Innovation

Pitt’s Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology is only one hundred miles north of the University’s bustling Oakland campus, but for some it seems like a different world. Surrounded by quiet forest on the shore of a fishing lake that straddles the Pennsylvania-Ohio state line, Pitt students and researchers have enjoyed field and laboratory experiences here for generations. Known informally as PLE, the facility has space for large-scale research and ecosystems studies where students and researchers can get their hands on plants and animals in their natural environments.

On a clear night in Pittsburgh, it can be hard to find more than a dozen stars. But Diane Turnshek, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has dedicated her career to changing that. A longtime advocate for reducing light pollution, Turnshek is working to restore the brilliance of the night sky: one community, one policy, and one story at a time.

In a classroom where literature and lyrics collide, students in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh are taking a deep dive into two of the most intricate storytellers of their respective centuries: Vladimir Nabokov and Taylor Swift.

It’s a typical rainy day in Pennsylvania, but that hasn’t deterred any of the students in the Experiencing Architecture: Fallingwater Summer Design Studio. In fact, the rain has let up enough that one of the students, Claudia Engfer, has suggested walking to Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpiece, Fallingwater, from their current residence.