The 2010s saw the increase of a new industry in Pennsylvania that impacted primarily the middle and southwestern parts of the state. This was the development of hydrofracking of the Marcellus Shale for natural gas. In society there was an increase in the use of opoids, leading to addiction in a lot of the rural parts of the state. Also during this time Pennsylvania became a political battleground state further deepening political divisions. Social media use also continued making people even more connected and isolated at the same time.
In the 2010s, the state of Pennsylvania, in the Philadelphia region, became a hub for cell and gene therapy, utilizing universities such as the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, and Thomas Jefferson University. In the west, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University were centers for robotics, artificial intelligence, and computer science. Pennsylvania State University continued its research and lead in materials science. Beyond the Marcellus Shale development for natural gas, there were continued efforts in renewable energy with wind turbines on the Allegheny Front.
The start of the 2010s saw the first Annual meeting being held at a member institution since the 1980s. The 2010 annual meeting was the last meeting held at a hotel, that is within the timeframe of this history (1923-2025). All meetings since have been held at member campuses. The first campus meeting was at Penn State-Altoona in 2011 and included field trips to places of local interest including the nearby wind farm on Allegheny front. The Journal of Pennsylvania Academy of Science was also moved to electronic format in order the reduce the printing costs, a problem that had plagued the Academy since the beginning. Later in 2017, the management of the Journal was handed over to Penn State Press and a print version was made again.
Below are the highlights of the Annual Meetings of the Academy, if they are known.
86th Annual Meeting – April 9-11, 2010 (Radisson Hotel, Camp Hill, PA): The symposium at this meeting was on “Science Education.”
87th Annual Meeting – April 1-3, 2011 (Penn State-Altoona, Altoona, PA): The speaker at this meeting was Dr. Michael Mann, of Penn State University, who spoke on “Climate Change.” The symposium at this meeting was on “Global Climate Change.” A teacher’s workshop on “Climate Change and Renewable Energy” was held with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science.
88th Annual Meeting – March 30 – April 1, 2012 (Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA): The symposium at this meeting was on “Conservation and Ecology of Pennsylvania’s Bats.” A teacher’s workshop on “Pennsylvania Women in Science” held with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science at this meeting.
89th Annual Meeting – April 5-7, 2013 (University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, Bradford, PA): The dinner presentation at this meeting was on “Marcellus Shale Development in Pennsylvania.” The symposium at this meeting was on “Marcellus and Utica Shale Gas.” A teacher’s workshop on “Shale Gas” was held in partnership with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science.
90th Annual Meeting – March 21 – 23, 2014 (Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA): The highlight of this meeting was a symposium on the Susquehanna River.
91st Annual Meeting – April 10-12, 2015 (Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA): The speaker was Scott Wiedensaul, who spoke on “Caught in the SNOWstorm.”
92nd Annual Meeting – April 1-3, 2016 (Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, PA): The speaker at this meeting was Dr. Philip S. Hosbach, Vice-President of Immunization Policy and Governmental Relations at Sanofi Pasteur. The symposium at this meeting was on “Vaccines.”
93rd Annual Meeting – April 1-3, 2017 (King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA): The speaker at this meeting was Dr. Peter Dodson, who spoke on “Collecting Dinosaurs on Four Continents.” A student lunch panel on “So I’m a Science Major? What next?” was held at Saturday lunch.
94th Annual Meeting – March 23-25, 2018 (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA): Highlights of this meeting included an “Alternative Energy Symposium.” The keynote address was given by Dr. Richard Alley from Penn State University on “Learning from the Pennsylvania Desert”: Historical insights to our energy future.
95th Annual Meeting – March 29-31, 2019 (Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA): A highlight of this meeting was a symposium on “Connecting Society with Science: How can scientists better communicate with the public. The speaker was Dr. Lorraine Soisson, of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Malaria Vaccine Development Program, who spoke on “A World View of the Fight Against Malaria.”