2012
Professor Named VP of American Political Science Association
Professor of Political Science Nancy Hirschmann was recently elected Vice President for 2012-2013 by the American Political Science Association. She is one of three new vice presidents who serve one-year terms on the Association’s council.
Chauvenet Prize for Penn Mathematics, Second Year in a Row
Robert Ghrist, the Andrea Mitchell University Professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Systems Engineering, has been named as the recipient of the 2013 Chauvenet Prize of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The prize is awarded for outstanding exposition of a mathematical topic in an article.
A New Way to Connect with SAS - Introducing Our Mobile Site
There's a brand new way to access SAS! You can now view the latest research, events and news on your favorite mobile device. Our easy-to-use format will make keeping up with SAS easier than ever before. The best part? No app is required--simply visit the SAS homepage on your mobile device.SAS FrontiersVisit our premier electronic magazine, featuring the research of SAS students and faculty.The 60-Second Lectures
Magazine: Library of the Mind
By Mark WolvertonQuick—what were you doing last Tuesday night at around, say, 7:30? Where did you park your car this morning? When’s your mother’s birthday, and did you send her a card? Did you remember to pick up bread and milk on your way home last night?
Magazine: Visions of Grandeur
By Blake ColeWhile the election is behind us, the campaign rhetoric lives on in public discourse. The two visions of America presented by the campaigns—one that combines individualism, faith in free markets, and a limited role of government versus an America built on commitment to social community, a strong role for government, and strong social safety nets—are the latest manifestations of a philosophical divide that has a long history in American politics and culture.
Magazine: From Theory to the Real World
By Mark WolvertonTheoretical physicists tend to have a hard time at cocktail parties. Other scientists can discuss their cancer research, or their quest for life on other planets, or even the new floor wax compound they formulated—concrete, real-world matters that even the non-scientist can understand.
History Department Lecture Series Moves to Central Library
The "Thinking with the Past" lecture series has found a new home at the Parkway Central Library. Sponsored by the history department, "Thinking with the Past" features Penn historians discussing their recent books. The series, which debuted last spring, will hold its 2012-2013 lectures at the Parkway Central Library at 1901 Vine Street.
SAS Researchers Study Erosion at El Yunque Rock
El Yunque rock stands at 3,412 feet and receives an average of three rain showers a day and more than 14 feet of rain annually. Because of Puerto Rico's warm tropical climate, the rock should be covered with vegetation and eroding rapidly.
Magazine: The Song Heard 'Round the World
By Susan AhlbornCarol Muller wants to teach you—wherever you are, and however she can. Anchored in the Music Building, where she conducts her perennially popular “World Music and Culture” and other classes, the professor has stretched beyond Penn’s campus by sending students to research the use of music in West Philadelphia, through a summer class that is half online and half on the ground in South Africa, and with internet-based courses for undergraduate and LPS students.
Fourteen Math Department Faculty Honored by AMS
Fourteen standing faculty members from the Department of Mathematics have been named Fellows of the American Mathematical Society for 2013, the program's initial year. The Fellows of the AMS designation recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and utilization of mathematics.
SAS Appoints Vice Dean for Finance and Administration
Dean Rebecca W. Bushnell has appointed Kathleen Bramwell as Vice Dean for Finance and Administration in the School of Arts and Sciences, effective December 10, 2012. Bramwell will be responsible for the financial and administrative infrastructure that supports the School's research and education programs, with oversight of finance, budget, human resources, facilities, computing and research administration.
David Christianson Named Repligen Award Winner
David Christianson, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, has been named as the recipient of the 2013 Repligen Award.The Repligen Award for Chemistry of Biological Processes was established in 1985 and consists of a silver medal and honorarium.
Joseph Subotnik Awarded Packard Fellowship
Joseph Subotnik, assistant professor of chemistry in the School of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a 2012 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. The Fellowship provides $875,000 over five years.Subotnik was one of 16 researchers chosen from 98 nominees representing 50 universities.
SAS Students Spend Summer with Monkeys
Under the direction of Associate Professor of Anthropology Eduardo Fernandez-Duque, nine Penn students spent their summer in Formosa, Argentina studying owl monkeys in their natural habitats.
William Labov Named 2013 Franklin Institute Laureate
John H. and Margaret B. Fassitt Professor William Labov has been selected as a 2013 recipient of a Benjamin Franklin Medal award by The Franklin Institute. The linguistics professor is one of eight Laureates chosen from the fields of science, engineering and technology.
Michael Horowitz Wins Furniss Book Award
Associate Professor of Political Science Michael C. Horowitz has won the Furniss Book Award from the Mershon Center for International Security Studies for his book The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics. This award is given each year to an author whose first book makes an exceptional contribution to the study of national and international security.
Nancy Bonini and Shelley Berger are Elected to the Institute of Medicine
Nancy Bonini is the Florence R.C. Murray Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology. Bonini’s research uses fruit flies to define genes and identify suppressor mutations that can prevent or delay brain degeneration. She is expanding into neural inquiry and aging models in fruit flies by analyzing the nervous system with age in hopes of providing further insights into neural decline.
Mark Trodden is Named Institute of Physics Fellow
Mark Trodden, Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor of Physics, has been elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. Fellow is the senior grade of membership, reserved for those in all sectors who have made a significant contribution to their profession, either directly through their work or by supporting the development or promotion of physics.
Provost Announces Penn Social Science and Policy Forum
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania has launched the Penn Social Science and Policy Forum.
Center for the Advanced Study of India at Penn to Celebrate 20th Anniversary With Symposium
PHILADELPHIA -– The Center for the Advanced Study of India at the
University of Pennsylvania will hold a 20th Anniversary Symposium on
“India: Two Decades of Transformation.”The Sept. 27 event will be in the Michael A. Fitts Auditorium of the Penn Law School’s Golkin Hall from 2 to 6:45 p.m.
John MacDonald Wins the David N. Kershaw Award
John MacDonald has received the David N. Kershaw Award from the Association of Public Policy and Management (APPAM). The Kershaw Award was established to honor individuals under the age of 40 who have made significant contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management.Dean Rebecca Bushnell says, "John MacDonald's research is addressing some of our nation's most pressing social issues.
The School of Arts and Sciences Welcomes New Faculty
The School of Arts and Sciences has appointed 24 new members to its standing faculty for the 2012-2013 academic year. The School is pleased to welcome:
James English named John Welsh Centennial Professor of English
James English has been appointed the John Welsh Centennial Professor of English in the School of Arts and Sciences. Professor English specializes in modern and contemporary British fiction and is the director of the Penn Humanities Forum, a center aimed at engaging and promoting an ongoing cultural conversation among artists, academics and the general public.
The Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship and Constitutionalism Presents: Constitution Making
In Philadelphia in 1787, Americans pioneered the creation of written constitutions to empower, guide and limit national governments. Today most modern regimes have such constitutions. But some do not, and many depart sharply from the American model.
Penn Humanities Forum Goes Digital
Penn Humanities Forum (PHF) has
gone digital. Launching this September, The Digital
Humanities Forum (DHF) will work to educate both scholarly and lay audiences on
the ways in which computer technologies are reshaping the study and teaching of the humanities disciplines, a trend
that is allowing for unprecedented communication between experts in myriad
fields on a global scale.
Professor of Chemistry Marisa Kozlowski to Receive 2012 American Chemical Society Philadelphia Section Award
Professor of Chemistry Marisa Kozlowski has been selected to receive the 2012 American Chemical Society Philadelphia Section Award. Kozlowski’s research focuses on the discovery and optimization of new reagents and catalysts for organic synthesis, including both novel computational tools and traditional methods of screening and development.
Charles L. Kane Wins the Dirac Medal
Professor
of Physics Charles L. Kane is a recipient of the 2012 Dirac
Medal and Prize by the Abdus Salem International Centre for Theoretical
Physics, given annually to scientists who have made significant
contributions to theoretical physics. Though not awarded to Nobel Laureates, Fields Medalists, or Wolf
Foundation Prize winners, many winners of the Dirac Medal continue on to receive
these esteemed prizes.
Penn Welcomes Its Newest Department in SAS: Africana Studies
The
University of Pennsylvania has established the Department of Africana Studies
in the School of Arts and Sciences, making it the School’s 27th
department.
The new
department will be devoted to the study of the historical and contemporary
experiences of Africans and peoples of the African diaspora. Currently, the
department includes 11 professors from the School who now hold joint primary
appointments with their original home department.
Joseph Subotnik Wins Presidential Early Career Award
Assistant
Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Joseph Subotnik has received a Presidential Early
Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This award is the highest honor
bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering
professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
Heather Sharkey Selected as Foreign Visiting Chair
Heather Sharkey, Associate Professor in the Department of Near Eastern
Languages and Civilizations, has been chosen to be one of 12 foreign visiting
researchers for the 2012-2013 academic year by the Institut d'études de l'islam
et des sociétés du monde musulman (IISMM) of the École des Hautes Etudes en
Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris.
Professor of Chemistry Wins $115,000 to Pursue Solar Research Project
Andrew Rappe, Professor of Chemistry, has received an Energy
Commercialization Institute Award for Alternative Energy Translational Research
and Commercialization.
Professor Earns Appointment as a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians
Sarah
Barringer Gordon, Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional
Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Professor of History, has
been appointed a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American
Historians (OAH).
Recent College Graduates and Alumna are Awarded Scholarships
Several recent graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences have received prestigious
awards that provide funding for graduate studies on the other side of the
pond.
SAS Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence
As part of its Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence, the
University of Pennsylvania sets forth principles that must also shape
the future of the faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Video Archive of 2012 College Graduation Ceremony
Class of 2012Sunday, May 13, 2012Student Speaker: Jennifer Dailey, C’12Guest Speaker: Paul Hendrickson: Author and Senior Lecturer, Department of English
Capturing Protein Folding in Real Time
Penn Arts
and Sciences Magazine: Spring/Summer 2012 issueby Mark Wolverton
Just the Facts
Penn Arts
and Sciences Magazine: Spring/Summer 2012 issueby Peter
Nicholsphoto courtesy of Ben Horton
Telling, but Perhaps not Believing
Penn Arts
and Sciences Magazine: Spring/Summer 2012 issueby David R.
Gibsonillustration by Matthew Leake
Making the Numbers Fit the Fossils
Penn Arts
and Sciences Magazine: Spring/Summer 2012 issueby Mark Wolverton
photo by Kai Schreiber
Tipping the Scales
ECONOMIC
INEQUALITY: ANCIENT ROMECampbell GreyAssistant Professor of
Classical Studies
Germany: United
Penn Arts
and Sciences Magazine: Spring/Summer 2012 issueby Greg JohnsonOtto von Bismarck is the man who created modern Germany. Although neither
king nor soldier, he was able to unite Germany in the late 19th century into the
European power that exists today.
The Speed of Sound
Penn Arts
and Sciences Magazine: Spring/Summer 2012 issueby Blake
Colephoto by Lisa Godfrey
Vowing to Learn
Penn Arts
and Sciences Magazine: Spring/Summer 2012 issueby Tracey Quinlan
Dougherty
Prestigious Prizes Garnered by Fourteen College Students, Recent Graduates
Five graduating seniors, two juniors, and seven recent alumni
of the College of Arts and Sciences have won prestigious awards including
Fulbright scholarships and National Science Foundation fellowships.The Fulbright Scholars include:Monica Amoo-Achampong, C’12Michael Drake, C’12Kristen Martin, C’11Scott Williams, C’12The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship prize winners
include:
Nancy Bonini Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Nancy Bonini, Lucille B. Williams Professor of Biology, was elected as a
member of the National Academy of Sciences, an honor considered to be one of the
highest a United States scientist or engineer can receive. Members were chosen
for their achievements in original research.
Two SAS Professors Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Robert M. Seyfarth,
Professor of Psychology and George J.
Mailath, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences in the
Department of Economics, have been elected to the 2012 class of members of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences.