Science Matters: New Spotlight Sessions Allow Alumni to Converse with Eberly Scientists
On October 1, alumni and friends of the Eberly College of Science gathered at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia for one of the college’s first Science Matters Spotlight Sessions. These sessions provide a unique opportunity for the community to engage directly with the brilliant minds working on the front lines of discovery to create positive, real-world impact.
As part of the session, Penn State neurobiologist Nikki Crowley discussed how the brain assesses risk, the factors that influence our choices to take risks, why risk-taking can be both adaptive and necessary, and how this process changes during development and aging. Eberly alumna Jayatri Das, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and in biochemistry and molecular biology in 1999 and is now chief bioscientist at the Franklin Institute, also shared insights about an award-winning museum exhibit she helped develop, called Your Brain. In addition to conversing with Crowley, Das, and college leadership, attendees were able to tour the exhibit, which explores the neuroscience and psychology of the human brain.
The opportunity for the Eberly College of Science to visit the Franklin Institute and bring science on the road was made possible by the Keller Family Endowment for Alumni Experiences in Science. Matt and Karen Keller, both Class of 2000 graduates in biochemistry and molecular biology, created the endowment with the Penn State Alumni Association to support science programming and educational offerings associated with Eberly College of Science professors, researchers, and/or students.
The new Spotlight Sessions series provides a space for the college’s top scientists to have candid, down-to-earth conversations that answer today’s most pressing questions—how science is shaping our lives, our society, and our future.
Public Outreach
The Spotlight Sessions series is one of several public outreach opportunities presented by the college. This marks the college’s second formal outreach event in 2025 outside of Centre County, Pennsylvania. In April, the community gathered at the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, for the spring 2025 Johnson Lecture in Scientific Communication, where Penn State scientists discussed the value of planetariums as educational spaces that are changing the way in which people learn about topics including astronomy, medicine, and athletics. Additionally, the college’s preeminent public lecture series, the Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures, has explored the breadth and depth of a variety of scientific topics over the past 30 seasons.
Learn more about the college’s public outreach opportunities on the public events calendar.