The NSF CC* PA Science DMZ CyberAccelerate Poster Session and Workshop at KINBERCON on October 16-17 at the Lancaster Convention Center is just over a month away! Register for CyberAccelerate now on the KINBERCON website. Current and proposed DMZ participants can use the code “PADMZ” at registration to have the registration fee covered by the DMZ and can submit travel costs up to $400/person to Penn State after the event for reimbursement by the DMZ.

CyberAccelerate is a two-part event:

• Student-focused poster session on Thursday, Oct. 16 from 4:35 to 6 p.m. Students can submit their posters until Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, by 11:59 p.m. EST. Student posters are eligible for prizes ($300 first prize and seven $100 runner-up prizes).  View complete details (including judging rubric) here.

• Workshop aimed towards both research faculty and IT professionals on Friday, Oct. 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop will feature Research Collaboration Breakout Sessions, training sessions and orientations on specific computational tools like PyTorch and Bridges 2, and more. View complete details here. 

Please reach out to [email protected] for a link to join the PA Science DMZ For a Research Collaboration Summer Speaker Series every other Thursday 12:30-1:00 starting June 12th! Each session will include a 10-15 minute presentation on a specific research area, followed by a 15-20 minute discussion on the research and opportunities for collaborative projects.

The schedule for presentations is as follows:

June 12th - Grace Modlin (master’s student of Dr. Soundararajan Ezekiel, Indiana University of Pennsylvania) on "AI and machine learning for classifying satellite imagery in Space Domain Awareness (SDA)" - View recording here.

June 26th - Vinoth Nageshwaran (Senior Data Engineering Leader) on "An LLM-powered chatbot aimed at supporting students and educators in databases and information systems in higher education" - View recording here.

July 10th - Dr. Heidi Hendrickson (Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Lafayette College) on "Characterizing Chromophore Absorption in Turtle Melanopsin using Computational Chemistry" - View recording here.

July 24th - Wayne Figurelle (Assistant Director of Innovation and Outreach at Penn State’s Institute for Computational and Data Sciences) on "Research at Penn State and the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences" - View recording here.

August 7th - Dr. Joseph Cuiffi (Assistant Teaching Professor of Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology, Penn State) on "Smart Manufacturing" - View recording here.

August 21st - Dr. James Dearworth (Associate Professor of Biology, Lafayette College) on "CyberAcceleration of Microscopy Data to Identify Melanopsin in the Iris of the Turtle" - View recording here.

The PA Science DMZ, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, and the entire Penn State community are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dr. Jenni L. Evans, professor emerita of meteorology and atmospheric science and director emerita of ICDS.  

A global leader in tropical cyclone research, Dr. Evans played a pivotal role in developing the Cyclone Phase Space framework, which is now standard in operational forecasting. Under her guidance, ICDS grew from just 15 members to nearly 100, laying the groundwork for a robust computational science network at Penn State. Dr. Evans was Principal Investigator of the NSF CC* Pennsylvania Science DMZ at its inception. 

Her legacy as an inspiring educator and mentor lives on through the many students and colleagues she guided.  

Read her full story -  https://www.psu.edu/news/earth-and-mineral-sciences/story/penn-state-mourns-loss-world-renowned-meteorologist-jenni-evans 

The PA Science DMZ infrastructure is undergoing final installation and testing. The first group of science and education drivers will begin onboarding to the DMZ in Summer 2025. Please reach out if you have a science or education driver that you would like to onboard!