2018
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.
Korea Expert Discusses Looming U.S.-North Korea Summit
Eugene Park, director of the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies, examines the forthcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
The Power of Penn Arts & Sciences
On April 12, 2018, the Power of Penn Arts & Sciences fundraising campaign was announced by the Board of Overseers. Launched in conjunction with the University’s Power of Penn campaign, it aims to raise $550 million for the School of Arts and Sciences.
2018 Penn Arts and Sciences Dean’s Scholars
Penn Arts and Sciences has named 20 students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, and the Graduate Division as Dean’s Scholars. This honor is presented annually to students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise.
Joseph Subotnik Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor
Joseph Subotnik, Professor of Chemistry, has been named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Chemistry. A theoretical chemist who focuses on electronic processes in the condensed phase, Dr. Subotnik has made key contributions in electronic structure theory, chemical dynamics, and statistical mechanics.
Two Penn Arts and Sciences Professors Named Guggenheim Fellows
Charles L. Bosk, Professor of Sociology, and Charles Yang, Professor of Linguistics and Computer Science, have been awarded 2018 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowships.
Ahmad Family Endowment Supports Penn Global Seminars
Hyder Ahmad, W’90, and his family have made a generous gift to establish the Ahmad Family Endowment for Penn Global Seminars in Arts and Sciences.
Abraham Nitzan Named Donner Professor of Physical Sciences
Abraham Nitzan, Professor of Chemistry, has been named Donner Professor of Physical Sciences. Nitzan’s research focuses on the interaction of light with molecular systems, chemical reactions in condensed phases and interfaces and charge transfer processes in such environments.
2018 Teaching Award Recipients Announced
Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of Penn Arts and Sciences, and Paul Sniegowski, Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, have announced the recipients of the 2018 awards for distinguished teaching in the School.
Topological Phenomenon Could Lead to Faster Optical Communications
A new study led by physicist Bo Zhen investigated topological phenomena in open, or non-Hermitian, physical systems which could potentially lead to novel methods in optical communications and better optical sensors.
College Graduation Speakers for 2018 Revealed
Angela Duckworth, G’03, GR’06, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, will address the Class of 2018 at the graduation ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences on Sunday, May 13, 2018. She will be joined by student speaker Helena von Nagy, C’18.
By River, Ocean, or Wind, Rocks Round the Same Way
Combining mathematical models with lab experiments and field measurements from a river, an ocean, and a dune field, a team led by geophysicist Douglas J. Jerolmack found that the same general processes guide the rounding of those diverse particle types.
Pantev Named Class of 1939 Professor
Tony Pantev, Professor of Mathematics, has been appointed Class of 1939 Professor of Mathematics. Dr. Pantev is a leading scholar of algebraic and differential geometry, Hodge theory, and mathematical physics.
Zhen Is Most Recent Elliman Faculty Fellow
Bo Zhen has joined Penn Arts and Sciences as Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Elliman Faculty Fellow.
Being Hungry Shuts Off Perception of Chronic Pain
According to research by neuroscientists, the brain has a way to suppress chronic pain when an animal is hungry, allowing it to go look for food while leaving intact the response to acute pain. Their work pinpointed a tiny population of 300 brain cells responsible for the ability to prioritize hunger over chronic pain.
Six Penn Arts and Sciences Students Win Thouron Awards to Study in the U.K.
Five Penn Arts and Sciences seniors and an alumnus have received 2018 Thouron Awards to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. Each scholarship winner receives tuition and stipends for as long as two years to earn a graduate degree.
Penn Faculty to Convene Teach-In on Knowledge
From March 18-22, 2018, Penn faculty will convene a Teach-In on “the production, dissemination, and use of knowledge.” Events will be free and open to the public at locations all around campus. Coordinated by the University of Pennsylvania Faculty Senate, the effort spans all of Penn’s twelve schools in a collective endeavor by staff, students, and faculty.
Individualized Care Will Become the Standard for Depression Patients
In a new paper for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, researchers Robert DeRubeis, Samuel H. Preston Term Professor in the Social Sciences, and Zachary Cohen of Psychology, address precision medicine, also known as customized-care, in the context of treatment for depression.
Michael Jones-Correa Named President’s Distinguished Professor
Michael Jones-Correa has been named the President’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science. Jones-Correa joined Penn in 2016 from Cornell University, where he was Robert J. Katz Chair of the Department of Government. As a political scientist studying Latino politics and immigration to the United States, his research is focused on the political integration of new immigrant communities and their relations with the U.S.-born.
Restoring Vacant Lots Reduces Gun Violence and Crime
In cities across the U.S., about 15 percent of land is considered vacant or abandoned. These areas can foster criminal activity, and urban residents, especially those in low-income neighborhoods, often view vacant land as a threat to their health and safety.
The Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program Receives the “Friend of the ROCK” Award
The Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program is the recipient of the “Friend of the ROCK” award in recognition of the service learning projects students in the program have done with The ROCK Center for Youth Development, a nonprofit that serves teens in Michigan.
New Open-access Data Resource Aims to Bolster Collaboration in Global Infectious Disease Research
Population-based epidemiological studies provide new opportunities for innovation and collaboration among researchers addressing pressing global-health concerns. As with the vast quantities of information emerging in other fields, from economic modeling to weather surveillance to genomic medicine, the technical challenges of sharing and mining gigantic datasets can hamper such efforts.
Astronomers Reveal Secrets of Most Distant Supernova Ever Detected
An international team of astronomers, including Penn's Masao Sako, an associate professor of physics and astronomy, has confirmed the discovery of the most distant supernova ever detected, a huge cosmic explosion that took place 10.5 billion years ago when the universe was only a quarter of its current age.
5 Science-Based Tips for Building Love That Lasts
A new book, “Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts,” from husband-and-wife duo James Pawelski of the School of Arts and Sciences and Suzann Pileggi Pawelski, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s from Penn, offers science- and philosophy-backed tips to build a thriving romance.
Penn Language Center Awarded NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grant
The Penn Language Center (PLC) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded an NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grant entitled “Digital Humanities from an Indigenous Perspective,” which will be administered by EPIC (Educational Partnerships with Indigenous Communities). The grant will study how Native American tribes are using digital technology to revitalize their language and culture. The partnership will include four Native American partners and four major archives.
Chemists Develop Motion Capture-like Technology for Tracking Protein Shape
In many modern animated movies, the trick to achieving realistic movements for individual characters and objects lies in motion-capture technology. This process often involves someone wearing a tracking suit covered in small, colored balls while a camera captures the position of those colored balls, which is then used to represent how the person is moving.
Better Knowledge of Evolution Leads to Greater Acceptance of the Concept
Prevailing theories about evolution state that belief in the concept is tied only to a person’s politics, religion, or both. But according to new research published in BioScience, the journal of the American Institute of Biology, whether Americans accept or reject the subject also depends on how well they understand it.
Anna Weesner Wins Virgil Thomson Award in Vocal Music
Anna Weesner, Dr. Robert Weiss Professor of Music, has won the 2018 Virgil Thomson Award in Vocal Music. The award, endowed by the Virgil Thomson Foundation and administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, recognizes an American composer of vocal works. Candidates were nominated by the Academy’s members, and the winner was chosen by a special jury comprised of composers William Bolcom, Robert Beaser, John Harbison, and Tania León.
Emily Steiner Receives the CARA Award for Excellence in Teaching
Emily Steiner, Professor of English, has been awarded the Committee for Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) Award for Excellence in Teaching. CARA became a standing committee of the Medieval Academy in 1969. It assists institutions and individual medievalists in meeting the challenges that face medieval studies in the classroom, the library, and other institutional settings locally and nationally.
Researchers Prove That Precisely Timed Brain Stimulation Improves Memory
Precisely timed electrical stimulation to the left side of the brain can reliably and significantly enhance learning and memory performance by as much as 15 percent, according to a team led by Michael Kahana, professor of psychology. It is the first time such a connection has been made and is a major advance toward the goal of Restoring Active Memory, a U.S.
Warren Breckman Named Sheldon and Lucy Hackney Professor of History
Warren Breckman has been named Sheldon and Lucy Hackney Professor of History. Breckman is a leading intellectual and cultural historian of modern Europe. He is the author of three books, Karl Marx, the Young Hegelians, and the Origins of Radical Social Theory: Dethroning the Self, European Romanticism: A Brief History with Documents, and Adventures of the Symbolic: Postmarxism and Radical Democracy.
Improvements in Mortality Rates Are Slowed by Rise in Obesity
With countless medical advances and efforts to curb smoking, one might expect that life expectancy in the United States would improve. Yet according to recent studies, there’s been a reduction in the rate of improvement in American mortality during the past three decades. According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a rise in obesity is to blame.
Team Uncovers the Physiology Behind the Hour-Long Mating Call of Midshipman Fish
Midshipman fish can generate a mating call that emits continuously from their bodies for a full hour. Biologists have puzzled over how this was possible, as the call requires the fish to contract and relax muscles around their swim bladder very quickly—360,000 times in an hour, to be precise—seemingly too fast for the necessary pumping of calcium ions required for muscle contraction. A new study led by Penn researchers provides an explanation for this display of physiological fortitude.
Physicist to Shed Light on an Emerging Field in Physics
Bo Zhen, an assistant professor of physics, has been awarded a Young Investigator Grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Zhen will receive $450,000 for a three-year period to investigate non-Hermitian topological photonics.
Experimentation Creates Unique English Course
During a lifetime of teaching, English professor Charles Bernstein has created and tested various writing “experiments” that now number 95 on a list used by professors and writers worldwide.Bernstein used many of those writing exercises in his English 111 “Experimental Writing” course last semester. The students published their work in an online book, Paper Excuse, in December.
Political Scientist Rudra Sil Reconsiders Russia
Rudra Sil, the director of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, does research in the fields of comparative and international politics with a special interest in Russian and post-communist studies, Russian foreign policy, and United States-Russia relations.
2017
Dagmawi Woubshet Is Ahuja Family Presidential Associate Professor
Dagmawi Woubshet has joined Penn as the inaugural Ahuja Family Presidential Associate Professor of English. A scholar of African American literature and visual culture, Woubshet comes to Penn from Cornell University, where he received Cornell’s highest honor for undergraduate mentoring and teaching, the Paul Award for Excellence, in 2012, as well as being named one of “The 10 Best Professors at Cornell” in 2013 by Business Insider.
Anne Norton Named Stacey and Henry Jackson President’s Distinguished Professor
Anne Norton, Professor and Department Chair of Political Science, has been named the inaugural Stacey and Henry Jackson President’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science. A scholar of political theory, Norton is the author of seven books, including On the Muslim Question and 95 Theses on Politics, Culture and Method. She is Co-Founding Editor of the journal Theory and Event and on the executive board of the journal Political Theory.
Dark Energy Survey Offers New View of Dark Matter Halos
Dark matter, a mysterious form of matter that makes up about 80 percent of the mass of the universe, has evaded detection for decades. Although it doesn’t interact with light, scientists believe it’s there because of its influence on galaxies and galaxy clusters.
New Method of Stabilizing Peptides Opens the Door to Better Therapeutic and Imaging Techniques
For many people with advanced Type 2 diabetes, taking insulin is a regular part of their routine, helping them control their blood sugar by signaling the metabolism of glucose. But recently, researchers have been investigating GLP-1, a peptide that gets activated when people eat, triggering insulin through a more natural pathway.
Peter Decherney Receives Penn Alumni Faculty Award of Merit
Peter Decherney, a professor of English and cinema studies in Penn Arts and Sciences, has received the 2017 Penn Alumni Faculty Award of Merit. This award recognizes a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to alumni education and engagement by sharing his or her unique scholarship.
Seeing Isn’t Believing: Biologists Show How to Shut Off Hunger ‘Alarm System’
With a new study, researchers have explained the biological mechanism behind hunger-driven highs and lows. While the mere sight or smell of food can temporarily turn off neurons responsible for the drive to eat, they showed that the neurons only stay off if the brain receives a signal from the stomach that calories have been ingested.