“The Bubble” is back. Yesterday, the 70,000-pound seasonal air structure at Penn Park began its 3–4 hour inflation process, rising to 72 feet tall and expanding to 386 by 242 feet as it takes shape once again.

Growth can be big or small. What’s one thing you’re proud to have achieved this semester?

In collaboration with faculty, staff, and students, Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, chair of the Graduate and Professional Training working group for Penn Forward, is looking ahead to the next decade and beyond for graduate education at Penn. https://bit.ly/4i5VUTy

If the color of these leaves were a paint swatch, what would they be called? 🎨🍁

Penn fourth-year Florence Onyiuke named a 2026 Rhodes Scholar. She is among 32 American recipients of the scholarship, which funds tuition and a living stipend for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. https://bit.ly/3K6AcCm

After learning about Penn Medicine’s uterus transplant program, Lancaster General Health nurse Sara Leister (right) decided to donate her own. Emma Dolezal, born without a uterus, received Leister’s and gave birth to baby Olivia. Read More: https://bit.ly/475OxIj

This morning, members of the Penn community gathered on College Green to mark Veterans Day with the presentation of colors and a flag-raising ceremony by the Penn ROTC. Thank you to all who have served.

In transitioning from the Army to a Ph.D. program in ancient history, Malcolm Nelson picked up where he left off in college: pursuing a passion for antiquity. Read More: https://bit.ly/4oyZJDl

In Pennsylvania, the distribution of barn owls has declined more than 50%. Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, seeks to unravel the mystery https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-vets-wildlife-futures-seek-unravel-mystery-disappearing-barn-owl

In her research, Penn's newest economics faculty member Jin Liu specializes in international trade and industrial organization, looking at it from a variety of models: trade, industrial organization, and macroeconomics. https://bit.ly/3JvI6Fk

Through the Educational Pipeline Program at Penn, Hakiem Ellison helps Philadelphia students explore healthcare career pathways and plan for their future. Discover how Penn Matters to our community: https://www.upenn.edu/about/penn-matters

As a volunteer with the nonprofit after-school program Project 440, Meryl Krieger, a senior learning designer for the College of Liberal & Professional Studies, helps artistically minded high school students with life skills. https://bit.ly/3Luswu5

Nature’s group project, where every color found its place 🌤️

Researchers at the Penn Vet School examine how common food waste recycling methods, including composting, could have a big impact on greenhouse gas emissions and the use of natural resources. Read More: https://bit.ly/44t4Gpu

Autumn on the water with the Red and Blue 🔴 🔵 📷 Credit: @chaowu_photo (On Instagram)

Could a five-particle structure change our understanding of the universe? Researchers from Penn and Arizona State University pinpoint a lone five-particle package (a 5-plet) that could upend string theory if detected at the Large Hadron Collider. Read More: https://bit.ly/45N7n6y

For nearly a decade, @PennSAS glaciologist Leigh Stearns and collaborators have aimed a laser scanning system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their survey is reframing the understanding of how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise. Read More: https://bit.ly/47WIqGh

Penn students, staff and faculty turned Election Day into a celebration of democracy. President J. Larry Jameson, bedecked in "I Voted" stickers, chatted with student volunteers from Penn Leads the Vote while the Quaker rallied passersby and posed for photos.

Historian Benjamin Nathans examines dissent in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s to understand how our world was shaped by history. He credits his time at Penn in dialogue with students and colleagues as having had a profound impact on his work. https://www.upenn.edu/about/penn-matters

Stepping into November 🚶‍♂️‍➡️

Over the summer Penn Engineering staff assembled a Rubik's Cube mosaic of the Penn crest and crafted keychains in the Precision Machining Laboratory. These workshops, part of Staff Appreciation Week, celebrate the creativity, curiosity and craftsmanship that define Penn Engineering year-round.

Dear Penn Community, Fraudulent emails are currently being circulated that appear to come from a Penn Graduate School of Education account with the subject “We got hacked (Action Required)” or similar.

200 days to go until #PennGrad 🎓 The countdown is on, Class of 2026!

University of Pennsylvania and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sign a cooperative AI advising agreement @governor.pa.gov @pennengineering.bsky.social

A timeless emblem, etched into stone.

Nicola Mason of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine develops cancer immunotherapies for dogs that also accelerate novel clinical treatments for human patients. Learn more about how #PennMatters to Research: https://www.upenn.edu/about/penn-matters

October Memories 🍁

Penn engineers and collaborators have developed an innovative “tumor-on-a-chip” device that mimics human lung cancer, potentially revolutionizing CAR T therapy for solid tumors. Read More: https://bit.ly/49l4lIh

The iconic LOVE sculpture by pop artist Robert Indiana was installed in the heart of campus in 1999 and soon became a natural gathering place and backdrop for photos. Read more about the LOVE sculpture: https://bit.ly/3SWjI1s

We dusted off a nearly 100-year-old vinyl record from The University of Pennsylvania Band and gave “The Red and Blue” another spin. The sound may crackle a little, but the Penn pride still comes through loud and clear ❤️💙

Gazing up, feeling small ☁️

🐿️ 📷 Credit: Eric Sucar & @chaowu_photo (on Instagram)

There’s more to see when you widen your view 🔭

Penn Today looks at the Locust Walk Compass and the legend that those who step upon it will fail their midterms. Robert E. Lundgren, Penn’s landscape architect who designed the compass, shares his thoughts on the lore and how it all came about. Read more: https://bit.ly/3PTOVRn

The city we call home ❤️ 💙

With Japan set to potentially select its first woman premier later this month, Penn Today spoke with political scientist and Japan expert Daniel Smith about the expected outcome and what’s next for the country. Read More: https://bit.ly/43afZlu

Fourth-year Herinah Asaah felt energized by alumni support as she organized a pre-orientation program and a fall fellowship for new students. “Education opens doors,” she says. “I want every child to have the tools to walk through them and thrive.” Read More: https://bit.ly/4okFHMk

At Penn, Angela Duckworth studies how grit, self-control, and behavior change can predict individual success. To her, Penn Matters because Penn “cares about impact, cares about true scientific research at the highest level, cares about individuals, and cares about society."

The Cobbs Creek Stream Team is building on community water testing and The Water Center at Penn education efforts to collect the most detailed water quality data yet at the West Philadelphia tributary. The goal is to support with remediation efforts. Read More: https://bit.ly/46OeKL7

Autumn leaves ready to fall down like pieces into place 🍂 📷 Credit: @chaowu_photo

Earlier this year the @PennGleeClub performed at the famous Suntory Hall in Tokyo, an art gallery in Hong Kong, and the U.S. embassy in Beijing during a 12-day tour of Asia. Forty members went on the tour, including 25 singers, eight band members, and seven technical crew. https://bit.ly/4eeEl1E

Ever wondered about the fish or whale on the Penn shield? It's actually an 18th-century depiction of a dolphin! 🐬 The shield symbolizes learning with open books, the dolphin from Benjamin Franklin's coat of arms, and three "plates" (circles) from the Penn family's coat of arms.

Scholarship support opened the door to Penn for Noah Royal Milad, C’26. Now, he’s leading with purpose by advancing student-alumni connections, studying international relations, and mentoring first-year students with the same care he once received.

Leaves are falling, break is calling. Enjoy, Quakers! ❤️ 💙

From coal ash ponds in North Carolina to sand dams in Kenya, fourth-year Griffin Pitt has turned her passion for water access into action. “Penn has helped me in so many ways apply what I learn in the classroom outside of it,” she says. Read More: https://bit.ly/4nHrxor

In 2020, a student took inspiration from a Reddit thread highlighting a Japanese elementary school graduation ceremony in Minecraft and embarked on a project called "Penncraft" to recreate the University of Pennsylvania campus digitally. View More Photos: https://bit.ly/2XLWLC3

Keep it one hundred On the land, the sea, the sky ⛅

A deadly fungus may hold the key to an anti-cancer drug. Researchers at Penn Engineering have transformed the toxic Aspergillus flavus into a compound that fights cancer. Read More: https://bit.ly/3TGmJlR

As part of the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System, Penn Vet School's New Bolton Center plays a key role in identifying and containing threats to animal and public health, like avian influenza and Salmonella, before they can take hold in Pennsylvania. Read More: https://bit.ly/4egVTu5

Foggy mornings 🌫️ 📷 Credit: @Jacob_Zeranski (on Instagram)