I found this recently, so I thought I might share it here. We were able to acquire all three sets of these professor promo cards from 07, 08 and 09. They are really very nice cards, and the contact (Cathy) at PSU was also very nice to correspond with too. I thought the Card Talk promo card people might enjoy these.
Emily



Have you ever wondered which Penn State professor has been featured on Polish stamps alongside Nicolaus Copernicus, or how about the professor who was awarded the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research, for his work on statistics?



Well if you check out Penn State’s Professor Trading Cards, then you would know that the answers to those questions are Dr. Alexander Wolszczan of the Astronomy Dept. and Dr. C. R. Rao of the Statistics Dept. (respectively).

The cards are available to view and even download online, and they have some seriously interesting facts on them about Penn State Professors past and present. Some highlights:

• Physics Professor Moses Chan discovered a new phase a matter (the traditional three being solid, liquid, and gas) called supersolid, which doesn’t exhibit any friction.
  
• Biology Professor Masatoshi Nei proved that modern humans originated in Africa.
  
• If you’re a fan of CSI, you can thank Chemistry Professor Mary Willard for pioneering many of the processes used in modern crime scene investigation.
  
• Poetry fans have probably heard of the name Theodore Roethke, but did you know that he was a Penn State English professor and the coach of the Men’s Tennis Team? He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1954 for his book, The Waking.

Article source: http://onwardstate.com/2009/09...rds-watch-out-topps/

Hey Emily, glad to see you join. Welcome to Card Talk.

These are great cards. I love my sets....

Mike.

By the time I responded, all Cathey could send me was the 2008 and 2009 sets. They are really well done and as I told Cathey, I am happy to add them to my collection.

Now, if I could only find the 2007 set.

I also have a 2009 set in the post, Cathey told me that I would have to wait until the football season was over then she sent a later email telling me that she had found a set and it would be in the post that night and would take two weeks to arrive. She obviously was not aware of the UK postal problems.

Hi Emily ,

I just got the 2009 set today , Very cool

Cecil, John & Kevin,
I'm happy to hear your pursuits are being successful. I will have the 07,08 and 09 sets placed into our galleries soon if you want to see the full sets. Glad that I was able to contribute something back to the Card Talkers here
Emily

Received a package from the university yesterday and to my surprise it contained three different sets, the 2009, 2008 and I presume the 2007 set (it does not containe a header card with the year like the 2008 and 2009)

Many thanks to Emily for bringing it to my attention and a even bigger thank you to Cathey for sending more than I expected.

John,
I am very happy that you were able to acquire all 3 sets. They must have run out of the cover cards for 2007.

I am still working on getting the sets into the Gallery, but I did find it interesting that The Trading Card Museum was made reference to in a recent article put out by PSU. I have copied the article below, and have also provided a link to the original source.

Emily


Original source: http://live.psu.edu/story/41938

New set of faculty trading cards introduced
Thursday, October 1, 2009

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State has just introduced its third annual series of faculty trading cards, and already they're on their way to becoming collectors' items, having been requested for the archives of The Trading Card Museum, a popular Web site built by and for trading card enthusiasts, artists, dealers and producers.

This year's set follows the pattern of the 2007 and 2008 sets by profiling a mix of 10 contemporary and historical Penn State faculty who have earned national and international distinction through their research and scholarly activities.

All three sets of cards can be viewed at http://tradingcards.psu.edu.

The front of each card pictures the faculty member, and the reverse side briefly describes achievements for which he or she is widely recognized.

"The trading cards are a unique way to engage a broad audience and raise the public profile of the scope and importance of the research and creative work that Penn State faculty have carried out, and continue to pursue," said Michael Bezilla, director of research communications in the Office of University Relations.

The cards are a joint production of University Relations and the Penn State Alumni Association. The idea for the cards originated with University President Graham Spanier, who distributes them at football tailgates and other special events.

Penn State ranks among the nation's top research universities, with annual expenditures exceeding $717 million. To learn more about specific research and creative endeavors at the University, visit http://www.rps.psu.edu.