Vivian Valenty is a Penn State alum, the inventor of Dazzle Dry nail polish, and the founder and president of VB Cosmetics, a fully integrated manufacturing company with global brands of clean, nature- and science-based, functional and proprietary beauty products. 

The Pennsylvania General Assembly has passed a state budget that maintains Penn State’s general support appropriation at $242.1 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which began July 1. The budget package, which now heads to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his anticipated signature, includes a funding increase of $4 million (13%) for Pennsylvania College of Technology, level funding of $57.7 million for Penn State Agricultural Research and Extension, and restores line-item funding of $2.35 million for Invent Penn State.

Pine Creek Seed Farm, a full-service wholesaler and distributor of a variety of seeds, received the U.S. Small Business Administration Eastern PA Family-Owned Small Business of the Year Award for 2024. The award ceremony took place on June 24 at the farm in Jersey Shore, where attendees toured the business location.

NeuroXR, a Penn State research startup, is working towards standardizing surgical training through wearable sensor technology. The team recently completed the NSF I-Corps National Teams program.

Navengage, an education technology company started by Penn State alumni that participated in Invent Penn State’s Startup Leadership Network Board of Advisors program in 2022, was recently acquired by Pathify, a higher education digital engagement hub.

In the latest episode of Invent Penn State’s Dare to Disrupt podcast, host Ryan Newman interviews Jeremy Frank, co-founder and CEO of KCF Technologies, a technology company based out of State College.

Scarlett Miller, professor of industrial engineering and of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Penn State, was recently appointed director of Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation.

CycleLife Studio, a cycling fitness studio in Sharon, Pennsylvania, utilized Invent Penn State resources to update their business model and continue to grow.

Drawing from personal experience, and with support from Berks Launchbox, Rogers created The Fourth Trimester MAHMEE, a startup that advocates for pregnant and postpartum women with the help of support services.  

In the latest episode of Invent Penn State’s “Dare to Disrupt” podcast, host Ryan Newman interviews Joe Pulizzi, founder of content creator education site, The Tilt. Pulizzi also founded Content Entrepreneur Expo and the Content Marketing Institute, which he successfully exited in 2016.