Colloquium: This week's Department Colloquium will be
presented by Paul Newman from the NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday,
November 2 in 112 Walker. The title of his talk is "The
Ozone Hole and its Recovery." The Department's weekly colloquium
schedule can be viewed by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html
AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships: Call
for Applications
AAAS seeks candidates from a broad array of backgrounds and
a diversity of geographic, disciplinary, gender, and ethnic
perspectives. Fellows come from a range of sectors, including
academia, industry, non-profits, representing a spectrum of
career stages, from recent PhD graduates to faculty on sabbatical
to retired scientists and engineers. For more information, please
visit http://fellowships.aaas.org.
(Application deadline for 07-08 fellowships is 20
December 2006).
The Terry C. and Carmen H. Tarbell Lecture in Meteorology
will be presented by John A. Dutton on Thursday,
November 9 in 112 Walker Building at 4:00 p.m. The title
of his lecture will be "Buying Better Weather: Four Strategies
for Managing Weather Risk"
The Weather Risk e-Symposium has now been
archived. You may log in at the link below to view the on-demand
presentations: http://www.weatherrisk.e-symposium.com/
Scott and Yvette Richardson are happy to announce the
birth of their daughter Sydney Victoria Richardson,
born on October 20, 2006 at 8:04 a.m. Sydney was 7 lbs., 14
oz. and 21 in. long.
Water Bottles are on sale in the Weather Station.
They are fantastic and make great gifts and great PSU Meteorology
souvenirs. They are $8 each. Just look for one of the PSUBAMS
officers to purchase one.
ESSC Seminar: Wednesday,
November 1 at 11:15 a.m. in 529 Walker Building. Ray
Najjar will be discussing "The sensitivity of
the marine carbon cycle to ocean circulation. Information about
this and future seminars can be found here: http://www.essc.psu.edu/essc_web/seminars/index.html
Annual Department
Halloween Party on October 31
from 10:30 - 1:30 in 503 Walker. Please stop by for goodies
and fun. Costumes are welcome but not required.
How would you like to win two tickets to the Chi Epsilon
Pi/Meteorology Department Spring Banquet? If you are
an extraordinary chef, then you have a chance! Before Meteorology
Department Colloquia on Thursday afternoons, refreshments are
served at 3:30 p.m. in 529 Walker. Chi Epsilon Pi is sponsoring
a bake-off. Each week, anyone interested can sign-up to bring
a home-made dessert as a pre-colloquium treat to be shared.
Each dessert will be judged on taste, appearance, freshness,
and originality/uniqueness. At the conclusion of the contest,
the individual with the highest score will win two free tickets
to the spring banquet. If you are interested in participating
in this contest, a sign-up sheet is located outside of 410 Walker.
You may sign-up in teams; however, the maximum number of free
tickets that will be given away is two. Any questions, please
contact Zack Byko at zmb102@psu.edu.
Chi Epsilon Pi will be selling unique Penn State Meteorology
items this year to raise funds for activities we plan
to hold in the future and spread Penn State Meteo spirit! The
two items we will be selling are Penn State Meteorology window
clings and magnets. The price is $3 per magnet and $2 per window
cling. However, for those interested in purchasing several of
each, we will offer a discount of 4 magnets for $10 and 3 window
clings for $5. You may purchase these items from Rhonda Spychalski
in the main office on the 5th floor of Walker, Zack Byko in
410 Walker, Victor Yannuzzi in 412 Walker, or Jared Lee in 405
Walker. A Chi Epsilon Pi officer will also be at several of
the departmental organizational meetings at the start of the
semester armed with window clings and magnets for sale as well.
Any questions, contact Zack at zmb102@psu.edu.
[View images
of magnets and window clings.]
On each Monday for the entire fall semester, forecast
discussions will be held in the Weather Station Classroom
at 12:30 p.m. These discussions will be informal, last about
30 minutes, and will be lead by a Penn State, AccuWeather, or
National Weather Service forecaster. Everyone with an interest
in weather forecasting is invited! Feel free to drop in on the
discussions whenever possible, whether it is on a weekly basis
or just once or twice all semester. It is our hope that the
experts giving the discussions can teach us a little more about
weather forecasting and the audience engage and question the
forecast discussion leader. If you have any interest in leading
a discussion, please contact me at zmb102@psu.edu.
The Meteorology Department will be phasing in a new
required three-credit course, Principles of Atmospheric Measurement,
Meteo 440W, beginning in the Fall '06 semester. Meteo
440W will replace the two 1-credit courses, Meteo 445 and Meteo
446, but the total number of credits to graduate (121) will
not change. Please view the announcement regarding the prerequisites
and who should register for it and when. (This link will open
in a separate window.) [440W
Course Announcement].
Colloquium: This week's Department Colloquium will be presented by Paul
Newman from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center at
4:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 2 in 112 Walker. The
title of his talk is "The Ozone Hole and its Recovery."
The Department's weekly colloquium schedule can be viewed by
visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html
ESSC Seminar: Wednesday,
November 1 at 11:15 a.m. in 529 Walker Building. Ray
Najjar will be discussing "The sensitivity of
the marine carbon cycle to ocean circulation. Information about
this and future seminars can be found here: http://www.essc.psu.edu/essc_web/seminars/index.html
The Terry C. and Carmen H. Tarbell Lecture in Meteorology
will be presented by John A. Dutton on Thursday,
November 9 in 112 Walker Building at 4:00 p.m. The title
of his lecture will be "Buying Better Weather: Four Strategies
for Managing Weather Risk"
The theme of the Meteorology Department's basket for
the EMS United Way Silent Auction is December holiday
items (gift wrap, decorations, etc.) Donations for the basket
can be given to someone in 503 Walker by November 6 so that
the basket can be assembled for the auction on November 8.
EMS United Way Pizza Sale: The next sale will
be held Wednesday, November 1 in
the lobbies of Deike and Walker Building from 11-1:30 p.m. Two
slices and a soda ($3), one slide and soda ($2), one slice ($1.50).
EMS THON Pizza Sale: The College of EMS THON
committee will be holding a pizza sale on Tuesday,
November 7 from 11 am. - 2:30 pm in the lobbies of Deike
and Walker Buildings to mark '101 Days Until THON." 1 slice
= $1.50, 1 slice/soda=$2, and 2 slices/soda = $3. Come out and
show your support and remember, it's "For the Kids!"
EMS United Way Candy Sale: Candy (and an assortment
of other snack items) is for sale in most of the department
offices throughout the College, and in the Weather Station.
All candy is being sold $.75 each and proceeds benefit the EMS
United Way.
Buy an EMS Dining Card and support the EMS
United Way campaign. Cards cost $10 each and are good for freebies
and/or discounts at a variety of restaurants and vendors around
town.
Conference Room Calendar Change: The 529 and
511 Walker conference room calendars are now "view only"
due to a scheduling issue. If you'd like to reserve one of these
rooms, the staff in the main office will be glad to make the
reservation for you.
IN THE NEWS:
The September 2006 issue of Geotimes features an article
by Samuel C. Schon and Arthur A. Small titled
"Climate Change and the Potential of Coal Gasification."
[View
article]
Alumni Joel Gratz ('03 B.S.) and Erik Noble ('02 B.S.)
have authored an article titled "Lightning Safety and Large
Stadiums," which appears in the September 2006 issue of
the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. [View
article]
Craig Bohren addresses the controversial topic
of global warming in the August 7 issue of the USA Today
in an article titled "How to get to the bottom of the global
warming debate." [View
article]
On August 14, Millersville University PR Newswire published
an article titled "Millersville University Professor Works
to Make Sailing Safer," which features alumnus
Todd Sikora ('90, '92, '96) and research collaboration
with George Young.[View
story]
An August 9, 2006 article in Penn State Live titled, "To
the Point, Penn State professor on effects of Alaska oil field
shutdown," features Andrew Kleit. [View
story].
A May 2006 PNL web publication in the Atmospheric Science &
Global Change Division titled "Sharing Space for the Sake
of Science," discusses collaborations with Anne
Thompson's and Bill Brune's research teams. The article
also includes quotes from PNNL scientist and Penn State alumnus,
Jim Mather ('86, '90, '94). [View
article].
Alumnus Henry Margusity ('90 BS), senior meteorologist
for AccuWeather, and Prof. Michael Mann are
interviewed for an article titled "A hurricane here could
spell trouble" that appeared in the Hazelton Standard
Speaker on July 16, 2006. [View
Article]
Geoff Cornish was interviewed for a story
appearing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.com on July 9, 2006
titled "Where's the Most Perfect Climate" [View
Story]
A 2002 Penn State Meteorology alumnus, Manajit Sengupta,
was featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal on June
27, 2006. The article, titled "Under a Cloud" is about
the daunting backlog of visa applicants and the logistics and
time involved in getting a long-term visa. [View
Article].
Fred Gadomski is featured in a Penn State
Live article on June 21, 2006 about the summer forecast. [View
Article]
Research done by Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and
Malcom Hughes was in the spotlight in most national
newspapers last week. For instance, visit, "Study:
Earth 'likely' hottest in 2,000 years" from CNN.com.
On May 29, The Toronto Star published
an article titled "Weather matters to Wall Street,"
which discusses the increasing opportunities for meteorologists
in financial markets. Andy Kleit was interviewed
for the story. [Full
Story]
A story titled "Climate change responsible for increased
hurricanes," featuring Michael Mann, was
published in the May 31, 2006 issue of Penn State Live. [Full
Story]
Archived News: The
weekly news is archived. See the link at the bottom of the
page to access the archives.
Colloquium: This week's Department Colloquium will be
presented by Paul Newman from the NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday,
November 2 in 112 Walker. The title of his talk is "The
Ozone Hole and its Recovery." The Department's weekly colloquium
schedule can be viewed by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html
Scott and Yvette Richardson are happy to announce the
birth of their daughter Sydney Victoria Richardson,
born on October 20, 2006 at 8:04 a.m. Sydney was 7 lbs., 14
oz. and 21 in. long.
Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Institute Special
Informal Seminar and Discussion:Careers in Aerospace:
Three Women's Perspectives to be held on October
31, 2006 in 129C HUB-Robeson Center from 4:30-5:30 pm.
The discussion will be led by Ms. Amy Flanagan, Program Director
and Campaign Capture Manager at Lockheed Martin, Dr. Janet Gahagan,
Principal Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin, and Ms. Hillary
Holst, Engineer and Business Development Analyst, Lockheed Martin
ESSC Seminar: Wednesday,
November 1 at 11:15 a.m. in 529 Walker Building. Ray
Najjar will be discussing "The sensitivity of
the marine carbon cycle to ocean circulation. Information about
this and future seminars can be found here: http://www.essc.psu.edu/essc_web/seminars/index.html
The Terry C. and Carmen H. Tarbell Lecture in Meteorology
will be presented by John A. Dutton on Thursday,
November 9 in 112 Walker Building at 4:00 p.m. The title
of his lecture will be "Buying Better Weather: Four Strategies
for Managing Weather Risk"
The Astrobiology Dual-Degree Ph.D. program
has been approved by the Graduate Council. [Details
on this program]
PSUBAMS meeting, November
1 at 7:00 p.m. in 112 Walker. Dr. Craig Bohren
will deliver an interesting talk titled "Who Nose? The
Chemistry, Physiology, Psychology, Meteorology, and Fluid Mechanics
of Canine Olfactory Tracking." Complete with video and
even some props!"
Annual Department
Halloween Party on October 31
from 10:30 - 1:30 in 503 Walker. Please stop by for goodies
and fun. Costumes are welcome but not required.
New Commencement Schedule for Fall Commencement at
University Park: For the announcement visit: http://live.psu.edu/story/19285
Congratulations to 2006/2007 AMS/Industry/Government
Graduate Fellowship winners from Penn State!
Zack Byko: NASA's Earth Science Enterprise
Congratulations to Ben Root, who won "Best
Graduate Oral Presentation" at the NWA 31st Annual
Conference in Cleveland OH. The title of his presentation was
"A Fingerprinting Technique for Major Weather Events."
Water Bottles are on sale in the Weather Station.
They are fantastic and make great gifts and great PSU Meteorology
souvenirs. They are $8 each. Just look for one of the PSUBAMS
officers to purchase one. They will also be on sale at the Date
Auction and at the next PSUBAMS meeting
on Nov. 1.
Fall 2006 Graduate Workshops on Writing:
--Writing Literature Reviews (Nov. 1)
--Writing Thesis and Dissertation Proposals (Nov. 15)
January 2007 Candidacy Exam: The next PhD
Candidacy Exam will next be given during the week of January
8-12, 2007, which is the week before spring classes start. Students
who intend on taking this exam should sign up by Monday,
November 13, 2006 by sending an e-mail to me at hns@psu.edu.
In this e-mail, please include the following information:
Name
Adviser
E-mail address
Office address
I will hold a meeting in late November, 2006 or early December,
2006 with those students taking the next exam to talk about
logistics, including setting the dates for the two sections
of the exam, and to answer any questions the students might
have.
Dr. Andrew Kleit, along with Dr. Anthony Kwasnica
at the Smeal College of Business, will be running markets
for weather this fall. The sites for these markets
will be the same as those in the WxChallenge. The first market
will be for the high temperature and precipitation amount in
Orlando, Florida on September 25. This market will open for
business on September 18. So if you want to make some money
on your weather forecasts, please go to http://lema3.smeal.psu.edu/prediction/
and click on the "New User" link. (Don't worry, we
give you the money for you to work with.)
How would you like to win two tickets to the Chi Epsilon
Pi/Meteorology Department Spring Banquet? If you are
an extraordinary chef, then you have a chance! Before Meteorology
Department Colloquia on Thursday afternoons, refreshments are
served at 3:30 p.m. in 529 Walker. Chi Epsilon Pi is sponsoring
a bake-off. Each week, anyone interested can sign-up to bring
a home-made dessert as a pre-colloquium treat to be shared.
Each dessert will be judged on taste, appearance, freshness,
and originality/uniqueness. At the conclusion of the contest,
the individual with the highest score will win two free tickets
to the spring banquet. If you are interested in participating
in this contest, a sign-up sheet is located outside of 410 Walker.
You may sign-up in teams; however, the maximum number of free
tickets that will be given away is two. Any questions, please
contact Zack Byko at zmb102@psu.edu.
Registration is now open for scheduling classes for
spring 2007. If you need a drop/add form for restricted
classes, see Linda Porta in 502 Walker.
The National Academies has announced that
it is now accepting applications for the 2007 sessions of the
Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate
Fellowship Program in Washington D.C. For more information,
please visit: http://www.met.psu.edu/Jobs/Fellowships/fellowships.html
On each Monday for the entire fall semester, forecast
discussions will be held in the Weather Station Classroom
at 12:30 p.m. These discussions will be informal, last about
30 minutes, and will be lead by a Penn State, AccuWeather, or
National Weather Service forecaster. Everyone with an interest
in weather forecasting is invited! Feel free to drop in on the
discussions whenever possible, whether it is on a weekly basis
or just once or twice all semester. It is our hope that the
experts giving the discussions can teach us a little more about
weather forecasting and the audience engage and question the
forecast discussion leader. If you have any interest in leading
a discussion, please contact me at zmb102@psu.edu.
Deadlines and Important Dates:
Nov. 1 Wednesday—nominations
for the Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award, the Graduate
Faculty Teaching Award, the Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award,
the Graduate Program Chair Leadership Award, the Alumni Association
Dissertation Award, the Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials
Research Award, and the Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach
Achievement Award due in 313 Kern Bldg.
Nov. 20 Monday—last date
for fall graduate to submit final thesis to the Thesis Office
or upload final eTD to the eTD Web site
Nov. 22-24 Wednesday–Friday—Thanksgiving
holiday
SPRING 2007 COURSES
CE 563: Systems Optimization using Evolutionary
Algorithms (P. Reed) More
MATH/CSE 597C: Numerical Methods for Hyperbolic
Conservation Laws (W. Shen)
Colloquium: This week's Department Colloquium will be
presented by Paul Newman from the NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday,
November 2 in 112 Walker. The title of his talk is "The
Ozone Hole and its Recovery." The Department's weekly colloquium
schedule can be viewed by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html
Congratulations to Audra Hennecke who won
"Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation"
at the 31st Annual Conference of the National Weather Association.
Her poster was titled "Enhancements to Area-Specific Flash
Flood Warnings."
Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Institute Special
Informal Seminar and Discussion:Careers in Aerospace:
Three Women's Perspectives to be held on October
31, 2006 in 129C HUB-Robeson Center from 4:30-5:30 pm.
The discussion will be led by Ms. Amy Flanagan, Program Director
and Campaign Capture Manager at Lockheed Martin, Dr. Janet Gahagan,
Principal Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin, and Ms. Hillary
Holst, Engineer and Business Development Analyst, Lockheed Martin
Annual Department
Halloween Party on October 31
from 10:30 - 1:30 in 503 Walker. Please stop by for goodies
and fun. Costumes are welcome but not required.
The Terry C. and Carmen H. Tarbell Lecture in Meteorology
will be presented by John A. Dutton on Thursday,
November 9 in 112 Walker Building at 4:00 p.m. The title
of his lecture will be "Buying Better Weather: Four Strategies
for Managing Weather Risk"
The Weather Risk e-Symposium has now been
archived. You may log in at the link below to view the on-demand
presentations: http://www.weatherrisk.e-symposium.com/
There is still time to apply for Spring 2007 co-op
positions with Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Interested Meteorology
students should register with the College of Science Co-Op Program
by visiting: http://www.science.psu.edu/coop.
A permanent link to the College of Science Cooperative program
has been added to the Department's "Employment" page
and "Undergraduate" page.
--Click on "Students"
--Click on "online registration"
--Follow the written instructions to register.
--Bookmark the database log-in page
--Complete your profile and upload your
resume and over sheet (be sure to use the provided template)
--Call 814-865-5000 to schedule an appointment.
PSUBAMS meeting, November
1 at 7:00 p.m. in 112 Walker. Dr. Craig Bohren
will deliver an interesting talk titled "Who Nose? The
Chemistry, Physiology, Psychology, Meteorology, and Fluid Mechanics
of Canine Olfactory Tracking." Complete with video and
even some props!"
Water Bottles are on sale in the Weather Station.
They are fantastic and make great gifts and great PSU Meteorology
souvenirs. They are $8 each. Just look for one of the PSUBAMS
officers to purchase one. They will also be on sale at the Date
Auction and at the next PSUBAMS meeting
on Nov. 1.
Congratulations to 2006/2007 AMS Scholarship winners
from Penn State!
Zack Lebo: Mark J. Schroeder Endowed Scholarship
Steven Greybush: The Howard T. Orville Endowed Scholarship
in Meteorology
Matthew Porcelli: The AMS 75th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship
Neil C. Myer: Freshman Undergraduate Scholarship sponsored
by Enterprise Electronics Corporation
Sixth Semester Advising Reminder: All sixth
semester students should make an appointment with their advisor
to review their academic progress and scheduling plans.
IUG Open to All Students: The Graduate Council
has recently approved the proposal to make the IUG program open
to all students (as opposed to just Schreyer's Honors students).
The new policy will go into effect in the Spring 2007. For those
who aren't familiar with the IUG program, it is an integrated
B.S./M.S. (IUG) program that is designed to allow academically
superior students to obtain both the B.S. and the M.S. degree
in Meteorology in five years of study. [More
info]
Meteorology students are participating in a number
of on-air opportunities this semester. To see a list
of the opportunities that students have to hone their meteorology,
broadcasting, and communication skills, visit the following
link. [View
list of TV/media appearances]
New Commencement Schedule for Fall Commencement at
University Park: For the announcement visit: http://live.psu.edu/story/19285
Dr. Andrew Kleit, along with Dr. Anthony Kwasnica
at the Smeal College of Business, will be running markets
for weather this fall. The sites for these markets
will be the same as those in the WxChallenge. The first market
will be for the high temperature and precipitation amount in
Orlando, Florida on September 25. This market will open for
business on September 18. So if you want to make some money
on your weather forecasts, please go to http://lema3.smeal.psu.edu/prediction/
and click on the "New User" link. (Don't worry, we
give you the money for you to work with.)
How would you like to win two tickets to the Chi Epsilon
Pi/Meteorology Department Spring Banquet? If you are
an extraordinary chef, then you have a chance! Before Meteorology
Department Colloquia on Thursday afternoons, refreshments are
served at 3:30 p.m. in 529 Walker. Chi Epsilon Pi is sponsoring
a bake-off. Each week, anyone interested can sign-up to bring
a home-made dessert as a pre-colloquium treat to be shared.
Each dessert will be judged on taste, appearance, freshness,
and originality/uniqueness. At the conclusion of the contest,
the individual with the highest score will win two free tickets
to the spring banquet. If you are interested in participating
in this contest, a sign-up sheet is located outside of 410 Walker.
You may sign-up in teams; however, the maximum number of free
tickets that will be given away is two. Any questions, please
contact Zack Byko at zmb102@psu.edu.
Congratulations to Marcus Walter has recently
been accepted into the Schreyer Honors College
for the Fall 2006 semester. Marcus is a junior majoring in Meteorology
with an option in Weather Forecasting and Communications.
The 2006 National Weather Association (NWA) David Sankey
Minority Scholarship in Meteorology has been awarded
to Cho Hin (Richard) Lam of Wilmington, Delaware.
This $1,000 scholarship will assist Richard with expenses throughout
his junior year at Penn State in the Department of Meteorology.
Richard was selected to receive this scholarship from a pool
of outstanding applicants at seven different colleges/universities.
Congratulations Richard!
Chi Epsilon Pi Tutoring Services: For every
undergraduate meteorology class and Math 140/140G and Math 141,
a tutor has been selected who has extensive background in the
topic. The idea is that this is a person you can contact if
you feel you need more assistance with a course than the instructor
and TA can provide. Most importantly, this service is completely
free of charge! If you are struggling with a class this fall,
please use Chi Epsilon Pi's tutoring services. The best way
to contact tutors is via email, even though an impromptu visit
to a tutor's office may be fruitful on some occasions. The tutoring
list can be viewed at http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/courses/tutoringlist.html
On each Monday for the entire fall semester, forecast
discussions will be held in the Weather Station Classroom
at 12:30 p.m. These discussions will be informal, last about
30 minutes, and will be lead by a Penn State, AccuWeather, or
National Weather Service forecaster. Everyone with an interest
in weather forecasting is invited! Feel free to drop in on the
discussions whenever possible, whether it is on a weekly basis
or just once or twice all semester. It is our hope that the
experts giving the discussions can teach us a little more about
weather forecasting and the audience engage and question the
forecast discussion leader. If you have any interest in leading
a discussion, please contact me at zmb102@psu.edu.
2007 Student Career Experience Program positions
at the Meteorological Development Lab located in Silver Spring,
MD. Please visit the following website for details about this
COOP opportunity: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/mdl/coop/coop.htm
Plan Ahead for Meteo 414! I thought I would
give you some advanced notice concerning our plans for Meteo
414, Mesoscale Meteorology. By Spring '07 we are planning to
schedule the course in a newly renovated room on the first floor
of Walker that will have a maximum capacity of 36 students.
This spring we were able to accommodate 40 students in the course,
but we will not be able to do so in the future. If you were
planning to take the course in Spring '07, but could take it
in Fall '06, then please do so as there are currently spaces
available. We wish to make the course available to each of you
who wants to take it, but to ensure that you are able to register
for the course, we ask that you plan ahead and take it at the
earliest possible time in which there are openings in the class.
Sincerely, Professor Shirer
Now
available for students, faculty, staff, and alumni!
Have
you recently received a fellowship or scholarship? Have you been
invited to give a lecture, named as a fellow of a professional society,
or won a competition? We want to share your accomplishments with
the rest of the Meteorology family. Please use the button to the
left to send us the information or email: persing@ems.psu.edu.