UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Four Penn State faculty members have been accepted into the Schreyer Honors College Distinguished Honors Faculty Program (DHFP) for the 2019-21 academic term.

 

Rachel Brennan, associate professor of environmental engineering; Xiang Gao, associate professor and director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Lab; Matthew Kaplan, professor of agricultural and extension education; and Jon Nese, associate head of the undergraduate program in meteorology and teaching professor in meteorology, join seven sitting faculty in the program.

 

The DHFP of the Schreyer Honors College provides an opportunity for Distinguished Honors Faculty and Schreyer Scholars to participate in innovative, interactive programs. Over dinner conversations, during field trips, and in small-group discussions on timely topics, distinguished faculty and students share experiences and perspectives that may venture beyond the labels and definition of an academic major or course.

 

Nese received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees from Penn State and was the chief meteorologist at the Franklin Institute Science Museum prior to joining the University’s faculty. He believes tomorrow’s leaders should be well-informed in the science and communication of weather and climate information. His program, The Science and Communication of Weather and Climate, will take Scholars on trips to various weather-based locations around State College and engage them in discussion with industry professionals.