Penn State will celebrate the accomplishments of its graduates during its 2026&nbsp;summer commencement ceremonies, which will be held Saturday, Aug. 15.&nbsp;During the weekend, the University will pass its 1 millionth degree-granted threshold.

Penn State to hold 2026 summer commencement at University Park on Aug. 15 | Penn State University

title

Penn State will celebrate the accomplishments of its graduates during its 2026 summer commencement ceremonies, which will be held Saturday, Aug. 15. During the weekend, the University will pass its 1 millionth degree-granted threshold.

description

abstract

robots

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/Photo%20of%20year%2018.jpg?h=09cb1cd7&itok=kTZ0Vk68

Campus Life

Penn State to hold 2026 summer commencement at University Park on Aug. 15

Agricultural Sciences

College of Agricultural Sciences

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Rock Springs as the permanent Penn State Ag Progress Days site.

Ag Progress Days celebrates five decades of innovation and education at Rock Springs | Penn State University

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Rock Springs as the permanent Penn State Ag Progress Days site.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2026/08/2025_apd_07140.jpg?h=857848ea&itok=824FWk1w

Ag Progress Days celebrates five decades of innovation and education at Rock Springs

Penn State will cross a historic threshold this week when it awards its one millionth degree at summer commencement ceremonies on Aug. 15 at the University Park campus.

Penn State to award one millionth degree Aug. 15 | Penn State University

Penn State will cross a historic threshold this week when it awards its one millionth degree at summer commencement ceremonies on Aug. 15 at the University Park campus.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2026/08/1mkey-wrdm-16x9-dark-large-4-3.jpg?h=96a96008&itok=oBjAwcGR

Administration

Penn State to award one millionth degree Aug. 15

ai_sciencejournalhero

Adopting, advancing and adapting to AI

Gov. Shapiro issues proclamation celebrating Penn State's one millionth degree

$12M grant to build animal-inspired sensing for autonomous drones and robots

WATCH: Penn State Great Valley, a commitment to the greater Philadelphia area 

Creating chemical reactions that run on oxygen, produce only water as waste

Gov. Shapiro issues proclamation celebrating Penn State’s Ag Progress Days

Parking access changes coming to Eisenhower Deck beginning Aug 10

Miss Central Pennsylvania uses online education to help fight food insecurity

Medical Minute: Six tips from K-12 school nurses for a healthy back-to-school season

Social bonds, recognition linked to reduced suicidal thoughts in teens

Penn State Centre Stage announces 2026–27 show season

NSF funding supports Two-Dimensional Crystal Consortium's next chapter

Pritt named interim vice provost for Penn State Global

WATCH: Penn State Brandywine, a commitment to southeast Pennsylvania

Penn State’s sweetest course offers hands-on learning for all

How does a deadly chicken virus escape vaccines designed to slow it?

Q&A: Why does an irregular heart beat show up 40 years early for some people?

Honey from continental US may be as pesticide-free as imported organic honey

Center for the Performing Arts announces 2026–27 season

The Medical Minute: Injury prevention tips for young athletes

How Penn State Greater Allegheny is preparing students for career success

Penn State awarded $20M to lead an NSF ‘programmable cloud laboratory’

Penn State scientists to lead three Genesis Mission projects 

WATCH: Penn State Berks, a commitment to Berks County

Penn State honors military service during 15th Military Appreciation Week

Happy Valley, Penn State to host 2026 State Games of America

Latest News

2026-Commencement-GreaterAllegheny

2026-Commencement-University Park_Smeal01

sp-2026-top-picture.jpg

2026.05.01-penn-state-crew.jpg

2026 Blue-White Practice Rocco Becht and James Peoples

04132026_Bring your child to work day

041126 men's lacrosse vs Michigan 01

2026.03.31-suw-design-and-build-challenge-124.jpg

Graduate Exhibition 2026 - Performance Night

03062026_POTD_Equine Foal

Around Campus

More research news

Eberly College of Science

A new genome-wide study of the virus that causes Marek’s disease in chickens has identified 10 regions in the virus genome that are associated with an increase in virulence. The study could inform the development of next-generation vaccines that are more effective at preventing future breakthroughs.

How does a deadly chicken virus escape vaccines designed to slow it? | Penn State University

A new genome-wide study of the virus that causes Marek’s disease in chickens has identified 10 regions in the virus genome that are associated with an increase in virulence. The study could inform the development of next-generation vaccines that are more effective at preventing future breakthroughs.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2026/08/chickens.jpg?h=1090211e&itok=6Ze182JE

Research

Vegetable production from soilless farming, a fast-growing segment of modern agriculture, addresses water scarcity, land limitations and food security, but microbial management remains a challenge, according to a team of researchers at Penn State, who conducted a study of bacteria in five soilless farming systems.

Soilless farming system design can determine microbial growth, impact on crops | Penn State University

Vegetable production from soilless farming, a fast-growing segment of modern agriculture, addresses water scarcity, land limitations and food security, but microbial management remains a challenge, according to a team of researchers at Penn State, who conducted a study of bacteria in five soilless farming systems.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2026/06/auja-seffrin-bokchoy-greenhouse-low-rez.jpg?h=ec447a25&itok=3FhZysnV

Soilless farming system design can determine microbial growth, impact on crops

Bonds with others and social recognition at the family, school and community levels were related to reduced suicide risk among Pennsylvania teens, according to a new study by Penn State researchers.

Social bonds, recognition linked to reduced suicidal thoughts in teens | Penn State University

Bonds with others and social recognition at the family, school and community levels were related to reduced suicide risk among Pennsylvania teens, according to a new study by Penn State researchers.

https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/16_9_1000w/public/2026/08/gettyimages-2224386265.jpg?h=4fd5f0df&itok=fdxbDwwT

Featured Research

A new study, led by a team from Penn State College of Medicine, found that when teenagers go to sleep and when they wake up may be the driving force behind what teenagers eat and how much they move. Teens who went to sleep later and woke up later were more likely to consume more calories, snack more and be less physically active — especially when in school compared to on break from school.

Study: Teens' sleep patterns affect their diet, exercise

A thick layer of haze around the ultra-low-density planet Kepler-51d likely obscures not only the strange planet’s composition, but also its origin, according to a new study. A team led by Penn State researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to take a deeper look at the “super-puff” planet that defies planetary formation models.

'Cotton candy’ planet hides its secrets beneath a massive layer of haze

Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers discovered that lightning-like discharge doesn’t require a storm cloud — it could be made inside everyday material on a lab bench.

Researchers make mini-lightning in a block of plastic

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi shared her thoughts in a new blog in Forbes highlighting the importance of valuing people in the age of AI — and how universities like Penn State are preparing students for the workplaces of the future.

Why People Are The Smartest AI Investment—And What It Means For Universities

Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, may be better suited by a new name: Tardiguardians of the Galaxy. Unlike the fictional ragtag team of unenthusiastic heroes, the microscopic animals are providing real insight into how humans could adapt extraterrestrial resources to support space exploration, as well as whether such resources could help protect against the Earthly contaminants that humans might shed. This is according to an international study co-led by Penn State Altoona Professor of Microbiology Corien Bakermans.

‘Water bears’ reveal potential for adapting, protecting Martian resources

Thunderstorms often illuminate the night sky with flashes of lightning. They also seem to make treetops glow and sparkle — although the phenomenon is pretty much invisible to the naked eye. In a study led by Penn State published Feb. 12 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists provide the first direct observations of the weak electrical discharges around trees in nature.

Scientists capture first-ever ultraviolet 'sparkles' from treetops

Penn State researchers have developed a new high-temperature polymer capacitor that can store four times more energy than conventional designs while operating at temperatures up to 482 degrees Fahrenheit. The advance could improve power systems in electric vehicles, data centers, aerospace systems and other high-heat environments where today’s capacitors quickly fail.

New plastic material could solve energy storage challenge, researchers report

A new study offers a look at how the building blocks of life might have originated in the cosmos. Penn State scientists suggest that the amino acids found on the asteroid Bennu did not require warm, liquid water to form, as previously assumed. The team analyzed tiny samples, consisting of roughly 4.6-billion-year-old rocks, delivered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to Earth in 2023.

Radioactive space can host building blocks of life, asteroid samples reveal

Researchers at Penn State say they’ve developed a new hydrogel material inspired by octopus skin that can encode images directly into its structure. The imprinted images then disappear and reappear when the skin is exposed to subtle changes in temperature or a surrounding solvent. The result is a “4D” synthetic smart skin capable of revealing hidden images and shifting surface patterns.

Study: Octopus-inspired material could lead to better camouflage tech

How a new father behaves toward his baby can change family dynamics in a way that affects the child’s heart and metabolic health years later, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.

Early dad's involvement linked to lasting child health, study finds

About half of older men suffer from sleep problems, back pain or both, according to Soomi Lee, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. Lee recently led a study to investigate whether one precedes the other and found that back problems can predict sleep problems years later in men over 65 years old.

Study: Back pain might predict future sleep problems among men

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi was featured in a CEO Magazine interview highlighting her belief in the transformative power of higher education and her efforts to expand access, advance ethical innovation, and strengthen the university’s educational, research, and economic impact.

President of PSU is redefining the power of education to transform lives

A new study led by researchers at Penn State found melanoma case rates tracking higher in counties with higher areas of cultivated land, where the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides can be higher.

Penn State study finds higher incidence of skin cancers in Pa.’s Farm Belt

In a significant advancement for materials science, scientists have successfully created niobium sulfide metallic nanotubes with stable, predictable properties for the first time. An international team, including Penn State researchers, achieved the long-sought feat using an unexpected ingredient—common table salt. According to researchers, the discovery could pave the way for faster electronics, efficient superconducting wires, and future quantum technologies.

Study: Common salt helps create nanomaterial for high-speed electronics

Researchers at Penn State have proposed a novel design for a lithium-ion (Li) battery. It could address the long-standing performance and stability issues of standard Li batteries in extreme temperatures. The design, dubbed the All-Climate Battery (ACB), was developed to fix a core flaw in standard Li batteries.

‘All-Climate Battery’ developed at Penn State could keep EVs running in extreme heat, cold

The discovery of a possible “super-Earth” less than 20 light-years from our own planet is offering scientists new hope in the hunt for other worlds that could harbor life, according to an international team including researchers from Penn State. They dubbed the exoplanet, named GJ 251 c, a “super-Earth” as data suggest it is almost four times as massive as the Earth and likely to be rocky planet.