Letters: Is Penn State missing the boat?; Handing us the world

Is Penn State missing the boat?

The recently passed federal “Chips Act” included $10 billion to incentivize innovation partnerships across industry and academe “to help develop technologies and industries of the future.” The legislation included funding for regional “tech hubs” with a national competition announced in spring 2023 with 31 awardees (400 applicants) announced recently. The successful awardees (many with university partners) are now eligible to compete for $75 million grants. Penn State was not awarded a winning partnership, but possibly more disappointing, is that we apparently did not compete (hope that I am wrong).

According to PA news reports, both Pitt (Bio-Manufacturing) and Lehigh (Semi-Conductors) competed but were unsuccessful. But congratulations to Gonzaga (Aerospace Materials), an awardee with an annual research budget less than 1% of PSU.

Surely, lack of university resources is not the issue at Penn State since at last count we have approximately 25 directors, associate vice presidents and vice presidents in our Research Office. Our board includes six industry/business trustees who it seems would be attuned to such opportunities. Moreover, we have an entire campus named Innovation Park. Sadly, looking back to last spring, our board seemed to be more pre-occupied with redesigning Beaver Stadium, remodeling athletic facilities, deliberating NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) policies and lamenting the departure of our basketball coach.

Looking ahead, however, this should be a moment when we plan for a future Centre Region Tech Hub competition or other inevitable federal initiatives to stimulate partnerships between industry and academe.

Al Soyster, Boalsburg

Handing us the world

When the moon comes full it stands in the east facing the sun across the whole breadth of land and this land as setting for the moral act is the true foundation of this whole shining vastness. For in this act of good in freedom man shows the stars the direction of the world.

Science construes the Earth an out of the way irrelevance. But it forgets that in the great voyage out into the universe begun from Copernicus, at each step man holds the telescope and he in his heroism is the reason it is given here for it is here in the center of immensities God faces us in person, and then hands each of us the world — the world as challenge — the world as moral task — the world as our beautiful starry home.

John Harris, State College

Common sense laws can decrease shootings

You have been with friends shooting at your local pistol range. Before heading home, many go to a local bar for a beer. Most of you have a permit to carry, and have your pistols. While sipping on your beer, a guy enters the bar and pulls out a rifle. The friend beside you is about to sip his beer, when his head explodes into a blast of brains, bone and blood. Everyone hits the floor, while the shooter sprays the room with bullets. The shooter then drives to a bowling alley, eventually shooting 31 people, killing 18. That “exact” story, became reality in Lewiston, Maine recently. Robert Card, an Army reservist, was the shooter with a documented history of mental illness. Lessons?

One: “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” is never true when the shooter has a semi-automatic with an extended magazine, and often a bump stock. Two: Mentally ill veterans are permitted to purchase any gun. In 2017, Congress passed HR1181, The Veteran’s Second Amendment Protection Act. Generals, admirals, and VA were opposed, but NRA lobbyists pushed it. Responsible hunters; 1 - ask for “serious” background checks, waiting periods, and training to purchase semi-automatic weapons; 2 - anyone, veteran or not, with documented mental illness should not be able to purchase a gun. We don’t need bans, we need common sense laws to decrease the shootings. Sadly, we’ll never stop them all.

James Serene, State College