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Erica Smithwick, distinguished professor of geography and ecology in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, is the recipient of the 2025 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award.

Brandi Robinson, associate teaching professor in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, has received the 2025 Penn State Award for Community Engagement and Scholarship for her work on the Local Climate Action Program.  

Patricia Ehrkamp, professor of geography and College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor at the University of Kentucky, will deliver the Penn State Department of Geography’s annual E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Endowed Lecture at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 11.

Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) recognized exceptional students and faculty for their academic excellence, service and leadership during its annual Wilson Awards Celebration, held on March 30. 

The Penn State Department of Geography will continue its spring 2025 Coffee Hour lecture series with a talk by Richard B. Alley, Evan Pugh University Professor in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State. Alley’s talk, "Sea-Level Rise from Ice Sheets: How Bad Could It Be?" will examine the uncertainties surrounding sea-level rise and the scientific challenges of predicting future ice-sheet behavior.

The GeoGraphics Lab will host its first Community Mapping Day on Saturday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Walker Building at University Park. The event, free and open to the public, will kick off with an optional breakfast at 8 a.m. and bring together students, faculty and community members for a day of hands-on mapping, creative geospatial storytelling and collaborative problem-solving centered on sustainability and local climate action.

The Penn State Department of Geography will host Sophie Webber, senior lecturer and Australian Research Council DECRA Research Fellow in Geography at the University of Sydney, as part of its spring 2025 Coffee Hour lecture series. Webber’s talk, "Climate Finance: Taking a Position on Climate Futures," will examine how climate change is increasingly understood and addressed through financial mechanisms.

The Penn State Climate Consortium has awarded five workshops as a part of its Climate Solutions Accelerator Program for 2025. In its second year, the Climate Solutions Accelerator continues to foster impactful research and bring effective climate solutions to communities in Pennsylvania and around the world. The purpose of the collaborative workshops is to establish and/or advance teams aligned with the Climate Consortium’s themes.

Penn State's Office of Faculty Affairs has named 10 distinguished professors for 2025, including Karl Zimmerer, professor of geography, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

Felicia Henry, assistant professor of sociology at American University, will give the talk, "I Knew It Was COVID, I Knew I Was on Probation: Black Women Navigating Community Supervision During COVID-19," at the Department of Geography's spring 2025 Coffee Hour lecture series.