Latest news with #AndrewRead
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How much has Penn State lost in federal grants? VP of research gives update
Penn State has not been impacted as heavily as some of its peer institutions, but still has lost 45 federal grants as of Friday and about $10 million in funding as the federal government cancels research grants at institutions across the country. Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State, gave an overview of what has happened with research funding from federal agencies during Tuesday's faculty senate meeting. Although everything is 'incredibly fluid,' overall Penn State has not been impacted nearly as much as some of its peer institutions, he said. Some grants were from National Science Foundation, others were sub contracts from other universities. Read estimated they've had around $10 million in grants terminated. 'The dollar amount of what we've had terminated is a bit hard to work out because many of the grants were near the end of their period of work, and there are termination costs which we don't fully understand yet. My guess is that we've lost something short of $10 million,' Read said, noting there is a large grant 'hanging in the balance,' so that number could dramatically change. Penn State has about $1.3 billion in research expenditures, so the $10 million isn't a huge amount. Still, the grants canceled will have an impact on research in areas like climate change. Read's research interests include infectious disease and said it 'breaks my heart' to see all of the projects they've had canceled on HIV prevention, vaccines that prevent cervical cancer, and recently one on syphilis diagnoses, which affects the health of newborn babies. More grant terminations are likely to come. 'We really haven't been through the full list of NSF grants yet or (National Institutes of Health) grants that are being reviewed at the moment by those agencies. So we're expecting substantial more terminations — very worried, especially in the climate space,' Read said. The university is working to see what costs can be recovered, termination appeals process, certification requirements and working with professional organizations across the country. The major area that they're seeing issues with are with diversity, equity and inclusion, he said. Agencies like NIH have been clear on what to do with that space and removing language, but others, like NASA or NOAA have been unclear. Tracy Langkilde, Penn State's interim executive vice president and provost, said some program offices have given clear advice on how proposals can be changed to meet the current landscape and priorities. The university has partnered with them as much as possible to get that advice and share it with the principal investigators, she said. Read encouraged the faculty to continue submitting proposals, and acknowledged the painfulness of losing a grant. 'I do want to say that every grant that a faculty member gets that's terminated has been won against incredible competition. There's no such thing as an easy grant, and for somebody to get a grant in the first place, that means they're nationally in the top 10% or 15% in that round,' he said. 'So they've got these things against terrific competition. And so it's a tragedy for the PIs involved, it's a tragedy for the people that are employed on those grants, that are being trained on those grants. It's a loss to scholarship. It's a loss to the stakeholders whose lives would have been impacted by that research.'
Telegraph
09-03-2025
- Telegraph
‘The view reminded me of Monument Valley': How Manchester became Britain's newest hiking hotspot
Where can you explore unspoiled, unpeopled moorlands, a ravine that evokes Utah's cowboy country, and one of the UK's highest bodies of water? That the answer is Manchester will be no surprise to natives – especially if they hail from the eastern side of the great city. For it is here that the Lancashire plain shoots upward like a keen-winged kestrel to challenge the Pennine-hogging counties of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. A new 200-mile circular footpath, the GM Ringway, aims at opening up this landscape to the uninitiated, along with the rest of the diverse terrains and trackways that lie around the edges of Greater Manchester. I confess: my expectations, on catching the train to walk Section 8 (Broadbottom to Greenfield) of the GM Ringway, were not soaringly high. On paper – or rather, on the website – it looked quite promising. Almost 12 miles long and with 551 metres (1,807 feet) of ascent – the highest of the 20 stages, and deemed 'challenging' – it hinted at a decent day out. But on drives I'd generally found Saddleworth Moor – through which I would be hiking – bleak and forbidding, an impression not helped by its notorious associations with the Moors murders. But I was enlightened and uplifted almost as soon as the walk began. Broadbottom, though only a couple of miles from Hattersley in Hyde and the M67, is a pleasant little village, with gritstone cottages and rural views. When I had passed through Manchester that morning, the city had felt cold and unfriendly. But here, with the sun up, warming the grasslands, and clear blue skies, the conditions were ideal for hiking. Though only 13 miles from Deansgate in central Manchester, I had a foot in the northwestern corner of the Peak District National Park. Once I had made the first short climb out to open country, there were huge views. To the southwest was the squiggle of road going over Snake Pass. A little way above that was the Longdendale Valley, a deep, curved cut in the Pennines through which run a chain of six reservoirs and the Woodhead Pass. The GM Ringway – created by rambler and Manchester resident Andrew Read, who says the project started as a hobby about 15 years ago – has been designed with urban residents in mind. Manchester, even in its post-industrial state, is still a notoriously polluted city and its central areas are short of green spaces. The walks on the GM Ringway link to train, bus and tram services. They take in milltowns, nature reserves, canals, posh Cheshire towns and the kinds of Dark Peak uplands I was heading for: exposed moorlands, marshes, peat bogs and millstone grit sandstone escarpments. I thought of my walk as an oblique homage to the Mancunian ramblers who campaigned for access on the Kinder Scout Trespass in 1932. Ewan McColl, who was at the protest, composed 'The Manchester Rambler' to honour his fellow pastoral pedestrians. I was also in classic Northern television and film country: The League of Gentlemen and Last of the Summer Wine on my right, Yanks and Coronation Street on my left. The posh houses looked just the sort soap stars would retire to and, indeed, Tony Booth had lived in Broadbottom (and Elsie Tanner had married there). I walked through farms and fields, up an ancient coach road off the heaving A57, along sheep tracks and well-used local footpaths. I got lost a couple of times – the GM Ringway waymarks were generally well spread out but a few places were unsigned. One mis-step took me up to the Derbyshire county border sign at Glossop. I saw a hawk a-hunting, a skipping jay, a dozen skittish black grouse, panicked pheasants, lots of tits and finches. There were also the big, noisy birds descending into Manchester Airport – once known as Ringway, of course. It's good to see the name reappropriated by a carbon-cutting, health-giving project. On the wide-open moors, I turned round to get my bearings and remind myself where I was. On one high spot, Manchester's ever-expanding cluster of towers came into view, the silver blocks of Manc-hattan peeping above the tobacco-brown winter heather. Along the Manchester-Derbyshire border, Ogden Brook ran down the bottom of a deep, steep-sided valley. Into the clough plunged frothing waterfalls, well fed by recent rains. A yomp over flattish moor followed, with the 'path' degenerating into a pond-filled line of black peat through dead vegetation. Approaching Chew Reservoir – at 1,600 feet, the highest man-made body of water in the land when completed in 1912 – I stopped to have tea and butties and enjoy the views, and the peace. I met only a dozen people over four hours. The final two miles cut through a boulder field and the most dramatic rock formations yet – the canyon of the Chew Valley, over which looms a jagged ridge known as the Indian's Head and two opposing summits known as Alphin Pike and Alderman Hill – two giants who fell out over a beautiful water nymph. At the bottom is a magical patch of woodland where the bare trees had tentacular branches and the stone walls were covered in bright green moss. The sun turned the north facing slopes a burnished bronze colour. The jagged clifftops and surreal forms, in spooky shadow, made me think of Monument Valley. Greenfield station was a couple of miles from the reservoir and lay up its own steep little slope. My calves, by this stage, were stiff, my gait wooden. The walk had definitely been 'challenging'. But rewarding and eye-opening too. Three other great Manchester walks Salford Quays Circular: Urban amble Andrew Read and his team have devised a set of taster walks for those not ready to take on 10-12 miles of open country. This 4.8-mile step-free walk explores the Salford Quays waterfront, one of the North West's best-known urban redevelopment zones. Architectural statements of the modern kind abound, including the striking Imperial War Museum North, designed by US architect Daniel Libeskind, The Lowry and the Blue Peter Garden. Amid the new builds you'll find the waterside paths along the Manchester Ship Canal and the basins of Salford Quays, and the Grade I-listed Ordsall Hall, a 15th-century manor house surrounded by Elizabethan gardens Wigan to Leigh: Canals and Flashes Though a little over ten miles, this stage connects Wigan and Leigh along very flat terrain, including sections of canal towpath on a branch of the Leeds and Liverpool, and taking in the famous Wigan Pier and several mills, the Three sisters country park and England's newest National Nature Reserve: the 'Flashes of Wigan and Leigh'. Flashes are lakes formed by mining subsidence, and attract a lot of water fowl. Bromley Cross to Blackrod: Winter Hill ascent At 13.4 miles, this is the longest of the 20 walks suggested on the GM Ringway website, which describes it as 'the climax of the whole GM Ringway as it includes an ascent of Winter Hill'. Other towns may bridle at Bolton's being the best walk, but there are some great stops along the way – including the pretty village of Barrow Bridge, Wilderswood's 'semi-ancient' woodland, the little-known Tiger's Clough waterfall and, to cap it all, the top of one of the North West's most iconic hills, with its towering TV antenna.
Axios
05-03-2025
- Science
- Axios
Exclusive: Penn State bets on tiny nuclear tech
Penn State is launching a new research facility anchored by one of the world's smallest nuclear reactors. Why it matters: Westinghouse's eVinci microreactor reflects a broad shift toward smaller nuclear technology that could power data centers, remote communities and even future Moon and Mars bases. The carbon-free energy source may also help meet growing energy demands. Driving the news: Penn State filed a letter of intent last week with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to develop a new nuclear research hub at its University Park campus that includes deployment of the microreactor — a small nuclear reactor that can generate electricity and heat — to advance nuclear research. At least one 75,000-square-foot facility with labs, classrooms and a visitor center will drive the school to "find new ways of harnessing nuclear energy while providing students and researchers with unprecedented opportunities," said Jon Ball, president of eVinci technologies at Westinghouse. Catch up quick: Penn State and Cranberry-based Westinghouse announced the partnership in 2022, marking the company's first university collaboration. If approved, the school will be one of the earliest adopters of the tech. Zoom in: The design operates like a "nuclear battery," providing power for more than eight years without refueling — reducing maintenance needs, according to the company, and allowing it to essentially operate autonomously without someone on-site. Typical nuclear power plants refuel every one to two years. The microreactor uses heat pipe technology to generate 5 megawatts of electricity with no water. The big picture: Traditional large-scale nuclear power plants like Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport supply baseload power that some scientists say is critical to the renewable energy transition. But the industry has grappled with competition from cheaper natural gas and steep repair costs for aging facilities. New full-scale reactors are also more expensive and time-consuming to build. Smaller, modular reactors and microreactors like the eVinci are one way the industry is working to modernize nuclear energy. The eVinci is designed to take fewer than 30 days to install on-site, and the reactor itself is only about 30 feet long. These smaller reactors can't meet the energy needs of their weightier counterparts, but they can be built faster and can potentially power a small community, military base, college campus or data center. By the numbers: Nuclear power generates nearly 20% of America's electricity. Pennsylvania accounts for one-tenth of the nation's nuclear energy generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. What they're saying: "We believe this technology has the potential to change how we think of and use nuclear energy," said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State. He noted that Penn State is already home to the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor, the nation's longest continuously operating university research reactor. What's next: The plan still faces regulatory hurdles. Penn State will complete a feasibility study while working with the NRC to find a site for the facility. The reactor is expected to come online in 2028-29.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists troubled after analyzing waters of catastrophic off-shore oil spill decade later: 'There has been this massive quieting'
New research exposes the lasting consequences of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. After placing microphones at the bottom of the sea, scientists were startled by their findings, per reports by Nola. Ten years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, whale and dolphin populations are still declining, new research indicates. Scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography submerged microphones 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico to analyze deep-sea audio recordings and estimate whale populations. Using an algorithm, the researchers were able to identify and count the whales' echolocation "clicks," estimating population numbers. Since some of the species in the study were expected to fully recover within 10 years, the researchers expected populations to show signs of recovery. However, their findings revealed a much darker reality. Published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment, the study determined that numerous whale and dolphin species have declined significantly. Sperm whale populations may have declined by as much as 31%, while certain dolphin populations may have dropped by 43%. What's more, beaked whales, a deep-sea species, experienced declines of up to 83%. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 was the largest marine oil spill in the petroleum industry, releasing 134 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico and killing millions of animals. Years after the spill, marine species are still struggling to recover. The new research provides an assessment of whale and dolphin populations, underscoring the long-term impact this disaster still has on the environment. While prior assessments indicated the populations would be on a recovery trend by now, the study shows that these populations are still in decline. Researchers at other universities noted the impact of the new study, emphasizing the long-term consequences of the oil spill in 2010. Professor of marine biology at Duke University Andrew Read told Nola the research provided "direct measurements indicating that we've had significant and widespread declines in these animals' populations." Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "There has been this massive quieting in parts of the Gulf of Mexico that were affected by the Deepwater Horizon spill, either because the animals have left or they've died," Read continued. BP has spent about $69 billion on cleanup efforts in the 10 years following the spill. However, the new research study shows that the whale and dolphin populations are taking longer to recover than initial assessments believed. Scientists are continuing to research ways to restore habitats and wildlife populations after environmental disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon spill. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
