Congratulations to Marcy Norton, Professor of History, on receiving the 2025 Bentley Book Prize for her book, "The Tame and the Wild: People and Animals After 1492." Read more: https://bit.ly/4nKQeQs @upenn.edu

Cole DuHaime, C'27, a math major in the College who is also in the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Degree Program at the Graduate School of Education, taught math to 7th graders over the summer in a service opportunity made possible by Generation Teach and the Ben Franklin Scholars Program.

In the aftermath of the deadly anti-government youth uprising in Nepal that led to the fall of the country’s government, Shana Scogin, a political scientist and Perry World House fellow, weighs in on the roots of unrest, the interim government, and what to expect next.
 @perryworldhouse.bsky.social

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a reality to the world what Professor of Political Science Julia Lynch had known for decades: Health problems do not affect everyone equally. With a new book, she offer legislators a roadmap for reducing health inequality.

Insomnia Cookies founder and CEO Seth Berkowitz started his business as a junior in college, delivering 89-cent cookies across campus at 2 a.m. Two decades later, Insomnia has taken over the U.S. with 350 stores serving up late-night sweet treats.

Our second special edition of the Ampersand Podcast features Dean Mark Trodden in conversation with historian Sophia Rosenfeld. Listen to full episode, "Humanities, Democracy, and the Future of Knowledge," in Omnia: https://bit.ly/4mB5izg @upenn.edu @pennsasdean.bsky.social

In The New York Times, a look back at the life of Patrick McGovern, a Penn archaeologist who studied and recreated “ancient alcohol.”

Recently, NASA announced that samples from an ancient dry riverbed on Mars may contain potential biosignatures, possible evidence of ancient microbial life. On CBS News, @dougjerolmack.bsky.social of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science discussed the exciting news.

Prof. Angela Duckworth of Psychology is featured on KPBS's Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan and discusses the factors that affect human behavior and the challenges associated with them. @angeladuckworth.bsky.social @kpbssandiego.bsky.social

Prof. Emily Wilson's 2017 translation of "The Odyssey" is featured as NPR's Book of the Day. In this segment, Wilson talks with about how she approached aspects of her translation, including social hierarchies and Homeric epithets. @npr.org @upenn.edu @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social

Enrique Mendoza, Professor of Economics, explains the rise of the U.S. tariff rate and their potential short- and long-term effects in our latest Omnia 101. @upenn.edu

Join us for a virtual info session on our PhD program. Meet our Graduate Chair Prof. James Petersson and learn how you can pursue your PhD in chemistry at @sas.upenn.edu in sunny Philadelphia! Register here: bit.ly/46otRt5

Sociology's Steve Viscelli discusses the appeal of the trucking industry to young blue-collar workers.

The Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology (VLEST) has achieved the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest standard, a rare distinction and just the second Penn building to do so. @upenn.edu @vagelosenergy.bsky.social @pennchemistry.bsky.social

A $21M gift from the estate of alumna Louise A. Strauss 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. Read the full announcement: https://bit.ly/4pqTtOL @katzcenterupenn.bsky.social

Congrats to Joseph Francisco, President’s Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, on being awarded this year’s Pauling Medal in honor of his groundbreaking work into the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere! https://bit.ly/4ns306u @upenn.edu

Ahead of the Fed’s latest economic outlook, Penn Today spoke with Harold Cole, James Joo-Jin Kim Professor of Economics, and Wharton’s Patrick Harker to unpack inflation, interest rates, and labor trends. @upenn.edu

Weds 9/17 @ Noon Penn Arts & Sciences faculty will mark Constitution Day 2025 by sharing expertise on the law shaping the US. Daniel Gillion, Prof of Political Science Campbell Grey, Prof of Classical Studies Emma Hart, Prof of History Karen Tani, Prof of History www.sas.upenn.edu/events/60-se...

Eric Ryu, C'26, studied 18th and 19th century lectures notes from university archives in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews to trace the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment on America’s founding. @upenn.edu @wolfhumanities.bsky.social

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

Delphine Dahan, Associate Professor of Psychology, discusses the linguistic explanations for the prolific use of space fillers like "um" in NPR.

Penn's new home for energy science, the Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology (VLEST), has earned a LEED Platinum certificate--the highest standard in sustainable building design. Learn more about VLEST: https://bit.ly/3JywOwM @pennengineering.bsky.social @vagelosenergy.bsky.social

With the help of five Penn undergrads, Professor of Biology Dustin Brisson’s research group collected some 9,000 tick specimens this summer. They’re trying to understand how seasonal activity patterns of these arachnids affects human pathogens and what role a changing climate might play.

National majorities of Democrats and Republicans, as well as majorities in both Texas and California, prefer nonpartisan commissions over political parties in power to run redistricting, writes John Lapinski, Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science.

Penn researchers developed a system that allows light to be guided through a tiny crystal, undeterred by bumps, bends, and back-reflections. Their findings pave the way for robust, controllable light-based chips, smarter routing for data links, and more stable lasers.

A Penn team, with collaborators at the NSF-funded M-STAR center, has developed insight into the chemical and geometric mechanisms underlying the synthesis of new multi-metal 2-D materials, paving the way for next-gen devices, biomedical applications, and cleaner, quicker energy conversion/storage.

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

Our first episode of a special edition of the Ampersand Podcast features Dean Mark Trodden and College Dean Peter Struck discussing the undergrad experience, the role of classics in modern teaching, and the enduring value of the liberal arts in an AI-driven world. https://bit.ly/42prYev @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

PIK Prof. Michael L. Platt of Psychology is quoted in the @nytimes.com on the marketing of Damson Idris's jewelry brand, Didris. @upenn.edu

Congratulations to Prof. Charles Kane on being named the 2025 recipient of the Lorentz Medal. Awarded every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the medal is one of theoretical physics’ highest honors. @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. @upenn.edu @nicolecrust.bsky.social

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

What does it mean for everyone to have a say in a democracy? This summer, philosopher Daniel Wodak and Jasmine Ni, C’27, explored the contradictions and questions raised by political equity.

In her new book “Driven to Their Knees,” Roxanne Euben, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences, examines how the language of degradation has come to pervade, reflect, and reshape our civic life.

Bea Hammam, C’27, spent the summer interning with Hidden Pictures Media, a film production company founded by producer Todd Lieberman, C’95, and Film Hub, a New York City–based film distribution firm co-founded by Alan d’Escragnolle, W’11.

Nicholas Wilcox, C’13, W’13, talks about his undergrad experience as part of the Vagelos Life Sciences & Management (LSM) dual-degree program and his current work as a postdoctoral fellow at Penn Medicine in the latest Penn Arts & Sciences at Work. @upenn.edu @pennmedicine.bsky.social

Leo Solga, C’26, has been studying what happens in the Commonwealth before someone goes to trial. What he’s learned reveals just how little we know. @upenn.edu

At New Student Orientation, incoming first-years from the Class of 2029 met faculty and new friends as they prepared for their first semester at Penn (photos). https://bit.ly/4n49hVx @upenn.edu @pennsasdean.bsky.social

Congratulations to our inaugural class of Vagelos Fellows - Abbi, Jolaine, Zixun, & Miranda! These prestigious fellowships are the first of twenty planned awards, and are funded by an extraordinary gift by Roy & Diana Vagelos to improve graduate education at @upenn.edu and @sas.upenn.edu. 🎉 👏

Political scientist Matthew Levendusky and mathematician Philip Gressman in the School of Arts & Sciences explain gerrymandering and the redistricting process:

Welcome back, Quakers! 🔴🔵

A new book from David Eng, Richard L. Fisher Professor of English, investigates the history, theory, and psychology of reparations across the Transpacific. buff.ly/9gQIzeK

Prof. Sophia Rosenfeld of History and Sudeep Bhatia of Psychology explore the ramifications of choice in everyday life and society. Listen to their entire conversation in our newest podcast series, Ampersand, featuring faculty talking about a topic they have in common. https://bit.ly/45S83G7

New and returning undergraduates arrived on campus last week, attending welcome events and receptions, including an introduction to the Libraries, the Class Photo on Franklin Field, and an evening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. View the week in photos: https://bit.ly/47dY5RQ

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.

Is Seeing Understanding? Kamille Hernandez, C’27, spent 10 weeks working alongside Professor of Neurosurgery Michael Beauchamp studying how the brain reacts to audio-visual stimuli.

People living on small islands and territories face mounting climate impacts, but little is known about their stance on the issue. Research from a team including Parrish Bergquist, Assistant Professor of Political Science, aims to fill those gaps. buff.ly/f5k2PJe

Join us in welcoming the new director of the Wolf Humanities Center, Ayako Kano, professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations! Kano is a cultural historian specializing in the history of gender and performance in Japan. More: wolfhumanities.upenn.edu/kano-director

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