2015
Adrian Raine Awarded Honorary Degree
The University of York in England has awarded an honorary degree to Adrian Raine, Richard Perry University Professor of Criminology and Psychiatry. Raine is a world-renowned expert in the neurobiological causes of antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults, as well as the potential for preventing future crime and the neuro-ethical implications of this effort.
Brainard Receives Stein Innovation Award from Research to Prevent Blindness
David Brainard, RRL Professor of Psychology in Penn Arts and Sciences and director of the Vision Research Center and the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science at the University of Pennsylvania, has received a $300,000 Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Stein Innovation Award. In addition, Penn Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology has been awarded a $115,000 grant from RPB to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of blinding diseases.
Gift Creates a Lab for the Digital Humanities at Penn
A $7 million gift from Penn Arts and Sciences Overseer Michael J. Price, W’79, and his wife, Vikki, will establish the Price Lab for the Digital Humanities.
Penn Arts and Sciences Appoints Three Term Professors
Dean Steven Fluharty is pleased to announce the appointment of three endowed term professors in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Penn Arts & Sciences Magazine: Defying the Odds
In Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs, Director of the Penn Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI), Madan Lal Sobti Associate Professor for the Study of Contemporary India, and Associate Professor of Political Science Devesh Kapur relates the underdog story of 21 Dalit (previously known as “untouchable”) entrepreneurs in India who overcame the stigma of their caste to achieve financial success.
Penn Arts & Sciences Magazine: Scientists-In-Training
The first goal for most aspiring scientists and engineers is developing a research path—not creating a proposal to pitch to a room full of people. That’s where the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) differs. The dual-degree program, founded through the generosity of Trustee Emeritus P.
Penn Arts & Sciences Magazine: Scary Outbreaks Distort Our Priorities
Ebola is inescapable. A recent Google News search turned up the following numbers of hits: Malaria: 98,900 Heart disease: 126,000AIDS: 524,000Ebola: 28.1 million
Penn Arts & Sciences Magazine: Penn Linguist Knows What Not to Say and How to Say It
“We want to know what structures are possible in a human language and what are impossible,” says Julie Anne Legate, associate professor and chair of undergraduate studies in linguistics. Legate’s recent book, Voice and v: Lessons from Acehnese, takes on this problem by exploring the boundaries of passive voice sentence structure.
Penn Arts & Sciences Magazine: Democracy May Be Less Deliberative Than You Think
Eighteenth-century philosopher Adam Smith referred to individual self-interest as the “invisible hand” of the market. Robert Kurzban, professor of psychology and departmental director of undergraduate studies, and senior researcher Jason Weeden believe that the same impulse has a significant influence on political decisions made by individuals and groups.
Penn Arts & Sciences Magazine: Hamlet's Ghost
To be, or not to be, I there’s the point,To Die, to sleepe, is that all?
Kathryn Hellerstein Wins Barbara Dobkin Book Award
The Jewish Book Council has named Associate Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures Kathryn Hellerstein the recipient of the 2014 Barbara Dobkin Award for Women’s Studies for A Question of Tradition: Women Poets in Yiddish, 1586-1987. The National Jewish Book Awards highlight the best new English-language Jewish books and authors.
Joshua Plotkin Awarded 2015 Akira Okubo Prize
Professor of Biology Joshua Plotkin has been named winner of the 2015 Akira Okubo Prize, awarded by the International Society for Mathematical Biology and the Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology. The prize honors scientists “for outstanding and innovative theoretical work, for establishing superb conceptual ideas, for solving tough theoretical problems, and/or for uniting theory and data to advance biological science."
Researchers Take Another Step Toward Use of Graphene in Electronics
Graphene, a one-atom thick lattice of carbon atoms, may one day become the new heart of electronics. Its speed and virtual two-dimensionality make it an attractive alternative to silicon, but several obstacles remain. Now Professor of Chemistry Andrew Rappe's research group, working with colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has made inroads in solving one such hurdle.
Dorothy Roberts to Receive APA’s 2015 Fuller Award
The American Psychiatric Association has named George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology Dorothy Roberts as the recipient of the 2015 Solomon Carter Fuller Award in recognition of her demonstrated leadership and exceptional achievements. The award honors “a Black citizen who has pioneered in an area which has significantly benefitted the quality of life for Black people.”
Penn Trustees Approve Design for Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics
The Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics has received final design approval from the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees. The project, which incorporates the rehabilitation of the existing West Philadelphia Title and Trust Company building at 36th and Walnut Streets with a significant addition to its north, is in the first stages of construction.
Penn Research Reveals Critical Relationship for How Cells Ingest Matter
When cells take in material from their environment, proteins within the cell pull inward on its membrane, forming a pit that encapsulates the material in a bubble called a vesicle. In a new study published in Nature Communications, Associate Professor of Chemistry Tobias Baumgart and Zheng Shi, a graduate student in Baumgart’s lab, reveal a relationship which governs this process, known as endocytosis.
Four Arts and Sciences Faculty Named to Endowed Chairs
Dean Steven J. Fluharty is pleased to announce the appointment of four faculty members to named chairs in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Penn Psych Study Shows Twitter Can Predict Rates of Heart Disease
In a new study published in the journal Psychological Science, Penn researchers demonstrate that Twitter can capture more information about heart disease risk than can traditional risk markers. They found that expressions of negative emotions in a given U.S. county’s tweets were associated with higher heart disease risk, while positive emotions were associated with lower risk. The study was led by Department of Psychology doctoral candidate Johannes Eichstaedt.
Three Arts and Sciences Faculty Named Penn Fellows
Three University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences faculty members have been named Penn Fellows. The program, which began at Penn in 2009, provides leadership development to selected mid-career faculty. It includes opportunities to build cross-campus alliances, meet distinguished academic leaders, think strategically about universities and university governance, and consult with Penn’s senior administrators. There are a total of eight 2015 Fellows.
Penn Biologists Identify Patterns of RNA Regulation in the Nuclei of Plants
In a new study, University of Pennsylvania biologists built on earlier work in which they cataloged all the interactions that occur between RNA and the proteins that bind to it. This time, they looked exclusively at these interactions in the nuclei, and simultaneously obtained data about the nuclear RNA molecules’ structure.
2014
Larry Gladney Elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society
Larry Gladney, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has been elected a 2014 Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). APS fellowships are a distinct honor signifying recognition by one's professional peers for exceptional contributions to the field of physics.
Penn Awarded $23.4 Million Contract for Pathogen Genomics Database
Since 2000, a team led by University of Pennsylvania and University of Georgia scientists has been responsible for developing genome database resources for microbial pathogens, including the parasites responsible for malaria, sleeping sickness, toxoplasmosis and many other diseases. To ensure this important work will continue, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease has awarded Penn and UGA a new contract for 2014-15 worth $4.3 million.
‘Topping Off’ Ceremony Held for Penn’s Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building (Video)
On December 4, members of the University of Pennsylvania community gathered for a “topping off” ceremony securing the uppermost beam atop Penn Arts and Sciences' new Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building. The ceremony signified the completion of the structural phase of the six-story, $68.6-million project, which will integrate psychology, biology, and behavioral sciences under one roof with research laboratories, teaching facilities, and space for students to collaborate and study.
Sobti Family Fellowship Fund Supports Independent Research in India
Since 2007, the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) has provided funding to nearly 100 Penn undergraduate and graduate students for independent research and volunteer internships in India. In November 2013, the Center announced its first post-baccalaureate fellowship, the Sobti Family Fellowship Fund, created by Penn parents Rajiv Sobti, GR’84, and Slomi Sobti.
Students Explore Race and Class Through Conversations, Performance
Writing Out Loud, an academically-based community service course designed by Associate Professor of English Herman Beavers, and theater director and lecturer Suzana Berger, C’02, hosted The Ground on Which We Stand, an end-of-the-semester public performance, on December 14.
Penn Senior Rutendo Chigora Awarded non-U.S. Rhodes Scholarship
Rutendo Chigora, a University of Pennsylvania senior from Harare, Zimbabwe, has been named one of Zimbabwe’s two recipients of a Rhodes Scholarship which will fund two or three years of study at Oxford University in England. At Oxford, Chigora will pursue a master's degree in public policy.
Mathematics Professor Epstein Honored by AAAS
Charles L. Epstein, Thomas A. Scott Professor of Mathematics, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for his distinguished contributions to applied analysis—especially microlocal analysis, index theory, and boundary value problems—and his significant achievements in the mathematics of medical imaging.
Criminology Research Indicates Summer Jobs Decrease Youth Violence
A new study by Assistant Professor of Criminology Sara Heller finds that arrests of adolescents for violence decrease by up to 43 percent when the young people have summer jobs. The research, published in Science, focused on disadvantaged youth in Chicago who were enrolled in the One Summer Plus program. Individuals worked in nonprofit and government jobs, such as camp counselors, community garden workers and office assistants for an alderman, earning the minimum wage.
Psychology Study Questions Theory That Men Overestimate Women's Sexual Interest
New research from Penn Professor of Psychology Robert Kurzban and Carin Perilloux of Texas State University calls into question the theory that men are overconfident in estimating the sexual interest of a female partner. Their findings, published in Psychological Science, show that, when asked to interpret “signals” on the “dating behavior scale,” groups of men and women surveyed came to roughly the same conclusions about the women's behaviors.
Biologists Find Evolution Favors Strategic Cooperation and Selfishness
Professor of Biology Joshua Plotkin and post-doc Alexander J. Stewart last year published a mathematical explanation of the evolution of cooperation and generosity in nature through the use of the Prisoner’s Dilemma in game theory.
Preventing Memory Problems Caused by Sleep Deprivation
In a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, a team led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania found that a particular set of cells in a small region of the brain are responsible for memory problems after sleep loss. By selectively increasing levels of a signaling molecule in these cells, the researchers prevented mice from having memory deficits.
Psychologists Awarded Grant for Mental Health Treatment Tool
The United Kingdom-based mental health research charitable organization MQ: Transforming Mental Health, has awarded a Penn psychology team about $160,000 to support The Personalized Advantage Index (PAI), an analytic tool for predicting effective psychological treatments. The research team is led by Samuel H. Preston Term Professor in the Social Sciences Robert DeRubeis and doctoral candidate Zachary Cohen.
Yun S. Song Named Inaugural Calabi-Simons Professor in Mathematics and Biology
Yun S. Song has been named the inaugural Calabi-Simons Professor in Mathematics and Biology. He will join the faculty on July 1, 2015.
Chemist Jeffrey Winkler Elected to John Morgan Society
Professor of Chemistry Jeffrey Winkler has been elected to the John Morgan Society of the University of Pennsylvania. The Morgan Society, the oldest honorific biomedical society in the country, was founded to stimulate research in basic medical science by promoting favorable conditions for such investigations through fostering communication between its members.
Mary Frances Berry Elected Honorary Fellow of American Society for Legal History
The American Society for Legal History has elected Mary Frances Berry an Honorary Fellow of the Society, the highest honor the society can offer. Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.
Two Penn Physicists Awarded 2015 Benjamin Franklin Medal
University of Pennsylvania physicists Charles Kane and Eugene Mele have been chosen as 2015 recipients of the Benjamin Franklin Medal, one of the world's oldest science and technology awards. They will be honored at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on April 23, 2015.
Improved Ferrorelectric Speed May Have Applications for Next-Gen Computers
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley have found an easy method of increasing the operational speed for ferroelectric materials, making such materials viable candidates for use in low-power computing and electronics. Their findings were published in Nature Materials.
Kimberly Bowes Named Director of American Academy in Rome
Associate Professor of Classical Studies Kimberly Bowes has been named the 22nd director of the American Academy in Rome (AAR). Founded in 1894, the AAR awards the Rome Prize every year to a select group of artists and scholars who are invited to the city to pursue their work as part of a dynamic international community.
Aronowitz Elected Member of Institute of Medicine
Robert Aronowitz, University of Pennsylvania Professor of History and Sociology of Science, has been elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the field of healthcare in the United States. He also holds an appointment in the Perelman School of Medicine, in the Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine.
Penn Hosts 2014 Peace Science Society Conference
On October 10-11, Penn played host to the Peace Science Society Conference, an annual event that encourages the development of peace analysis and conflict management, with a particular focus on how social science theory relates to international relations. Presenters included scholars and experts from a wide variety of fields.
Penn Physicist to Receive Packard Fellowship
Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Alison Sweeney will receive a 2014 David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering. Sweeney is one of 18 early-career scientists and engineers who will each receive a research grant of $875,000 over five years. Sweeney studies sea creatures that exhibit living photonic structures, or cells that can manipulate light.
Seligman Receives TANG Prize for Achievements in Psychology
Martin Seligman, Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center and the Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology at Penn, will be honored with the inaugural TANG Prize for Achievements in Psychology during a ceremony at the University of Toronto this November. Awarded by the TANG Foundation in Toronto, the prize highlights the research and career achievements of leading scholars.
Penn Researchers Show the Brain's Compass Relies on Geometric Relationships
In a new study, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania show how the brain makes directional inferences, revealing that people use geometrical relationships to orient themselves.The study, published in Nature Neurosience, was conducted by Professor of Psychology Russell Epstein and Steven Marchette, a postdoctoral fellow in Epstein’s lab. Also contributing to the study were lab members Lindsay Vass, a graduate student, and Jack Ryan, a research specialist.
Penn Undergraduate Investigates Dialect and Identity in Italy
This summer, Benjamin Finkel, C’17, traveled to the Ciociaria region of Italy to look at why a dialect spoken there is not accompanied by a strong sense of cultural identity. He was inspired to do the research by a course he took last spring on Italian history. “My research is the first that I’m aware of,” Finkel says, “to consider the Ciociarian dialect from a geographic perspective in order to understand the boundaries of the region of Ciociaria.”
Arts and Sciences Appoints Two to Named Chairs
Dean Steven J. Fluharty has announced the appointments of two faculty members to named chairs in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Molander Receives Award for Synthetic Methods Research
Hirschmann-Makineni Professor of Chemistry Gary Molander has been chosen to receive an American Chemical Society (ACS) national award, the Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods. The Brown Award was created to recognize and encourage outstanding and creative contributions to research in synthetic methods.
Penn-UCSB Team Clarifies Purpose of Iridescent Structures in Giant Clams
A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Santa Barbara, has shown how giant clams use iridescent structures, the purpose of which was unknown before. The structures enable symbiotic algae on clam shells to absorb the ideal amount of light for them to thrive and serve as efficient food for the clam. Their findings could have implications for alternative energy research.
Penn Biologists: DNA ‘Bias’ May Keep Some Diseases in Circulation
In a study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers Sarah A. Tishkoff and Joseph Lachance have found that a bias toward particular types of DNA sequences during gene conversion may be a significant factor in the persistence of heritable diseases in populations around the world.
Penn a Leader in STEM Teaching Innovation
Writing in the online “policy-zine” Republic 3.0, Dennis DeTurck and Bruce Lenthall describe Penn’s innovative approach to teaching STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classes. Penn Arts and Sciences has introduced Structured Active In-Class Learning (SAIL) classes, which get students involved in doing science and mathematics actively, rather than watching someone else do it or listening to them talk about it.
Gillion Earns American Political Science Association Race, Ethnicity and Politics Section 2014 Best Book Award
Daniel Gillion, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, has won the American Political Science Association Race, Ethnicity and Politics Section’s 2014 Best Book Award for The Political Power of Protest: Minority Activism and Shifts in Public Policy.