With grateful thanks to alumna Louise A. Strauss, I’m pleased to share that a $21 million gift from her estate will provide major support to the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, as well as the Rare Judaica Acquisitions Endowment Fund in Penn Libraries. bit.ly/4pqTtOL

Congratulations to Joseph Francisco on winning this year’s Pauling Medal in honor of his groundbreaking work into the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere. buff.ly/wHy3OrN @upenn.edu @pennchemistry.bsky.social @sas.upenn.edu

It was great meeting with students, faculty, and staff from Penn Arts & Sciences at the Meet the Dean events this past week. Thanks to all who attended, and I’m looking forward to more opportunities to connect and learn from our School community. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu

Dean Peter Struck and I discuss the Roman roots of the liberal arts tradition, how AI is changing the college experience, and charting curriculum for the 21st century in the new Ampersand podcast. Listen to full episode here: https://bit.ly/42prYev @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu

For their Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program project, Nihar Ballamudi, C'26, and Chinmay Govind, ENG'27, leveraged AI to locate and census whales. The study may inform policy measures that help to improve protections for whale populations worldwide. @pennengineering.bsky.social

Congratulations to Charles Kane on receiving the 2025 Lorentz Medal awarded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences! @upenn.edu

What do leafcutter ants, science communication, mortality rates, and childhood skill development have in common? They represent some of the recent findings from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty in our biology, sociology, psychology, and economics departments. @sas.upenn.edu @upenn.edu

Gareth Roberts, Associate Professor of Linguistics, presents "How Old is Language?" at today's first 60-Second Lecture of the fall semester. @upenn.edu @garicgymro.bsky.social #60Second #language #linguistics

How old is language? To find out, join linguistics professor Gareth Roberts on 9/3 near the Ben Franklin statue in front of College Hall. Gareth will kick off the first 60-second lecture series of the fall semester, with more talks at noon on 9/10 and 9/17. buff.ly/w6kRBMb @upenn.edu

Check out the Ampersand podcast on choice and consequence with cognitive scientist Sudeep Bhatia and historian Sophia Rosenfeld. I’ll be appearing on the Ampersand podcast in the weeks to come, speaking with Sophia, Michael Mann, and Peter Struck, among others. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu

Great to meet the Class of 2029! I’m excited for these first-year students to continue their intellectual journey at Penn.

A timeless Penn tradition. For the first time, the Class of 2029 gathers on Franklin Field.

Technology leads us to radical transformation; how do we prioritize humanity in AI? Driven by perspectives from a range of disciplines, Penn Arts & Sciences is ideally positioned to address both opportunities and challenges of generative AI creatively.

As some people know, I love to write by fountain pen. I talk a bit about why I still prefer writing mathematical equations by hand and answer some other questions in the second installment of a two-part video series by Omnia. Watch the full video: buff.ly/TbTZuxh @sas.upenn.edu

Join me for our next Ben Talks Los Angeles event at the Fox Studio Lot on Tuesday, September 16. Hear from a panel of experts as they explore how artistic production and material culture reflect, preserve, and challenge societal narratives and connect us to human experience. bit.ly/45NAx4S

By studying the tilt illusion—when the visual cortex sees straight lines as angled—Professors Alan Stocker and Geoffrey Aguirre are making inroads into fundamental computational processes that could inform neuroscience and better AI. @pennmindcore.bsky.social @gkaguirre.com @sas.upenn.edu

Humans have existed for only 0.007% of Earth's 4.5 billion-year history but can significantly alter the planet's equilibrium. Addressing climate change demands the collaborative efforts of humanists, researchers, and social scientists. Learn more about how @sas.upenn.edu is tackling this issue.

In order to train the best scientific minds, we must offer students hands-on scientific experiences. The Penn Research Experience for High School Students gives Philadelphia 11th and 12th graders the opportunity to tackle college-level research. #ScienceEducation

The Data Driven Discovery Initiative (DDDI) employs new tools and technologies to tackle societal challenges. In its first two years, 80 students enrolled in the Data Science and Analytics Minor to explore research questions with the potential to benefit society. @upenndddi.bksy.social

“How did it all begin?” This is one of the questions that, as a physicist, I’ve spent a lifetime trying to answer. In the first of a two-part video series, I answer that same question--but about my own career journey. Watch the full video in Omnia: buff.ly/0067NJQ @sas.upenn.edu

Ten years ago, I did an “Origin Story” video with Omnia about how I got my start in mathematics and my research interest in understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy and the physics of the early universe. @sas.upenn.edu

In the lab of Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Robyn Sanderson, Alexandra DiMauro, C’27, and Mariam Tskitishvili, C’28, are looking for hints about dark matter and analyzing data that could inform what we know about how stars form. #DarkMatter #Astrophysics

15 years ago, I invited Michael Mann to deliver a guest lecture. But he never made it to campus. Instead, he was snowbound by a nor’easter. Prof. Mann has since researched the impact of climate change on storms, finding that these nor’easters are getting more destructive. @michaelemann.bsky.social

Congrats to Lynn Meskell, Richard D. Green Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor, on being elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in honor of her outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences! 👏 👏

Basic scientific research allows us to study the building blocks of life. Nearly every product and breakthrough we take for granted today—from life-altering technologies to life-saving medical advancements—started at a university lab. Omnia breaks down how it's done.

Hello BlueSky! I’m Mark Trodden, new Dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences. I joined Penn in 2009 as a particle physicist and later served as Associate Dean for Natural Sciences for two years. Looking forward to sharing student & faculty highlights, initiatives, and events with you all!