Berks students teamed up with the City of Reading Public Works Department to implement projects that will inform residents about the harmful effects of dumping chemicals and litter into the storm drains leading into the Schuylkill River.
A team from Penn State Berks has been selected as one of 10 finalists in the Great Social Enterprise Pitch, an idea incubator and business plan competition for concepts that use a business model and revenues to have a positive social or environmental impact. The student-faculty team, Trimatis, recycles plastic waste for use in 3-D printing. Working with the Langan LaunchBox, they were able to develop their business plans
Penn State Berks junior Jovan Tate has launched a pilot program for his fledgling company, Campus Cars Inc., created to bring car sharing to fellow students at Penn State Berks who do not have access to their own vehicles. He gained valuable assistance and advice through the Langan LaunchBox, an incubation hub funded by the Invent Penn State initiative.
While recycling has had a significant and positive effect on the environment, opportunities exist to do more. A good example is composting, which could recycle organics — food scraps, grass clippings, leaves, etc. — that make up more than half of our waste stream.
The Office for General Education has announced this year’s seed grants to support the development of Integrative Studies courses. The awarded proposals are representative of a wide range of academic disciplines, and include proposals from faculty at Penn State campuses across the Commonwealth.
Driven by a strategic University initiative and an expanding individual and collective campus consciousness regarding the importance of sustainability, Penn State Berks will host a number of sustainability-related events in the two weeks leading up to Earth Day, which will be celebrated on April 22.
Penn State Berks students are traveling around the world to help communities touched by natural and manmade disasters as part of the Alternative Spring Break program. This is the story of the most recent alternative spring break trip to Puerto Rico written by Penn State Berks student Chelsea Watts who recently returned from the trip.
Penn State Berks students, Olivet Boys and Girls Club children, and community members will join together to clean up Baer Park and a one-mile section of the Schuylkill River Trail from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 20. The rain date is Friday, April 27.
Two Penn State Berks engineering students are tackling the issue of plastic waste by using it as filament for 3-D printers. Their team, Trimatis, is one of six finalists competing in this year’s Inc.U competition, sponsored by Penn State’s Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP). The finalists earned a spot on WPSU’s "The Investment" television show where they will pitch their ideas in a "Shark Tank"-style format to a panel of judges for a chance to win investment funding. The show will air on WPSU-TV on April 7.
At age 22, Dominic Frongillo made history as the youngest-ever town council member in New York. He will visit Penn State Berks to talk about his work in climate change and clean energy at 7 p.m. April 13 in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. The event is free and open to the public.