2014
Physics Doctoral Students Awarded Prestigious Fellowships
Three Penn Physics and Astronomy graduate students have earned some of the most prestigious fellowships in particle physics. Each has already made valuable contributions to the world of physics:
Heather Williams Appointed Presidential Professor and Professor of Africana Studies
Heather Andrea Williams has been named the sixth Presidential Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, effective July 1. Williams will be Presidential Professor and Professor of Africana Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences.
English Lecturer Susan Bee Wins Guggenheim Fellowship
Susan Bee, a lecturer in the Department of English and at Kelly Writers House, has been named a 2013 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow. Often characterized as "midcareer" awards, Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. Each year the foundation receives between 3,500 and 4,000 applications and awards about 200 fellowships.
Chemistry Faculty Garner Three Honors
David Christianson, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Daniel Mindiola, Presidential Term Professor of Chemistry, have been elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry. In addition, Professor of Chemistry Madeleine Joullié will receive an honorary degree from Simmons College on May 9.
Physics, Biology Professors Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Class of 1965 Term Professor of Physics and Astronomy Charles Kane and Patricia M. Williams Term Professor of Biology Scott Poethig have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, considered to be one of the highest honors a U.S. scientist or engineer can receive. Members are chosen for their achievements in original research. The 2014 Academy class consists of 84 members and 21 foreign associates.
Rudra Sil cautions against simplified images of Russia and its leaders
While Professor of Political Science Rudra Sil views the current crisis in the Ukraine as a terrible mess that all major powers have had a hand in creating, he is also frustrated by the simplified images and narratives being circulated by the American media of Russian politics and society.
2014 Graduation Ceremony Schedule for Penn Arts and Sciences
Fels Institute of Government Graduation CeremonyMay 18, 2014 1:30-3 p.m. Fels Courtyard, 3814 Walnut StreetThe Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell, CW'69, Federal Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, will speak.
College of Liberal and Professional Studies Launches New Degree in Chemical Sciences
On April 1, the College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) at the University of Pennsylvania officially opened applications for its newest master’s degree: the Master of Chemical Sciences. The program, the first of its kind in the Ivy League, offers current and aspiring professionals in the chemical sciences a path to build their expertise in a compact time frame.
Arts and Sciences Appoints Three to Named Chairs
Dean Steven J. Fluharty has announced the appointments of three faculty members to named chairs in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Penn Arts and Sciences Faculty, Grad Students Receive Teaching Awards
Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Dennis DeTurck, Dean of the College, have announced the recipients of the School’s 2014 teaching awards, to be presented on Thursday, May 1, at an awards reception that is open to the University community. The reception will take place from 4-6 p.m. in 200 College Hall.
Rogers Smith Named Associate Dean for the Social Sciences
Steven Fluharty, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, has announced the appointment of Rogers Smith as Associate Dean for the Social Sciences, effective July 1, 2014. In his new role, Smith will oversee the Departments of Anthropology, Criminology, Economics, History and Sociology of Science, Political Science, and Sociology, as well as several research centers.
Penn Junior Awarded Truman Scholarship
Ariel Koren, C’15, has been awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, a merit-based award for college students who plan to pursue graduate or professional degrees to prepare for careers in government or public service. Her major is in East Asian Languages and Civilizations.
Penn Researchers Weigh Cosmic Voids
Cosmologists have established that much of the stuff of the universe is made of dark matter, a mysterious, invisible substance not directly detectable but which exerts a gravitational pull on surrounding objects. Dark matter is thought to exist in a vast network of filaments throughout the universe, pulling luminous galaxies into an interconnected web of clusters, interspersed with seemingly empty voids.
Al Filreis Inducted into Minerva Academy
Kelly Family Professor of English Al Filreis is one of the first 14 individuals inducted into the Minerva Academy, an honorary institution dedicated to promoting and rewarding extraordinary advancements and innovation in higher education around the world. Filreis is Faculty Director of the Kelly Writers House, Director of the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, Co-Director of PennSound, and publishes of the online magazine Jacket2.
Cinema Studies to Host “Film Diplomacy in the Digital Age” Symposium
On Friday, April 18, Cinema Studies will host Film Diplomacy in the Digital Age. The symposium brings together scholars, filmmakers, and government officials to discuss how film and digital media are used by governments, NGOs, and grassroots movements to bring about social change.
Doctoral Candidate Finds Mortality Risk of Being Overweight are Underestimated
New research by Andrew Stokes, a doctoral student in demography and sociology in Penn Arts and Sciences, suggests that many obesity studies substantially underestimate the mortality risks associated with excess weight in the United States. His study “Using Maximum Weight to Redefine Body Mass Index Categories in Studies of The Mortality Risks of Obesity” was published in the March issue of the open-access journal Population Health Metrics.
Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building to Promote Synergy Between Biology and Psychology
Described as "an epicenter of what Arts and Sciences will do" by Dean Steven Fluharty, Penn Arts and Sciences' Neural and Behavioral Sciences (NBS) building is expected to open in the fall of 2016. The new building will serve as the center of collaboration between the converging disciplines of biology and psychology.
College Announces 2014 Graduation Speakers
Laura Alber, C’90, will speak at this year’s graduation ceremony for the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences. As president and chief executive officer of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., Alber is recognized as an innovator in the business world. The event, scheduled for May 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Franklin Field, will also feature Dau Jok, C’14, as the student speaker.
A Cosmic Explosion Observed from Philadelphia
Students at the University of Pennsylvania recently captured the explosive end of the life of a star in a nearby galaxy. This supernova was first discovered serendipitously on January 21, 2014, by undergraduate students being trained by Steve Fossey at the University College of London.
Humans Develop Strain-Specific Lyme Disease Immunity
Lyme disease, if not treated promptly with antibiotics, can become a lingering problem for those who are infected. But a new study led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania has some brighter news: Once infected with a particular strain of the disease-causing bacteria, humans appear to develop immunity against that strain that can last six to nine years.
Understanding the Crisis in Ukraine: A Faculty Roundtable
Russia’s annexation of Crimea is the first time one European nation has claimed territory from another since World War II. What happened? What will happen? In this roundtable discussion, a multidisciplinary group of Penn Arts and Sciences experts tackle the big questions, give historical context, and discuss Putin's next steps. The panelists:Thomas Childers, Sheldon and Lucy Hackney Professor of HistoryMichael Horowitz, Associate Professor of Political Science
Faculty Design Tool to Monitor Blood Flow in Stroke Patients
Using a University of Pennsylvania-designed device to noninvasively and continuously monitor cerebral blood flow (CBF) in acute stroke patients, Penn Medicine and Arts and Sciences researchers are now learning how head of bed (HOB) positioning affects blood flow reaching the brain.
2014 Ivy Returning Students Conference Activates Connections Beyond the Ordinary
On a chilly Saturday in February, students from Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Yale, and Penn gathered at the second annual 2014 Ivy Returning Students Conference, held at the Kislak Center. They were there to share insights and stories gleaned as “non-traditional” students in the Ivy League: adults returning from many walks of life to pursue their bachelor’s degrees at the nation’s most elite universities.
Climate Change May Be Altering Deep Ocean Current
Far beneath the surface of the ocean, deep currents act as conveyer belts, channeling heat, carbon, oxygen, and nutrients around the globe.A new study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Irina Marinov and Raffaele Bernardello and colleagues from McGill University has found that recent climate change may be acting to slow down one of these conveyer belts, with potentially serious consequences for the future of the planet’s climate.
Penn Creates Evolution Cluster for Collaboration Across Disciplines
A quantitative understanding of evolutionary processes still stubbornly evades researchers across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and computational mathematics. Penn’s new Evolution Cluster—officially titled the Evolution of Dynamical Processes Far from Equilibrium Cluster—presents an innovative model for organizing research, teaching, and learning in ways that will have broad implications across the University.
John L. Jackson, Jr. Named Dean of Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice
John L. Jackson Jr., Richard Perry University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Senior Advisor for Diversity in the Office of the Provost, has been named dean of Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice. His new position will become effective July 1.
RealArts@Penn 2014 Interns Have Summer Jobs from Rolling Stone to Brooklyn Films
RealArts@Penn was created in 2007 to integrate art-world practice into the intellectual life of the University. The program is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and open to all Penn students. RealArts summer internships are unique arrangements with the hosting entities. The summer 2014 interns are:
Larry Gladney Named Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences
Steven Fluharty, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, has announced the appointment of Larry Gladney, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence, as Associate Dean for Natural Sciences, effective July 1, 2014. In this role he will oversee the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Linguistics, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, and Psychology, as well as several research centers.
Student Awarded Michel David-Weill Scholarship for Study in Paris
Senior Xavier Flory has been awarded a Michel David-Weill Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in political science at SciencesPo in Paris.Flory, of Nokesville, Va., is majoring in intellectual history in Penn Arts and Sciences. A former columnist at The Daily Pennsylvanian, he has been a recipient of the John Thouron Summer Research Prize and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Award.
Penn Study Finds Social Ties Influence Awards Given by Peers, Not Critics
When it comes to winning Oscars and other awards to gain recognition and success in Hollywood, whom you know matters just as much as who is judging, according to a new University of Pennsylvania collaborative study lead by Professor of Sociology Paul D. Allison.Film awards generally fall into two categories: those given by peers actively engaged in making movies and those given by critics who review movies for newspapers, magazines, or other media outlets.
Sarah Tishkoff Links Ability to Digest Milk to Development of Pastoralism
Babies are born with the ability to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk, but most humans lose this ability after infancy because of declining levels of the lactose-digesting enzyme lactase. People who do maintain high levels of lactase reap the nutritive benefits of milk, offering a potential evolutionary advantage to lactase persistence, or what is commonly known as lactose tolerance.
Students Win Penn Public Policy Challenge With Proposed Tweak to Philadelphia Bail Payment System
An innovative proposal for the Philadelphia County prison system won this year’s Fels Institute of Government’s Penn Public Policy Challenge. A team of graduate students created the project, which advocates for the adoption of an online bail payment system.
Alumnus Wins Academy Award
Morgan Neville, C’89, won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary for 20 Feet from Stardom, a film he directed and produced. The documentary gives a behind-the-scenes look at the careers of background singers for major acts.
Penn Team Discovers How Muscle-Controlling Neurons Know When They Make Mistakes
The brain orchestrates precise control over the body’s muscles through neurons known as Purkinje cells. When those movements go wrong, the body provides feedback from the senses through another type of neuron called climbing fibers. These work in close concert with Purkinje cells to fine-tune motor control. A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University has now begun to unravel the mysteries of how this feedback system works.
Eleanor Meyerhoff Katz Leaves a Family History of Support for Jewish Scholarship
Eleanor Meyerhoff Katz, who passed away February 20, had a lifelong connection to the history of Jewish studies at Penn. Her father, Joseph Meyerhoff, was a supporter of Dropsie College, which later became the University’s Center for Judaic Studies. Eleanor and her husband, Herbert D. Katz, W’51, were critical to raising the endowment to ensure the center’s future and to supporting Jewish studies throughout the University.
Senior Wins Gates Cambridge Scholarship
University of Pennsylvania senior Sonya Davey has been awarded a 2014 Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in social anthropology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She is among 40 American students awarded Gates Cambridge scholarships this year and is the 24th Gates Cambridge Scholar from Penn since the program began in 2001.
Sweeney Awarded Sloan Fellowship
Alison Sweeney, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is one of three University of Pennsylvania faculty members among this year’s Sloan Fellowship recipients. Since 1955, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has granted yearly fellowships to early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as the next generation of scientific leaders.
Horowitz Spends Year at Pentagon
Associate Professor of Political Science Michael C. Horowitz spent 2013 at the Department of Defense, working as a government insider on national security issues he had previously studied as an academic outsider. Horowitz, whose research generally focuses on technological military innovation, worked at the Pentagon on a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship.
New Fellowship Fund Will Support Recent Penn Graduate to Do Research in India
The Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) has announced the launch of a new post-baccalaureate fellowship program that will provide funding for a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania to pursue independent research in India.
Geophysicist's Finding May Tell Us Much About Rivers - Maybe Even on Mars
For centuries, geologists have recognized that the rocks that line riverbeds tend to be smaller and rounder further downstream, but they have not agreed on a reason for this pattern. Abrasion causes rocks to grind down and become rounder as they are transported down the river. Does this grinding reduce the size of rocks significantly, or is it that smaller rocks are simply more easily transported downstream?
Three College Students Receive Thouron Awards to Study in U.K.
Three College of Arts and Sciences students have received Thouron Awards to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. The scholarship recipients are:• Sonya Davey of Gaithersburg, Md., majoring in health and societies, South Asian studies, and biology, is applying to the University of Oxford for a master’s degree in medical anthropology.
Josef Wegner and Team Unearth Forgotten Egyptian Pharaoh
A team of Penn archaeologists led by Josef Wegner, Associate Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Associate Curator in the Penn Museum’s Egyptian Section, has found the tomb of an unknown king in the city of Abydos. After excavating a series of chambers constructed of mud-brick—usually a sign of a common person’s tomb—they encountered a burial chamber lined with limestone.
Thomas Sugrue Elected President of Social Science History Association
Thomas J. Sugrue, David Boies Professor of History and Director of the Penn Social Science and Policy Forum, has been elected president of the Social Science History Association. It is the leading international association in the field. He will deliver his presidential address at the 2014 SSHA conference in Toronto on the theme “Inequalities: Politics, Policy, and the Past.”
Congratulations to Penn Arts and Sciences Dean’s Scholars
The School of Arts and Sciences has named 20 students from the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, and the Graduate Division as 2014 Dean’s Scholars. This honor is presented annually to SAS students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise. The 2014 Dean’s Scholars will be formally recognized as part of the Levin Family Dean’s Forum on February 6.
Two Members of Penn Arts and Sciences Community Nominated for Grammys
Two members of the Penn Arts and Sciences community were nominated for Grammy awards this year.Tony Peebles, C'03, plays saxophone in the 19-piece band Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Their album, PMO, won the award for Best Tropical Latin Album. Peebles was also Performance Coordinator for the Department of Music before moving to Oakland, California.
Penn Researchers Develop New Type of Liquid Crystal
Liquid crystals combine the optical properties of crystalline solids with the flow properties of liquids—characteristics that come together to enable the displays found in most computer monitors, televisions, and smartphones.
Penn Senior Wins Churchill Scholarship
Sarah Foster, C’14, has been awarded a Winston Churchill Scholarship, a merit-based prize for American college students who are outstanding in engineering, mathematics, and physical and biological sciences. The scholarship will support her studies at the University of Cambridge. Foster is one of 14 U.S. students awarded Churchill Scholarships this year.
Three From Penn Arts and Sciences Named 2014 Penn Fellows
Penn Provost Vincent Price and Vice Provost for Faculty Anita Allen are pleased to announce the appointment of the sixth cohort of Penn Fellows.The Penn Fellows program, begun in 2009, provides leadership development to select mid-career faculty members at Penn. 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.
Penn Biologists Develop New Method for Studying RNA
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues have teamed up to offer a new method for elucidating RNA regulation. Since RNA is now believed to play a major role in determining whether and how DNA is turned into a protein product, the scientists have provided a means of efficiently obtaining an entire “footprint” of interactions between RNA and the proteins that bind to RNA molecules.
Interdisciplinary Team Creates Way to Capture RNA From Living Cells
A multidisciplinary team from Penn has published in Nature Methods a first-of-its-kind way to isolate RNA from live cells in their natural tissue microenvironment without damaging nearby cells. This allows the researchers to analyze how cell-to-cell chemical connections influence individual cell function and overall protein production.