The Penn State Center for Sports Surface Research (CSSR) is an applied research and outreach program within the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Plant Science.
Jesse Darlington, JT Klinghagen, Zach Newsome, and Ava Veith working to collect data at Acrisure Stadium.
The Center brings together faculty, students, and industry partners to advance understanding of sports surface performance, safety, and management.
Originally established under the leadership of Dr. Andrew McNitt, the Center has evolved to reflect the rapidly changing landscape of sports surface science. Today, the CSSR is directed by Dr. Chase Straw, Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Soils, whose work has expanded the Center’s portfolio to include modern field testing technologies, athlete-surface interaction research, and more data-driven approaches to sports field management.
The Center integrates work conducted at the Joseph E. Valentine Turfgrass Research Center with collaborative projects at professional and collegiate sports venues across the country. This approach allows for both controlled and real-world evaluation, ensuring findings are directly applicable to field managers and industry professionals.
Research within the CSSR focuses on evaluating sports surface characteristics and their implications for athlete interaction. Current work examines performance across natural turfgrass, synthetic turf, and hybrid systems using field-based testing approaches, with a growing emphasis on advanced sensing and spatial mapping technologies to quantify within-field variability. By integrating field measurements with visualization and analysis, the CSSR is developing practical tools that support more precise and data-informed management decisions. Moving forward, the Center will continue to expand its ability to evaluate how surface conditions affect athlete movement, performance, and injury risk.
The Center maintains strong collaborations with industry partners to evaluate surface systems and management practices under real-world conditions. These partnerships help ensure research remains aligned with current industry needs and practical challenges.
A central focus of the CSSR is translating research into practical outcomes for field managers. Through applied studies, outreach, and industry engagement, the Center provides actionable insights aimed at improving surface consistency, playability, and safety. As the program continues to grow, this work will further emphasize bridging research and practice to support decision-making across a range of sports field settings.
