combat hackers

10/15/12

Hackers, viruses and other security threats are among the greatest hazards faced by companies today. While network security systems avert many of those dangers, they are not equipped to combat the full array of cyber risks that currently exist. Peng Liu, a professor at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), in conjunction with Tennessee State University, is developing an advanced intrusion detection system that would spot even the stealthiest attackers. Liu has received an award of $101,000 from Tennessee State University to support the project, "Heterogeneous VM (virtual machine) Replication: A New Approach to Intrusion Detection, Active Response and Recovery in Data Centers." The total grant, which is part of a three-year project that started in April, amounts to about $700,000, he said, while the $101,000 is allocated to Penn State.

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GE chairman and CEO to visit Penn State Oct. 26

10/11/12

Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer at General Electric (GE), will highlight his company's ongoing partnership with Penn State during a daylong visit to the University Park campus on Oct. 26. Immelt will talk to students, faculty, staff and academic leaders about the importance of continued cooperation between GE and Penn State, focused on the education of a global workforce and continued innovation through research.

As part of his visit, Immelt will participate in a moderated discussion on business, leadership and competition, at 3 p.m. in the atrium of the Business Building on campus. The talk, titled "Executive Insights with GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt: Competing for the Future," will be moderated by Charles H. Whiteman, Dean of the Smeal College of Business. The limited-seating, hourlong event will be free and open to Penn State students, faculty and staff. To register, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/immelt.

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Neustar president and CEO Lisa Hook to visit campus

10/9/12

Lisa Hook, a 1983 alumna and president and CEO of Neustar, will present "The Enormous Opportunities and Challenges of the Internet Age -- and why Lawyers are Essential to Ensuring the Stability of the Global Digital Economy" at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Greg Sutliff Auditorium in Lewis Katz Building, University Park, Pa., and a simulcast to the Apfelbaum Family Courtroom and Auditorium in Lewis Katz Hall, Carlisle, Pa.

NSF award supports Carroll's creation of mobile time banking app

10/9/12

There is a growing international movement to facilitate economic exchange and build social capital through an alternative form of currency -- time. Time banking refers to community-based volunteering in which participants provide and receive services valued by the amount of time they require to perform. Jack Carroll, Edward M. Frymoyer Professor at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, is working on a project funded by the National Science Foundation that is intended to strengthen communities through a mobile time banking system.

Grant funds IST professor's research to combat hackers

10/5/12

Hackers, viruses and other security threats are among the greatest hazards faced by companies today. While network security systems avert many of those dangers, they are not equipped to combat the full array of cyber risks that currently exist. Peng Liu, a professor at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, in conjunction with Tennessee State University, is developing an advanced intrusion detection system that would spot even the stealthiest attackers. Liu has received an award of $101,000 from Tennessee State University to support the project "Heterogeneous VM (virtual machine) Replication: A New Approach to Intrusion Detection, Active Response and Recovery in Data Centers."

Professor's play encourages young women to consider IT careers

10/4/12

Eileen Trauth, professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State, has written many journal articles and has given numerous presentations throughout her career on the under-representation of women in technological fields such as information technology (IT). However, scientific research doesn't lend itself particularly well to conveying nuances and the emotional aspect of issues, and many people who could benefit from her research don't have easy access to it. Trauth decided that the best way to bring her message to the public would be to write and produce a play that communicates, in dramatic fashion, research results about barriers to women in the IT field. "I was frustrated with the limits of the (academic publishing) medium," said Trauth, who is also an affiliate professor of women's studies in the College of Liberal Arts.

Penn State host to 23 new NSF graduate researchers

10/4/12

Penn State is hosting 23 new National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recipients in 2012-13. These students join 33 prior recipients continuing in the University's graduate degree programs in the Eberly College of Science and the colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Earth and Mineral Sciences, Health and Human Development, Information Sciences and Technology, and the Liberal Arts, as well as the Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs. The NSF program supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, STEM education and learning research, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees.

Alumni scholarship in final push to reach $50K

9/28/12

Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is in the final leg of a campaign to raise $50,000 for the IST Alumni Society Trustee Scholarship, which will aid students with limited financial means in pursuing an IST education. The college hopes to reach this goal by Oct. 7.

Kvasny, Trauth examine why black males choose IT careers

9/27/12

Black males are among the heaviest users of mobile technology, according to Lynette Kvasny, associate professor of information sciences and technology (IST) at Penn State, but relatively few of them are leaders in the field. She and IST colleague Eileen Trauth, with the aid of a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), are seeking answers as to what social and environmental factors steer black males towards careers in information technology (IT).

IST researcher uses social media to predict aurora borealis

9/27/12

The aurora borealis, aka Northern Lights, is a source of mystery and wonder for professional and amateur astronomers alike. Predicting the movement of the spectacular light show, however, can be a test in patience and perseverance. Yan Cao, a doctoral student at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), in partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, is developing a website that harnesses the power of public participation and social media to provide information on the natural phenomenon.

Give to IST campaign will spur future scholarship success stories

9/19/12

Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is seeking to raise $50,000 by Oct. 7 to establish the IST Alumni Society Trustee Scholarship, which will support students with limited financial means. The college is encouraging alumni to donate to the scholarship fund so that future technology leaders will be given access to the same education that has enabled alumni to pursue challenging and rewarding careers.

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IST teams place in top 1 percent of Google Marketing Challenge

9/19/12

Businesses and nonprofit organizations are increasingly turning to online keyword advertising -- advertising that is linked to specific words or phrases submitted to search engines -- to their targeted audiences. As part of a course taught by Jim Jansen in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), 16 interdisciplinary teams competed in the 2012 Google Online Marketing Challenge, three of which placed in the Global Final 15 out of 4,000 teams from around the world. As part of the challenge, students created online marketing campaigns for small- to medium-sized businesses in the Pennsylvania area, which the students implemented.

"To have three teams from Penn State place in the Global Final 15 is really astonishing and speaks well of our Penn State undergraduates," said Jansen, whose areas of expertise are Web searching, sponsored search and personalization for information searching.

Kim receives Korean-American Scientists and Engineers scholarship

9/13/12

Hyun-woo (Anthony) Kim, a Ph.D. student at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has been selected as a recipient of the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) scholarship in the amount of $1,500 in recognition of academic excellence and potential to become a leader in society. He is the only student studying information science among the 15 winners across the U.S., in addition to being the only winner from Penn State.

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Tony Pittman to speak at IST

1/19/11

Tony Pittman, director of Business Relationship Management in Hewlett Packard's Global Supply Chain Services organization and former Penn State football player, will deliver a talk from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 1 in the Cybertorium (room 113) of the IST building on Penn State's University Park campus. The talk is part of IST's ongoing Town Hall Speaker Series. The event is free and open to the public. Register to attend at http://ist.psu.edu/tonypittman online.

Carroll discusses minimalist learning design in magazine interview

5/23/13

The legendary Funnel of Nurnberg was said to make people wise very quickly when the right knowledge was poured in—a philosophy that designers continue to apply whenever they over-structure information designs. However, according to Jack Carroll, Edward M. Frymoyer Professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), and the author of a landmark book on minimalist design, designers should prescribe less, and enable users to think and do more with new technologies.

Two Penn State engineers named ASME fellows

5/14/13

Two Penn State engineering faculty members were recently named fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The faculty members are Mike Erdman, the Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development, and Soundar Kumara, the Allen E. Pearce/Allen M. Pearce Professor of Industrial Engineering.

IST grads, students explore San Francisco start-up scene

5/14/13

The second annual Start-up Week, which was held at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) March 18-23, 2013, featured more than 25 entrepreneurs from trailblazing companies such as Weebly, Reddit and Songsplit, who networked with students and dispensed advice on starting and growing innovative technology-based companies. Several IST students decided to foster the connections established with the entrepreneurs and educate themselves about the field of entrepreneurship by embarking on a trip to San Francisco, Calif.

Tapia heads to Costa Rican jungle to join discussion on sustainability

5/10/13

Sustainability research, which examines the complex interactions between humans and the rest of nature, has the potential to bring economic and social benefits to the developing world and tropical countries such as Costa Rica. However, sustainability research in the tropics has been slow to develop. Andrea Tapia, an associate professor in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), is one of about 30 people worldwide who have been invited to participate in a consortium that will hold its first planning meeting in June in the jungle of Southern Costa Rica, where they will discuss issues of sustainability and biodiversity conservation in the tropics.

Tapia to engage Schreyers Honors students in crisis informatics discussions

5/10/13

Andrea Tapia, an associate professor in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), seeks to develop information and communication technology solutions that promote better decision-making across all responders in disaster settings. Starting in the Fall 2013 semester, she will have the opportunity to engage students in the Schreyer Honors College in a deeper discussion than what is typically allowed in a classroom setting of how technologies can be used to save lives during a crisis.

IST dean announces $50,000 gift to establish scholarship

5/3/13

David Hall, dean of Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), says he feels indebted to Penn State for the opportunities it has provided him, and would like to show that appreciation by easing the financial burdens of future IST students. To solidify that commitment, he recently finalized the documentation for an estate gift of $50,000 for the David L. Hall Scholarship in IST.

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Leadership emerges spontaneously during games

4/29/13

Video game and augmented-reality game players can spontaneously build virtual teams and leadership structures without special tools or guidance, according to researchers. Players in a game that mixed real and online worlds organized and operated in teams that resembled a military organization.

IST research: "Friendly" privacy concerns on Facebook?

4/18/13

In recent years, social network sites such as Facebook have become hugely popular platforms that provide users with various features to facilitate social connectivity, information sharing and relationship development. However, the highly interactive nature of communication and data exchange on those sites has led to an increasing number of privacy concerns by users. Researchers at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) are studying interpersonal privacy issues on social network sites through the use of a particular feature—Friendship Pages on Facebook.

IST doctoral student looks at how MOOCs are changing the nature of education

4/11/13

The rise of online and distance education in recent years has brought quality learning to the masses but also presents challenges for educators and system designers. The shift from face-to-face interaction between instructors and students to computer-mediated forms of communication, according to a doctoral candidate at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), highlights the importance of understanding how such interactions are affected by the way educational systems are designed.

Outstanding IST Alumni Award marks milestone

4/11/13

In commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of its first graduating class, Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has established the Penn State Outstanding IST Alumni Award to recognize graduates who have reached exceptional levels of professional achievement. The award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the College of IST.

IST's enterprise architecture program gives students advantages

4/11/13

Enterprise architecture (EA) is one of the fastest growing career fields today, with organizations of all types seeking qualified individuals at all levels to fill architecture-related jobs. However, being a relatively new field, it can be hard for employers to find recent college graduates who possess an understanding of EA fundamentals.