Podcast appearances and mentions of katie defiore

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. This episode features the article “Penn State Researcher Turns Decades of Turfgrass Work into Startup Success” written by Katie DeFiore read from Pennsylvania Turfgrass magazine. David Huff, professor of turfgrass breeding and genetics at Penn State, recently earned the Research Innovator Award through the College of Agricultural Sciences for the research and entrepreneurial leadership that led to the founding of his startup, PennPoa. PennPoa aims to transform the turfgrass industry through the commercialization of highly cultivated Poa annua, or annual bluegrass, seed varieties for the golf course industry. To launch his turfgrass startup, Huff utilized Penn State entrepreneurial resources including the Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern Pennsylvania and the Office of Technology Transfer. When Huff came to Penn State in 1994, his goal was to breed and improve varieties of Poa annua for the golf course industry. This strain has desirable traits, Huff said, such as high shoot density and dwarfism, which allows the grass to tolerate extremely low mowing heights — an important characteristic for golf course turfgrass, where mowing heights can be less than one-tenth of an inch. Huff said he quickly realized there was no commercially available seed for this top-quality grass, forcing golf courses to either use lower-quality grass species or rely on bluegrass that naturally emerges as a weed. However, when Poa annua establishes itself as a weed, it can take 50 to 100 years of golf course maintenance for it to naturally evolve into the highly sought-after strain, according to Huff. “There was no one out there helping the golf industry with this problem, and so I decided it would be a good project to work on,” Huff said. “I collected seeds from a lot of places across the U.S. and Europe, bred them, and after 13 years I had a top 10 — they were just beautiful grasses.” However, when Huff moved into the seed production process with those 10 strains, he lost the dwarfism trait that made the grasses so valuable. The plants reverted to weedy grasses, prompting another 13 years of research and the additional support of three graduate students to understand why this was happening and how to ensure the seeds retained their dwarf perennial traits. After a total of 26 years of research, Huff's new seeds were finally ready for beta testing. “I ran those beta tests on five golf courses, covering the east coast, west coast and the northern and southern United States regions, and everything looked good. So, in the meantime, that's when I started the company,” Huff said. “I had no idea I'd be doing a startup. When I first started, I thought this grass was going to behave like all grasses and that I would be able to license it to a seed company.” Huff said he was already familiar with the licensing process at Penn State, as he breeds other grass varieties that are released to seed production companies. However, because of the complex and novel seed production technology he and his team developed to maintain Poa annua's favorable traits, he realized he could not simply hand off the process to a seed company. The Penn State Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) suggested that he launch a startup. “To be honest, when OTT suggested launching a startup, I thought, ‘I can't do that, I'm faculty, I'd be using the product I'm researching, it's a conflict of interest,'” Huff said. “And they said Penn State has a support system in place to help manage that for you.” OTT connected Huff to the Office for Research Protections, where a team helped Huff navigate the research commercialization process. He later entered the Ben Franklin Technology Partners Big Idea Contest, where he won the People's Choice Award. Through that experience, Huff learned more about the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Penn State and in State College, and he began attending entrepreneurial events, meetups and competitions hosted by Ben Franklin, the Penn State SBDC and other local community organizations. At one of these events, Huff met Martin Brill, a business consultant and coordinator for the Pennsylvania SBDC Agriculture Center of Excellence, who became a long-term mentor. “Martin and everyone else that I've met has just been very encouraging, and that was very important to me,” Huff said. “Starting a new company like this was very scary — I wasn't planning on it, and I haven't been trained for it. But Martin, Ben Franklin, OTT, the individuals in the Office for Research Protections, they all encouraged me, and that's what propelled me forward. I followed their advice, and I never really hit a roadblock. I hit a lot of hurdles, but everyone helped me get over those. Before I knew it, I had a license agreement, I had a formal company and we started sales.” Huff said 2025 marked his first year of sales, and he sold out of both his 2024 and 2025 crops. He already has received orders for 2026 and 2027. He added that the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences has also been critical to his startup success. Huff received funding through the College's Research Applications for INnovation (RAIN) grants program and has been able to lease college-owned land to support seed production. “One of the other things that helped me was that, at all these various workshops and seminars provided by the SBDC, there were all sorts of other folks just like me — people with ideas who live in this area who were starting their own businesses,” Huff said. “Talking with them helped me, because they are in the same boat I'm in — they don't know what they're doing either, but they're doing it, and you learn as you go.” Most recently, Huff entered the Invent Penn State Startup Leadership Network Board of Advisors program for 2026, which provides Penn State startups with industry-specific advisory boards to guide founders as they enter the market. “I've just been impressed by the entrepreneurial ecosystem that's here at Penn State, both on and off campus,” Huff said. “It has helped give me the confidence to know that I can do this. Everybody has been so helpful and has given me their time and their interest. They really are passionate about helping people, and with that kind of help, you just go forward.” About the Penn State SBDC Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Department of Community & Economic Development, through support from Penn State, and by other sources of state and federal funding. Full disclosures available at: https://www.pasbdc.org/funding-sources SBDCs are hosted by leading universities, colleges, state economic development agencies and private partners, and funded in part by the U.S. Congress through a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. There are nearly 1,000 local centers available to provide no-cost business consulting and low-cost training to new and existing businesses. The Penn State SBDC services Centre, Clinton, Lycoming and Mifflin counties in central Pennsylvania. You have been listening to The Turf Zone Podcast. Follow The Turf Zone on X, Facebook and LinkedIn for all things turfgrass, featuring podcasts, magazines, events and more. Visit www.theturfzone.com for more. The post Penn State Researcher Turns Decades of Turfgrass Work into Startup Success appeared first on The Turf Zone.

This is a special crossover episode of Dare to Disrupt and Following the Gong, a show that features conversations with Penn State Schreyer Scholar Alumni sharing advice on how to make new connections with a strong network of Scholar Alumni that blazed the trail before you. Following The Gong host Sean Goheen interviews Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Dare to Disrupt host Ryan Newman, '01 and Associate Vice President for Research and Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization James Delattre, '97, both Scholar Alumni, about the entrepreneurial scene at Penn State. This episode commemorates Dare to Disrupt passing 50,000 total downloads. Ryan and James briefly share their background and time at Penn State. The conversation then covers the origin of Invent Penn State and the incredible resources available for not only students but alumni and community members looking to start, build, or scale a business. Ryan and Katie DeFiore, producer of Dare to Disrupt, share how the Dare to Disrupt podcast came to be, favorite stories, and lessons learned from both the guests and the production process. Ryan and James' bios and a full breakdown of topics discussed are available below. Guest Bios: Dr. James L. Delattre serves as Associate Vice President for Research and Director of the Office for Entrepreneurship and Commercialization where he leads entrepreneurship program development for the Invent Penn State initiative and leads commercialization strategy, resources and support for Penn State's startup pipeline and LaunchBox & Innovation Network. He is an alumnus of the Professional Fellows Program of the American Councils for International Education. James is the principal investigator for Penn State's National Science Foundation I-Corps Program, a member of the advisory board of the Center for Medical Innovation at the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine and serves as secretary of the Penn State Research Foundation. Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Delattre worked in nanomaterials and semiconductor startups in central Pennsylvania and Silicon Valley. Dr. Delattre earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral work at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche at the University of Bari, Italy. Dr. Delattre received his BS with honors in Chemistry from Penn State, where he studied inorganic chemistry and the Russian language. Ryan Newman is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he co-founded and co-leads a private wealth management team, managing in excess of $13 billion on behalf of Fortune 500 executives, Forbes 400 families, entrepreneurs, family offices and foundations and endowments. Ryan is a member of the PWM Top Advisors and PWM Advisors Council, representing the top 10% of advisors globally at Goldman Sachs. He joined Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst in 2001 and was named a Managing Director in 2019. Ryan earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics with Honors 2001, and served as Student Marshal for Economics during graduation. Ryan is the host of the Invent Penn State podcast, Dare to Disrupt, which he helped launch, and has achieved over 50,000 downloads (as of September 2023). He also serves on the External Advisory Board of the Schreyer Honors College and the Principal Gifts Committee in Development at Penn State. Ryan is also a volunteer with the Smeal College of Business. He was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award in 2011 and the Alumni Fellow Award in 2023. Episode Topics: Getting to know Ryan and James as they share their Penn State origin stories and the value of the honors thesis in industry, graduate school, and entrepreneurship Pursuing an industry route rather than an academic route with a STEM PhD How Invent Penn State came to be and how it helps bring the University's Land Grant mission to life in the 21st century for all citizens of the Commonwealth How to get plugged in with the incredible programs and resources available from Invent Penn State How and why to get involved as an alumni volunteer and/or donor, especially in the entrepreneurial space The origin story of the Dare to Disrupt podcast and how it gets made Leveraging success and momentum into more success and momentum Lessons learned from hosting Dare to Disrupt Handling rejections or failures

A discussion of the December podcast playlist on GENERATIONS. We also hear thoughts from some of our PBC members and share a few podcast recommendations. Find the full show notes on the web at: https://podcastbrunchclub.com/generations-roundup This is what they talked about: Generations podcast playlist Interview with Juleyka Lantigua-Williams Sara’s podcast recommendations: The Anxious Achiever: from the Harvard Business Review. “Rethink mental health and work, with candid stories from leaders who’ve been there.” Twenty Twenty: A Pop Culture podcast: “Join two culture critics in their twenties, as they delve into the most memorable pop culture from twenty years ago.” Adela’s podcast recommendations: We Share the Same Sky: a 7-episode series in which a young woman follows the journey of her grandmother who escaped the Nazis in WWII I’m Not A Monster: about an American woman who travels to Syria to fight with ISIS with her husband and she brings her children Passport: a travel podcast that digs deep into a place, but with an angle you probably wouldn’t expect The Pod Spotter: a podcast about podcasts PBC community podcast recommendations: Nerdette The Tim Ferriss Show: “#444: Hugh Jackman on Best Decisions, Daily Routines, The 85% Rule, Favorite Exercises, Mind Training, and Much More” Go for Broke Get involved in the podcast discussion! Find out how Podcast Brunch Club works. Join PBC: newsletter, in-person chapter, Facebook Group, twitter, instagram, subreddit Support PBC: Become a monthly Patreon member (and get some bonus content) Make a one-time donation via Paypal Audio editing and production by Katie DeFiore. Music included in this episode was "Rainbow" by Chad Crouch and “Paradise” by Misael Gauna. Current Supporters include: Podkite - Chart Analytics and Marketing Attribution for Podcasters Future Hindsight -  a podcast seeking to spark civic engagement, inspire hope, and reinvigorate our social contract Podchaser – “the IMDb of podcasts” Podyssey - an online community for podcast lovers (aka "the Goodreads for podcasts") Bullhorn - podcast listening any way you want it Listen Notes – “the best podcast search engine” Podbean – use the code “pbc” for one month free on podcast hosting Immigrantly podcast - cross cultural conversations Critical Frequency – “a podcast network for everyone else”

Katie DeFiore hosts senior advertising/public relations major and Bellisario College Fellow Taylor Harrington, who discusses her experiences at Penn State, her career aspirations and more.

Katie DeFiore hosts S. Shyam Sundar, the James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, to discuss the effects of interactive media and how internet-based information is consumed.

Katie DeFiore hosts David Frum, a senior editor at The Atlantic and author of “Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic,” to discuss what he describes as the “guardrails of democracy.” Frum spoke on campus earlier in the semester.

Katie DeFiore hosts alumnus Dave Leopold, the senior director of content production technologies at Viacom, to discuss the future of technologies such as VR and AR in the journalism industry.

Penn State student Katie DeFiore has lept into the world of podcasting, tackling multiple projects in a short amount of time. A podcasting course awakened an interest that has led to series such as "An Entrepreneurial State of Mind" (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/entrepreneurial-state-mind/id1176627399?mt=2) and "Voices of Penn State" for The Daily Collegian (https://www.collegian.psu.edu/multimedia/podcasts/). Plus she's a resident of the co.space, an innovative housing arrangement for "changemakers" in the community. Make sure you always Hear The Hustle: Web: http://bit.ly/HVHustle Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyValleyHustle/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/billzhustle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billzhustle/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billfzimmerman/ Books and albums by past "Hustle" guests are available at https://www.amazon.com/shop/happyvalleyhustle ▶️ MAKE your podcasting dreams happen with hosting from Buzzsprout.

Podcasting is proving to be a valuable tool to engage audiences on a much deeper level. Newspapers in particular are using podcasts to initiate a stronger conversation and explore issues in more depth than the written word. We hear from Katie DeFiore of Pennsylvania State University on how its newspaper is using podcasts to better connect with those on campus. And, we learn of a new tool to allow your audience to interact with your podcast, by asking recorded questions to the host or the podcast’s guests. It’s an Australian-made app called VoiceByte, as CEO and co-founder Michael Fenech unravels the benefits it can bring to deeper audience engagement Presented by Nick Schildberger and Chris Ashmore. More Information Voices of Penn State http://www.collegian.psu.edu/multimedia/podcasts/   VoiceByte https://voicebyte.com    Podcasting Essentials is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333

Freshman Carter O’Sullivan, a current supply chain management major, talks about his experiences finding his passions and interests that don’t necessarily align with those of the rest of his family. Sponsored and owned by The Daily Collegian, created by Katie DeFiore.

Leon, a sophomore studying political science, wants to become prime minister of Canada and leaves his life decisions up to chance and God. Sponsored and owned by The Daily Collegian, created by Katie DeFiore.

Senior Hunter Murdoch, a nursing major, talks about her most influential moment gaining nursing experience during her externship over the summer. Sponsored and owned by The Daily Collegian, created by Katie DeFiore.