Flourish, Together: Embedding Mindfulness and Compassion into Education

Alarming rates of mental health challenges and social isolation among today's young people have called for unique and innovative approaches to supporting student well-being.  I will provide an overview of current academic and research efforts at Penn State to support skills and mindsets related to student flourishing. We will explore what it means to flourish and why it's important to challenge the status quo of today's "college life". 

Presenter: Blake Colaianne  |  Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center

Sustainability in the Research Lab: Be the Change

The Penn State Sustainable Labs Program has been internationally recognized for its unique educational and experiential learning approach to incorporating sustainability practices into the research laboratory.  Instead of excusing research as a necessarily energy intensive and waste producing endeavor, participating researchers improve their lab operations while developing a sustainability-focused mind and skillset towards the daily habits and decisions that are essential for building and leading a strong culture of sustainability in the scientific workforce.  30 research labs is currently being recruited for the 2024-25 cohort - come and discover how to start running a more sustainable research lab with this programmatic opportunity. 

Speakers: Kristin Dreyer (Center for Nanoscale Science) |  Jack Rumery (PSU Sustainability) 

Will Bees Like it Here?

The Center for Pollinator Research integrates research, education, outreach and extension to improve management and conservation of pollinators.  Here, I will highlight our Beescape platform, which is a mapping tool that helps people evaluate the quality of their landscapes and habitats for bees, as well as our new NSF funded INSECT NET graduate training program which seeks to develop non-lethal, automated monitoring systems for bees and other insects, which will help us model how land use and climate influences insect  diversity and abundance.  We are intersted in new ideas for the integration of data science, computer science, and engineering to address bee declines.

Speaker: Christina Grozinger

Café Winter Break

The Millennium Café will return in January 2024.  Thank you for your contributions to make the 2023 Millennium Café a success! Enjoy your winter break.

No Millennium Café

No Millennium Café due to Thanksgiving Break.

Center for Immersive Experiences: Research with Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality

Technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR, AR, and MR) are becoming more ubiquitous and accessible. However, how they can be implemented and utilized in universities and industries is still being explored. The Center for Immersive Experiences will be making available virtual and mixed-reality headsets, 360 cameras, and devices for capturing LIDAR data. So, you can get a hands-on experience with this new immersive frontier.

Speakers: Patrick Dudas & Jessica Menold  |  Center for Immersive Experiences