School of STEAM

Thomas is a blind and deaf 8-year old from Lilly, PA. SFU Education majors teamed up with Chemistry students to create learning solutions for Thomas. Students designed symbols which they printed on a 3D printer. Project is part of a community-engaged course in which students apply what they learn in class to help the community. Thomas is an 8 year old boy from Lilly, PA who is mostly blind and deaf. Eager to help, Saint Francis University Education majors began working on a project to support Thomas’s understanding and communication with the world around him. Education Professor MaryAnn Shaw

Saint Francis University’s Literature & Languages Department sponsored its third annual writing contest for ninth- through twelfth-grade students attending schools in the counties of Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Indiana, Somerset, and Westmoreland. Students from various high schools in these seven counties and beyond submitted their short fiction, poetry, essays, and personal narratives for the contest. Each submission was judged and scored by English faculty according to these five criteria: (1) creativity, (2) structure, (3) content, (4) style and expression, and (5) grammar

The American Petroleum Institute expects that by the year 2035, the industry will employ almost double the number of petroleum engineers in the workforce as of 2015. There is no field where there is no use of petroleum products; the increasing demand for energy provides a necessity to recruit more petroleum engineers. There is still 40 to 50 percent of the oil resources remaining in the subsurface, which calls for better extraction methods and more advanced technology developments. Jay Hardy, a rising Junior Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering and Business double major student, has big goals

Dr. Justin Merry , Associate Professor of Biology , Ms. Jen Merry, Assistant Director of Marketing Strategy, and Dr. Tim Bintrim , Professor of English and Environmental Studies , led a delegation of ten student volunteers to MOM-n-PA , the Pennsylvania Dental Mission of Mercy, held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre June 7-8, 2019. Now in its eighth year, MOM-n-PA is a huge event that serves roughly 1,800 people over two days, each year delivering a million dollars in free dental services to the under-served. Almost all patients either lack dental insurance or are under-insured, and many

Saint Francis University was recently approved to shelter a chapter of Nu Rho Psi , the National Honor Society in Neuroscience. The chapter will be the ninety-first charter to have been granted since the National Neuroscience Honor Society was established in 2006, and the eleventh in Pennsylvania. The Saint Francis University chapter designation is “Kappa in Pennsylvania (k in PA).” Nu Rho Psi is a non-profit, grass-roots organization comprised of faculty and undergraduate neuroscientists. The purpose of Nu Rho Psi is to: (1) encourage professional interest and excellence in scholarship

Saint Francis University Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Student Chapter has been awarded the Student Chapter Excellence Award for 2019. This prestigious award, previously known as the Gold Standard, is the second highest honor a student chapter may receive and is awarded to only 20% of student chapters around the world. The award is in recognition of the student chapter’s programs in industry engagement, operations and planning, community involvement, professional development, and innovation. The SFU student chapter of the SPE was officially established in February 2016. The mission of

Candace Rupert ‘18 is truly living the motto of Saint Francis University, “Become That Someone.” Candace remembers falling in love with the ocean when she was in second grade and presented a research project on stingrays. From that moment on she knew she wanted a career in helping save the ocean and all of its inhabitants.

Vanessa remembers the day well. She was in 6th grade and was helping her mom set up their church for a retreat event. Young adults from NET Ministries were visiting her parish for the day to encourage youth how to embrace their faith and cultivate a personal relationship with Christ. Vanessa showed some interest and was invited to join the other teenagers to participate in the day-long retreat. The joy and energy from that day stayed with Vanessa through middle school and high school. When it came time to choose a college, Vanessa found Saint Francis University and was excited to get involved

Cade Young, a freshman General Engineering major with an Aviation concentration , completed his first solo flight in a Diamond DA40 NG, flying out of the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport on December 9th. Cade is only one semester into the Aviation program and is excited with how quickly he progressed in the program. “When I went down to the airport that morning I had no clue I was going to be flying solo. I was told that I was getting close and could possibly solo before Christmas break, but I didn’t see it coming so soon. When the flight instructor, Larry Servinsky , stepped out

Chemistry professor, Dr. Samantha Radford , and two of her classes, Environmental Chemistry and Human Toxicology are working with the community to bring more awareness to the under-reported issue of lead exposure in Central Pennsylvania. Several cities in Pennsylvania, including Altoona, have a higher children’s lead exposure rate than that of Flint Michigan, even during their recent lead crisis. The city of Altoona ranks second worst in the state with an alarming 20% of children having elevated lead blood levels. Dr. Radford worked with the Saint Francis University Center for Service and