2018
Rogers Smith on Birthright Citizenship
A Q&A with the constitutional law scholar explores the intricacies surrounding birthright citizenship.
Tracing the Evolutionary Origins of Fish to Shallow Ocean Waters
A team led by paleobiologist Lauren Sallan finds that ancient fish species diversified in near-shore ocean areas, not coral reefs.
Ronald S. Lauder and Leonard A. Lauder Dedicate the Home of the Lauder Institute
The Lauder Institute’s rigorous joint degree graduate program integrates tailored arts and science course work, regional and global academic programs, advanced language study, and cultural immersion experiences.
Penn Arts and Sciences Faculty Among First Recipients of India Research and Engagement Fund Awards
Projects focus on climate change, health and sanitation, culture and conservation, and ethnic vs. national identification.
Eugene Mele and Charles Kane to Share Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
The Physicists are recognized for work on topological insulators, materials with unique properties that may help usher in new, ultra-efficient electronic devices, even quantum computing.
Aronowitz and Krueger Are Named Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professors in the Social Sciences
Robert Aronowitz, Professor and Chair of History and Sociology of Science, and Dirk Krueger, Professor of Economics, have been appointed Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professors in the Social Sciences.
Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics Design Pairs New With Old
Located on the northeast corner of Walnut and 36th streets, the project involved the adaptive reuse and expansion of the circa 1925 Art Deco-style West Philadelphia Title and Trust Company building.
Turner Schulman Endowed Research Fund Supports the Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration
CSERI is a first-of-its-kind research center, focusing on the intersecting narratives of ethnicity, race, and immigration in U.S. life and supporting research at the faculty, graduate, and undergraduate levels.
Daniel Mindiola Named Brush Family Professor of Chemistry
Mindiola’s many professional honors include the Presidential Early Career Award and the Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation.
Jonathan Moreno Receives Bioethics Lifetime Achievement Award
Describing him as “one of the world’s foremost experts in bioethics and politics and bioethics in national security,” the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities has awarded Penn Medicine bioethicist Jonathan D. Moreno its 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is the Society’s highest honor.
Philadelphia Managing Director Michael DiBerardinis to join Fels as Professor of Practice
Michael DiBerardinis, who has served as Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor James Kenney since January 2016, will be joining the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences in January 2019 as a Professor of Practice at the Fels Institute of Government.
Pulitzer Prize Winner Jennifer Egan Is Artist-in-Residence at Penn
Egan will work with students and faculty, as well as share her work through public events.
Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies Launches Online Bachelor’s Degree
Beginning in the fall of 2019, the Penn LPS Online platform will offer a fully-accredited, online education from Penn for working adults and other non-traditional students.
Nancy Hirschmann Named Stanley I. Sheerr Term Professor in the Social Sciences
Hirschmann is a scholar of the history of political thought, analytical philosophy, and feminist theory.
University of Pennsylvania Receives $2 Million from Marc J. Leder for Behavior Change for Good Initiative
The Behavior Change for Good Initiative (BCFG) unites scientists in the social sciences, medicine, computer science, and neuroscience.
Neil C. Tomson Receives National Institutes of Health Grant
The grant provides $1.6 million of support over five years.
New Arts and Sciences Faculty Announced
The School of Arts and Sciences welcomed 22 new standing faculty members for the 2018-2019 academic year.
Shlomo Benartzi Named Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Behavior Change for Good Initiative
Benartzi is a professor and co-founder of the Behavioral Decision-Making Group at the Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles.
Klein and Lareau Named Kahn Chairs
Two distinguished faculty members have been appointed Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professors.
Elizabeth Rhoades Receives Award from Biophysical Society
The BPS grants the Michael and Kate Bárány Award to early-career academics who have made an outstanding contribution to biophysics.
Ralph Rosen to Serve as Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Studies
Rosen previously held the position of Associate Dean for Graduate Studies from 2008 to 2013.
Navigating Urban Waters, With an Interdisciplinary Approach
In a research-based fellowship program this summer, a group of Penn graduate and undergraduate students are creating new narratives of their own, tied to water.
Cancer Cells Send Out ‘Drones’ to Battle the Immune System From Afar
Researchers show that, to assist in the fight, cancer cells release biological “drones,” small vesicles called exosomes circulating in the blood and armed with the protein PD-L1, which causes T cells to tire before they have a chance to reach the tumor and do battle.
Mary Frances Berry Discusses Her New Book “History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times”
In it, she shares her memories of being a protestor, provides an analysis of protest strategies, and highlights lessons from a lengthy history of fighting against injustice.
Greening Vacant Lots Reduces Depression in City Dwellers
Revitalizing dilapidated environments may be an important, inexpensive tool to address mental health in urban communities.
Martha Farah Elected to Prestigious British Academy Fellowship
Martha Farah has been made a Fellow of the prestigious British Academy for the humanities and social sciences.
A Physics Treasure Hidden in the Pattern of Wallpaper
A newly identified insulating material could one day enable more-efficient electronics or even quantum computing.
Matthews Named Scialog Fellow
Scialog supports cohorts of early-career scientists addressing globally significant challenges.
Understanding the Social Dynamics That Cause Cooperation to Thrive, or Fail
Biologist Erol Akçay shows how certain types of social networks can paradoxically lead to cooperation’s collapse.
Frigid Polar Oceans, Not Coral Reefs, Are Hot Spots for Formations of Fish Species
Penn paleobiologist Lauren Sallan’s fossil fish dataset enabled University of Michigan-led team to time-calibrate a massive evolutionary tree.
Dean’s Global Inquiries Fund Projects Announced
Dean Steven J. Fluharty established the fund to advance the School’s commitment to driving global change, a key priority in the Power of Penn Arts & Sciences fundraising campaign.
Emily Hannum Named Associate Dean for the Social Sciences
In this new role, Hannum will oversee the Departments of Anthropology, Criminology, Economics, History and Sociology of Science, Political Science, and Sociology, as well as several research centers.
Making a Difference in Diverse Communities Grants Announced
The initiative encourages faculty to explore innovative ways of applying their expertise.
Lauren Sallan Honored by Alma Mater University of Chicago for Achievements in Paleobiology
With an impressive complement of achievements and contributions to her field, the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauren Sallan was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for Early Achievement by her alma mater, the University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences. It’s the first time a Ph.D.
Psychology’s Thompson-Schill and Kahana Honored
Two Penn Arts and Sciences faculty members were recently honored with the Psychonomic Society Mid-Career Award, given for exceptional contributions to the field of experimental and cognitive psychology.
Sharing Space to Support ‘Better Science’
Across disciplines, researchers in the Computational Neuroscience Initiative put their heads together to better understand the brain.
Harnessing DNA Tricks to Boost Nanosensors
Physics and astronomy researchers increases the sensitivity of sensors with a trick of DNA engineering.
John Lapinski to be named the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science
John Lapinski will be named the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science and the director of the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program effective July 1, 2018.
Recipients of the 2018 Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students Announced
Eight graduate students from Penn Arts and Sciences to receive the prestigious award.
Joseph S. Francisco Named President’s Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science
Joseph S. Francisco will join Penn as the President’s Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Chemistry, on July 1, 2018.
Michael C. Horowitz Awarded Department of Defense Grant to Lead Team on Study of Autonomous Systems and AI
Michael C. Horowitz, Professor of Political Science, will oversee the study of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence.
Earthquakes at the Nanoscale
In collaboration with Robert Carpick and David Goldsby, Tian, who graduated from Penn in 2017 with a doctorate in physics, recently published a paper in Physical Review Letters which attempts to tackle these devastating natural phenomena by investigating the laws of friction at the smallest possible scale, the nanoscale.
Doris Wagner Named Robert I. Williams Term Professor
A leader in the fields of plant biology, chromatin modification, and epigenetics, Wagner’s research focuses on understanding at the molecular level the complex changes that occur when an organism switches developmental programs.
Wrongful Convictions Reported for 6 Percent of Crimes
A study from Penn criminologists results in the first general estimate for the prison population as a whole.
Race Has a Place in Human Genetics Research, Philosopher Argues
Penn philosopher Quayshawn Spencer says there is a racial classification that’s medically useful to reliably sample human genetic diversity.
Exploring the Sounds of the Middle Ages
Assistant Professor of Music Mary Channen Caldwell's freshman seminar course, “Hearing (in) the Middle Ages,” explores a range of sounds heard throughout the medieval period, whether produced by people, instruments, bells, or animals.
Mia Bay Named Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History
Mia Bay, a well-recognized scholar of late modern American intellectual and cultural history with a focus on African-American history, joins Penn.
Custer Awarded Dissertation Fellowship
Lee Ann Custer, a doctoral candidate in the History of Art Department, received a Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship.
Two Penn Arts and Sciences researchers have been selected as 2018 Andrew Carnegie Fellows
Daniel Q. Gillion and Beth Simmons have been selected to receive the fellowship, allowing them to devote as long as two years to research and writing.
Poli Sci Professor Studies Why Women Run (Or Don’t Run) for Office
In a survey study of women interested in running for office, the analysis highlights intriguing new insights.