Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences: Workshop for Graduate Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows

Penn State University, State College, PA

Travel and Logistics

Lodging and the workshop will be held at the Nittany Lion Inn on the Penn State campus.

Workshop Registration at the Nittany Lion Inn

On Thursday, July 21, between 1:00 and 6:00 PM, all participants, regardless of lodging arrangements, should register for the workshop at the Nittany Lion Inn. Participants will sign in, pick up workshop materials, and return the completed Medical Emergency Health Form in a sealed envelope.

Lodging

The Nittany Lion Inn front desk is open 24 hours a day, and free parking is provided in the adjacent garage. Room check-in begins at 3:00 pm and check out is 12:00 pm. Participants staying at the Inn have reservations made in their names, and the "On the Cutting Edge" program will pay for your room and tax. At check-in you will be asked to provide a credit card in case incidental charges, such as telephone calls, are incurred. If you wish to use the high-speed internet service provided free of charge in the rooms, please bring an ethernet cable and plug it into the ethernet jack, not the dial-up phone jack, to avoid telephone charges.

Workshop Program and Schedule
The workshop program will begin with a dinner at 6:00 pm on Thursday evening, July 21 with optional workshops and other events to be held beforehand on Thursday afternoon. We strongly recommend that you do not schedule plane flights to arrive in State College later than 5:00 p.m. in order to allow time for travel from the airport and check-in at the workshop. The workshop officially concludes after dinner on Saturday, July 23 and we encourage participants stay for the optional workshops on Sunday morning, July 24 (9:00 am - noon).

Transportation
You are responsible for your transportation to and from Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA. State College is serviced by University Park Airport, which has commuter plane service from Cincinnati, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington DC. State College is located in Central Pennsylvania. It is approximately three hours by car from from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, four hours from Princeton and Ithaca, four and a half hours from New York City and Washington DC and five hours from Syracuse. Directions for driving are given below.

Air

State College, Pennsylvania is served by USAir from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; by United from Washington D.C.; by Northwest from Detroit; and by Delta from Cincinnati. The Nittany Lion Inn is only about a 10-minute car ride from the airport and it offers a free shuttle service to and from the airport. You can use the on-site phone board located near the baggage terminal to reach the Nittany Lion Inn, or a taxi service. You can call the Nittany Lion Inn ahead of time at (814) 863-5000 to arrange a pick-up for your flight to avoid a wait. Taxi charges should be approximately $15.

Train

State College can also be reached by Amtrak train to the Lewistown station from New York, Princeton, Philadelphia, Washington and Pittsburgh. Lewistown is about forty minutes from State College. It is possible to call a taxi in Lewistown; taxi charges should be between $30 and $50 dollars to go to State College.

Bus

Fullington Trailways and Greyhound Lines are available to and from State College. CATA (local downtown service) is also available. Fullington Trailways: 814-238-1100 Greyhound: 814-238-7971

Driving

From New York City (225+ miles) and the East:

I-80 West in PA to Exit 161 (Bellefonte), Follow PA 26 South to US 220 South. Take exit 74 for Penn State University/Innovation Park. For The Nittany Lion Inn: stay in the left lane of the exit and follow the sign for Penn State University. This will become Park Avenue. Travel Park Avenue to the stop light at Allen Street. Turn left on Allen Street and then right on Fischer Road. The Nittany Lion Parking Deck will be on your left followed by the Nittany Lion Inn.

From Philadelphia (nearly 200 miles):

PA Turnpike West to Exit 19, Harrisburg East and follow signs for the next 15 miles to Route 322 West. Take 322 West, past Lewistown, to State College and take the Penn State University/ Innovation Park Exit. For The Nittany Lion Inn turn right at the stop light and follow Park Avenue. Travel Park Avenue to the stop light at Allen Street. Turn left on Allen Street and then right on Fischer Road enter the Nittany Lion Parking Deck on your left.

From Harrisburg (80+ miles), and points South and East:

Take 322 West, past Lewistown, to State College and take the Penn State University/ Innovation Park Exit. For The Nittany Lion Inn, turn right at the stop light and follow Park Avenue. Travel Park Avenue to the stop light at Allen Street. Turn left on Allen Street and then right on Fischer Road enter the Nittany Lion Parking Deck on your left.

From Pittsburgh (125+ miles):

Route 22 East to Duncansville. Then take Route 220/I-99 North bypassing downtown Altoona and Tyrone. After Port Matilda, take Route 322 East to State College. For The Nittany Lion Inn, stay on Business Route 322/ North Atherton Street, past a variety of businesses. At the light at Park Avenue, turn left. The Inn is on your right.

From Washington, DC (nearly 200 miles):

Take Route 270 to Frederick, MD; follow signs for Route 15 North; stay on 15 North through Camp Hill and Marysville, PA; from 15 N take the exit for Route 322 West to State College/Lewistown and follow 322 West to the Penn State University/ Innovation Park Exit. For The Nittany Lion Inn, turn right at the stop light and follow Park Avenue. Travel Park Avenue to the stop light at Allen Street. Turn left on Allen Street and then right on Fischer Road enter the Nittany Lion Parking Deck on your left.