A suspended University student was placed on parole and sentenced yesterday to 100 hours of community service for setting off a smoke grenade at Beaver Stadium during a football game last fall.

David A. Bierman, 25, was sentenced by Centre County President Judge Charles C. Brown for causing or risking catastrophe, stemming from an incident that occurred on the afternoon of Oct. 10. He served a seven-day prison sentence after the incident occurred.

Bierman is one semester away from graduating with a degree in nuclear engineering. He will return to Penn State for the Fall Semester.

Before sentencing Bierman, Brown read selections from letters describing Bierman's character. "Idiotic," "immature" and "dangerous" were words used to describe Bierman, Brown said, adding the defendant's harshest punishment may be that he has disqualified himself from most nuclear engineering jobs.

The smoke grenade, which was set off in the student section of the stadium, reduced visibility to one or two feet, court records said. Several officers were treated for smoke inhalation, and one officer was treated for a burn on his hand that resulted from touching the grenade, court records said.

Bierman, a Marine Corps reservist, found the smoke grenade while he was at advance training exercises at Camp LeJeune, N.C., court records said. He said he had no opportunity to use the bomb during training, so he kept it as a souvenir, court records said.