2017
The Water Center at Penn to Explore Systemic Issues
Howard Neukrug, Professor of Practice in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, is establishing The Water Center at Penn, which will be dedicated to advancing water policy research and urban water innovation by combining the expertise of academics, industry experts, and community representatives. The goal is to find real-world solutions to shared water problems, including issues such as toxins in drinking water, extreme storm events, and rising tides.
Andrea Mitchell a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania
Andrea Mitchell, CW'67, was recently selected as a 2017 Daughter of Pennsylvania. She and the other 2017 honorees were recognized at ceremony hosted by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf.
Daniel Q. Gillion Named Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Presidential Associate Professor of Political Science
Daniel Q. Gillion, Associate Professor of Political Science, has been appointed Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Presidential Associate Professor of Political Science. Gillion studies racial and ethnic politics, political behavior, public policy, and the American presidency.
Penn Arts and Sciences Names Eugene Mele Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Physics
Eugene Mele, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has been appointed the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Physics. Mele joined the faculty in 1981, and has spent most of his academic career at Penn. A condensed matter theorist whose pioneering research has resulted in predicting the existence of materials with non-trivial topological order, Mele’s research findings have influenced the course of quantum electronic phenomena research in solids.
Physicists Help Spot Explosive Counterpart of LIGO Discovery
Masao Sako, a member of the Dark Energy Survey and an associate professor of physics and astronomy, was on vacation with his family when he got the news that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO, had made a fifth detection of gravitational waves, which expand and contract space time.
Dorothy Roberts Among Penn Faculty Elected to National Academy of Medicine
Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology, Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, and Professor of Africana Studies, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the nation’s highest honors in biomedicine. Roberts, a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, is one of seven Penn faculty inductees.
Researchers Discover Which Brain Region Motivates Behavior Change
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Columbia University, and Duke University now better understand what motivates behavior change. The research points to a region in the brain called the posterior cingulate cortex. Neurons in this central location ramp up firing rates, peaking just before a divergent behavior occurs. The team published their findings in the journal Neuron.
Study Identifies Genes Responsible for Diversity of Human Skin Colors
Human populations feature a broad palette of skin tones. But until now, few genes have been shown to contribute to normal variation in skin color, and these had primarily been discovered through studies of European populations. Now, a study of diverse African groups has identified new genetic variants associated with skin pigmentation.
Benson, Teele Are Named Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professors
Etienne Benson, Assistant Professor of History and Sociology of Science, and Dawn Teele, Assistant Professor of Political Science, have been named Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professors in the Social Sciences.
Penn Arts and Sciences Names Lauren Sallan the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies
Lauren Sallan, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, has been named the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies. Sallan is a scholar of paleobiology and paleontology. Her research, which uses the fossil record of fishes as a database to investigate macroevolutionary trends, aims to understand the long-term effects of global events including mass extinction, ecological dynamics, and environmental change.
Marci Hamilton Appointed Penn Arts and Sciences’ Third Professor of Practice
Marci Hamilton, one of the country’s leading church-state scholars, has been appointed a Penn Arts and Sciences’ Professor of Practice in the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program. 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. Hamilton also serves as a Fox Family Pavilion Senior Fellow in Residence in the Robert A.
Earth’s Tectonic Plates Are Weaker Than Once Thought
No one can travel inside the earth to study what happens there. So scientists must do their best to replicate real-world conditions inside the lab.
Earth’s Tectonic Plates Are Weaker Than Once Thought
David Goldsby, teaming with Christopher A. Thom, a doctoral student at Penn, as well as researchers from Stanford University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Delaware, has resolved a long-standing question in the area of plate tectonics.
Penn Arts and Sciences Names Marc Flandreau the Howard Marks Professor of Economic History
Dean Steven J. Fluharty is pleased to announce that Marc Flandreau has joined Penn Arts and Sciences as the Howard Marks Professor of Economic History. Previously, Flandreau was professor of international history at the Graduate Institute of International Studies and Development in Geneva.
Russian and East European Studies Department Expands Approach to Region’s Languages and Literatures
To expand Penn's multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural approach to teaching and learning about the region, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures was renamed the Department of Russian and East European Studies, or REES, before the start of the 2017-18 academic year.
Opera Composed by Penn’s Jay Reise Celebrates 10th Anniversary in Russia
Celebrating its 10th year on stage in Russia, an opera composed by music professor Jay Reise will be performed in Moscow’s new Stravinsky Hall this fall.The performances of Reise’s “Rasputin” by Russia’s Helikon Opera company are scheduled for Nov. 11 and 12 and will be conducted by Alexander Briger, founder and chief conductor of the Australian World Orchestra.
Researchers Focus on Optimizing Mental Health Treatments Using Big Data
What if with the click of a button, a clinician could improve and personalize a patient’s treatment for a mental illness like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or panic disorder? That’s the goal of a new data tournament created by Robert DeRubeis and Zachary Cohen that will start in October and run through March.
Penn Arts and Sciences Names Music’s Timothy Rommen the Davidson Kennedy Professor
Timothy Rommen, Professor of Music, has been named Davidson Kennedy Professor in the College. An ethnomusicologist who specializes in the music of the Caribbean, Rommen is the author of two books, including "Mek Some Noise": Gospel Music and the Ethics of Style in Trinidad, which was awarded the Alan P. Merriam Prize by the Society for Ethnomusicology.
Anthropology's Nikhil Anand Offers Insight Following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through November, has already seen two of the strongest storms on record, with hurricanes Irma and Harvey bringing extreme winds, torrential rain and significant flooding to the population centers in their paths.
Rogers Smith Selected as President-Elect of American Political Science Association
Rogers Smith has been named as the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) president-elect for the 2017-2018 term. He is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean for Social Sciences.
Researchers Discover New Law Guiding the Way Humans Perceive the World
Laws of perception explain why people see the world the way they do. Alan Stocker and his former graduate student Xue-Xin Wei, now a postdoc at Columbia University, have discovered a new such law, one of only a handful in existence.
Penn Science and Lightbulb Cafe Lecture Series - Fall 2017
Enjoy an evening of engaging, stimulating conversation with expert faculty from the University of Pennsylvania! Presented by Penn Arts and Sciences, in partnership with the Office of University Communications, Penn Science and Lightbulb Café events allow faculty specializing in science, social sciences, arts and humanities to present and discuss their research with audience members.
Shrinking Swiss Glaciers Inspire Undergraduate Student’s Energy Research
Yann Pfitzer spent the heat of a Philadelphia summer in a lab, designing and testing ultrathin plates that could one day be part of systems that convert extreme heat to electricity.
Wolf Humanities Center 2017-18 Forum Examines “Afterlives”
The Wolf Humanities Center, which now has a permanent endowment from University of Pennsylvania alumnus Dick Wolf, multiple Emmy-winning creator of the “Law & Order” and “Chicago” branded series, is building upon the tradition of the Penn Humanities Forum through a wide-ranging 2017-18 season. A series of talks, conferences, films and live performances that are free and open to the public will be held to examine this year’s topic, “Afterlives.”
New Gift to Endow Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy at Penn
Andrea Mitchell, CW'67, and Alan Greenspan have made a gift to endow the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy. The Andrea Mitchell Center will provide an unparalleled platform for students, faculty, and a broad public audience to explore some of society’s most pressing concerns and enhance Penn’s stature as a hub for scholarship on democratic institutions and issues.
Penn Arts and Sciences Welcomes New Faculty for 2017-2018
Penn Arts and Sciences has appointed 30 new members to its standing faculty for the 2017-2018 academic year. The School is pleased to welcome:Juan Pablo Atal, Assistant Professor of Economics: Health economics; long-term health insurance contacts, particularly in Chile; public economics, including worker productivity and pricing; tax enforcement; industrial organization. Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Study Identifies How Squid Have Evolved to See in Dim Ocean Water
In a new paper published in Science, research led by postdoctoral fellow Jing Cai and Alison Sweeney, an assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy, provided a detailed look into how self-assembled squid lenses have evolved to adjust for light distortion, which allows them to see clearly in the dim waters of the open ocean.
Criminologist Richard Berk on the Future of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has great potential to transform many facets of our society, from cars to health care to the way the criminal justice system uses information about arrest records. Richard Berk,Richard Berk, Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminolog, has studied machine learning and AI as it relates to criminal justice.
New Type of Graphene Sensor to Answer a Fundamental Nanotechnology Question
A team of physicists have invented a new type of graphene-based sensor that could one day be used as a low-cost diagnostic system able to test for biomarker molecules, which are indicative of disease states.
Successful Guide Dogs Have ‘Tough Love’ Moms
Much has been written of the pitfalls of being a helicopter parent, one who insulates children from adversity rather than encouraging their independence.A new study seems to back up this finding in dogs. Researchers showed that doting mothers seem to handicap their puppies, in this case reducing the likelihood of successfully completing a training program to become guide dogs.
Astronomers Contribute to the Most Accurate Measurement of Dark Matter Structure in the Universe
Map of dark matter made from gravitational lensing measurements of 26 million galaxies in the Dark Energy Survey. The map covers about 1/30th of the entire sky and spans several billion light years in extent. Red regions have more dark matter than average, blue regions less dark matter. Image credit: Chihway Chang of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, and the DES collaboration.
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.