2017
Annenberg in Washington 2017 Provides College Undergrads With Exciting Intern Experiences
Annenberg in Washington (AIW), a summer internship program for Communication majors, provides students first-hand experience in how communication is used in public service. Students receive a $6,000 stipend to support their living expenses as they participate in internships at government, political, nonprofit, advocacy, media, and private organizations in the nation’s capital. They can then receive course credit by enrolling in the summer or fall internship course (COMM 491).
Undergrads Explore Chinese Media Landscape with Penn Media Scholars in China
Penn Media Scholars in China (PMSC), a new summer institute directed and led by Guobin Yang recently took eight undergraduate students to Beijing and Hangzhou to study media industries, institutions, and citizens’ everyday media practices.From June 5-30, PMSC gave students a first-hand understanding of the rapidly growing and developing media industry in China through site visits, interactions with media professionals, and conversations with students.
Penn Art History Professor Wins Anglo-Hellenic League Book Award
Ivan Drpić, Associate Professor of History of Art, has received the 2017 Runciman Book Award from the Anglo-Hellenic League in London. A specialist in Byzantine art Drpić, who recently joined Penn’s faculty, won for his 2016 book Epigram, Art and Devotion in Later Byzantium.
Six from Penn Arts and Sciences Named 2017 American Council of Learned Societies Fellows
Six Penn Arts and Sciences graduate students, alumni, and faculty have been named as 2017 fellowship recipients by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). The ACLS fellowships and grants are awarded to scholars for excellence in research in the humanities and related social sciences.
Penn Program in Environmental Humanities Receives Support from the Mellon Foundation
The University of Pennsylvania has been awarded a grant of $1.5 million over four years from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH). PPEH is a Penn Arts and Sciences initiative that combines scientific and humanistic inquiry to better address issues surrounding energy, sustainability, and the environment.
Fels Policy Research Initiative Announces New Interdisciplinary Grants
The Fels Policy Research Initiative (FPRI) has announced nine working groups and conferences it will fund through the end of 2017. Each group will be awarded as much as $15,000 in support of its work.
Penn Arts and Sciences Names Harold Dibble as Johnston Chair
Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of Penn Arts and Sciences, is pleased to name Harold L. Dibble, professor of anthropology and curator-in-charge of European archaeology in the Penn Museum, the Francis E. Johnston Endowed Term Professor.
Collaboration Produces Surprising Insights Into White Spots on Butterfly Wings
A collaboration between biologists and materials scientists at the University of Pennsylvania is yielding new insights into the wings of the “skipper butterfly” in the Costa Rican rainforest. What they learn could lead to technological advancements in systems ranging from power-efficient computer displays to sensors to energy efficient buildings, windows and vehicles.
Rising Above Adversity, Penn Graduate Finds Calling as a Philadelphia Teacher
The journey for Dominiqué Bynoe-Sullivan to become a teacher has been challenging, from her home in Brooklyn to a high school in Harlem to the University of Pennsylvania.At Penn, she initially focused on becoming a physician, pursuing a major in microbiology. But during her sophomore year she changed direction, working with faculty to choose a major in public health, with a minor in urban education.
Paul Sniegowski Appointed Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, announces Sniegowski’s appointment:
Seyfarth and Tishkoff elected to National Academy of Sciences
Penn Arts and Sciences faculty Robert Seyfarth and Sarah Tishkoff have been elected members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for “their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
Julia Bloch Chosen as 2017 Pew Fellow
Julia Bloch, director of Penn’s Creative Writing Program, has been chosen as a 2017 Pew Fellow. Bloch, a poet, says she plans to use the grant funding to finish two works in progress: a new book of poetry that deals with futurity and a memoir-inflected poetic work that draws on research she plans to conduct on climate and genealogy on the west coast and in Sydney, Australia.
Robert DeRubeis Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Psychological Science
Robert DeRubeis, Samuel H. Preston Term Professor in the Social Sciences and professor of psychology, has been named the 2017 James McKeen Cattell Fellow, a lifetime achievement award given by the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Each year the association selects a fellow to honor for his or her lifetime of outstanding contributions in applied psychological research.
Research Projects Bolstered Through Quartet Pilot Competition Funding
Six faculty members from different schools at the University of Pennsylvania are taking their research one step further, with support from the annual Quartet Pilot Research Project Competition. Designed to attract new and early career investigators and encourage cross-disciplinary aging research, the competition provides support for innovative or exploratory research projects leading to National Institutes of Health grant applications.
Smart Materials Used in Ultrasound Behave Similar to Water
A team of researchers is gaining new insight into the smart materials used in ultrasound technology. While forming the most thorough model to date of how these materials work, they have found striking similarities with the behavior of water.
Professor Eric Schelter Awarded 2017 U.S. EPA Green Chemistry Challenge Award
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Associate Professor Eric Schelter and his research group in the Department of Chemistry in Penn Arts and Sciences a 2017 Green Chemistry Challenge Award for his work in developing a simple, fast, and low-cost technology to help recycle rare-earth metals.
Researchers Provide New Insights Into How People Navigate Through the World
The ability to assess surroundings and move through the world is a skill shared by many animals, including humans, yet the brain mechanisms that make it possible are poorly understood.Now, in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have offered new insights into how people understand visual scenes and how they figure out which paths to take to navigate through them.
Study Links Heart Rate to Gender Gap in Criminal Offending
In the field of criminology, it is well established that men engage in more crime than women. Now, a new study published in the journal Criminology addresses the incomplete understanding of why males are more criminal than females by examining gender differences in biological functioning and behavior. It is the first study to demonstrate that men’s lower resting heart rate partly explains the higher rate of criminal offending.
Physicists Discover Why Drying Liquid Crystal Drops Leave Unusual ‘Coffee Rings’
In previous papers, Penn physicists investigated the “coffee ring effect,” the ring-shaped stain of particles left after drops of coffee evaporate. In one paper, they learned how to undo this effect by altering particle shape. Now, in a new paper published in Nature Communications, they have uncovered the complex and remarkably different behavior arising in a liquid crystal drop that is drying.
Physicists Investigate How Hatchetfish Camouflage in the Deep Sea
The midwater region of the ocean is the largest habitat by volume in the world, making up 99 percent of Earth’s livable space. It’s home to a myriad of occupants, many of which have evolved peculiar abilities to allow them to survive.
Social Ties Boost Longevity in Female Macaques
In a huge study of female rhesus macaques, a team of researchers led by Michael Platt found those with many close female relatives have a higher life expectancy.However, the effect fades with age, suggesting older females learn how to “navigate the social landscape” and have less need for social ties.
Penn Arts and Sciences 2017 Graduation Ceremonies Schedule
College of Arts and SciencesCeremony: Sunday, May 14, 6:30 p.m., Franklin FieldClass of 2017 Speaker: Ivan Sandoval, C’17Speaker: Jennifer Egan, C’85, author
National Academy of Sciences Elects Two Penn Arts and Sciences Faculty
Two faculty members from Penn Arts and Sciences have been elected members of the National Academy of Sciences for “their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”The professors are Sarah Tishkoff, a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor with appointments in Penn Arts and Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine, and Robert Seyfarth, an emeritus professor of psychology.
Inaugural Recipients Announced for New Dean’s Integrative Global Inquiries Fund
A new Penn Arts and Sciences initiative is awarding grants to faculty to encourage the collective investigation of global topics across the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Dean Steven J. Fluharty recently announced the first round of projects to be funded through this program, called the Dean’s Integrative Global Inquiries Fund.
Penn and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Receive Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant to Expand Collaboration
The University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Museum of Art have been jointly awarded $500,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund an ongoing collaboration over the next three years that provides Penn graduate students in art history with an opportunity to extend their study beyond the classroom through a direct, hands-on engagement with the Museum’s renowned collection.
Seventeen Penn Arts and Sciences Students and Alumni Offered 2017-18 Fulbright Grants
Seventeen Penn Arts and Sciences students and alumni have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Awards and Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Awards for 2017-18. The Fulbright Program, which operates in more than 160 countries, is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the United States government. It is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people in the U.S. and other countries.
Former Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner Appointed Penn Arts and Science’ First Professor of Practice
Howard Neukrug, CE’78, former commissioner and CEO of the Philadelphia Water Department, has been appointed Penn Arts and Sciences’ first Professor of Practice. Practice professorships bring accomplished leaders from business, government, or the arts into Penn Arts and Sciences’ classrooms, to complement the expertise of the School’s standing faculty.
Nancy Bentley Named Donald T. Regan Professor of English
Dean Steven J. Fluharty is pleased to name Nancy Bentley the Donald T. Regan Professor of English in Penn Arts and Sciences.
José-Víctor Ríos-Rull Named Lawrence R. Klein Professor of Economics
Dean Steven J. Fluharty is pleased to name José-Víctor Ríos-Rull the Lawrence R. Klein Professor of Economics in Penn Arts and Sciences.
Diana Mutz Awarded 2017 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship
Diana Mutz, Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication, has been selected to receive a 2017 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Along with 34 others, Mutz, who holds dual appointments in Penn Arts and Sciences and the Annenberg School for Communication, was chosen from nearly 200 nominations.
Hanming Fang Named Class of 1965 Term Chair by Penn Arts and Sciences
Dean Steven J. Fluharty is pleased to name Hanming Fang the Class of 1965 Term Professor of Economics in Penn Arts and Sciences.
Barbara Savage Named Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History at Oxford University
Barbara D. Savage, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and chair of the Department of Africana Studies, has been chosen as the Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History at the University of Oxford for the 2018-19 academic year.
Gillion Wins W.E.B. Du Bois Book Award
Daniel Gillion, Presidential Associate Professor of Political Science, has received the 2017 W.E.B. Du Bois Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS) for his book, Governing with Words: The Political Dialogue on Race, Public Policy, and Inequality in America. He is an affiliate faculty member with the Department for Africana Studies and part of the ninth cohort of Penn Fellows.
Dorothy Roberts Wins Distinguished Lecture Award from Columbia
Dorothy Roberts has won Columbia University’s Mamie Phipps Clark and Kenneth B. Clark Distinguished Lecture Award. The annual award recognizes the extraordinary contributions of a senior scholar in the area of race and justice.
MacDonald Elected Fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology
John MacDonald, professor of criminology and sociology and Penny and Robert A. Fox Faculty Director of the Fels Institute of Government, has been elected a fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology (AEC) for his success in leading randomized, controlled field experiments in criminology.
Four Arts and Sciences Professors Awarded Guggenheim Fellowships
Four Penn Arts and Sciences professors have been awarded 2017 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships. They are:
Freeman Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Samuel Freeman, Avalon Professor of the Humanities and professor of philosophy and law, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
O’Leary Doubly Honored
Brendan O’Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science, has been honored by the Royal Irish Academy and the International Studies Association. The Royal Irish Academy elected him an honorary member, and he was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award of the International Studies Association's Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration Studies Section for lifetime contributions to the study of nationalism and ethnic conflict resolution, along with his regular co-author John McGarry.
Penn Arts and Sciences Announces College Graduation Speakers for 2017
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan, C’85, and Ivan Sandoval, C’17, will speak at this year’s graduation ceremony for the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences. The event will take place on Sunday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. on Franklin Field.
Penn Faculty Call on Congress to Save the National Endowment for the Humanities
In response to a new budget proposed by President Trump, which would eliminate all funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Penn faculty have banded together to sign a petition to Congress. Thus far, the petition has 192 signatories. In addition, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Steven Fluharty has addressed humanities faculty in a message detailing efforts to combat the elimination of the NEH through Penn’s governmental affairs office in Washington, D.C.
Penn Arts and Sciences Announces Teaching Award Recipients
Steven J. Fluharty, dean of Penn Arts and Sciences, and Andrew Binns, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, have announced the recipients of the 2017 awards for distinguished teaching in the School. The winners will be honored at a School-wide reception on Thursday, April 27, at 11:00 a.m. in Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street. IRA H. ABRAMS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED TEACHING
Two Join Penn Arts and Sciences Faculty as Endowed Chairs
Dean Steven J. Fluharty is pleased to announce that two new faculty members are joining Penn Arts and Sciences as endowed chairs. Sophia Rosenfeld has been named the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, and Kathleen D. Morrison the Sally and Alvin V. Shoemaker Professor of Anthropology and Curator of South Asia in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Penn Arts and Sciences Faculty Receive 2017 University Teaching Awards
Four members of the Penn Arts and Sciences faculty are recipients of University-wide teaching awards:LINDBACK AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED TEACHINGDavid Christianson, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical BiologyBeth Linker, Associate Professor of History and Sociology of SciencePROVOST'S AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE BY NON-STANDING FACULTYLorene Cary, Senior Lecturer in English
Dean Fluharty's Message to Faculty on the Proposed Elimination of National Endowment for the Humanities
The following is a reprint of a message that Dean Steven Fluharty and Associate Dean Jeff Kallberg shared with Penn Arts and Sciences humanities faculty.
Petition to Congress to Save the National Endowment for the Humanities
“The arts and humanities belong to all the people of the United States.”
Five Penn Arts and Sciences Students Chosen as President’s Engagement and Innovation Prize Winners
Five seniors in the College of Arts and Sciences have been selected as recipients of the 2017 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prizes. Awarded annually, the Prizes provide $100,000 in funding for Penn seniors to design and undertake post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world.
Peacocks, Eye Tracking, and the Brains Behind Decisions
How do male peacocks size up their competition? Not by looking at the brightly colored tail feathers and upper eyespots for which these birds are known, but instead by focusing on their lower feathers and legs. The birds also pay more attention when their competitors shake their tails and move rather than when they are sitting still.
Scientists Show Prediction Polls Can Outdo Prediction Markets
Ask economists whether prediction markets or prediction polls fare better, and they’ll likely favor the former.In prediction markets, people bet against each other to predict an outcome, say the chance of someone winning an election. The market represents the crowd’s best guess. In a prediction poll, the guesser isn’t concerned with what anyone else thinks, essentially betting against himself.
Using Video Games as Tools for Learning and Education
Ask someone which educational resources could make a sociological impact, and video games likely aren’t the first tools that come to mind.But Marcus T. Wright, undergraduate program and communications manager for the Department of Sociology, hopes to change that perspective with his new book, Paradox of the Learning Game: The Promise and Plight of Video Games and Learning.
Grad Ben Talks Gives Students a Chance to Shine
On Friday, March 17, at International House Philadelphia, Penn launched its newly created Grad Ben Talks with a day of TED Talk-style presentations by Arts and Sciences graduate students. Participants presented to an audience of undergraduates, faculty, staff, and fellow graduate students. A single winner was selected in each category by a panel of judges, and an Audience Choice winner was selected by audience members via votes submitted through an online polling service.