2015
Penn Biologists Identify Patterns of RNA Regulation in the Nuclei of Plants
In a new study, University of Pennsylvania biologists built on earlier work in which they cataloged all the interactions that occur between RNA and the proteins that bind to it. This time, they looked exclusively at these interactions in the nuclei, and simultaneously obtained data about the nuclear RNA molecules’ structure.
2014
‘Topping Off’ Ceremony Held for Penn’s Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building (Video)
On December 4, members of the University of Pennsylvania community gathered for a “topping off” ceremony securing the uppermost beam atop Penn Arts and Sciences' new Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building. The ceremony signified the completion of the structural phase of the six-story, $68.6-million project, which will integrate psychology, biology, and behavioral sciences under one roof with research laboratories, teaching facilities, and space for students to collaborate and study.
Larry Gladney Elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society
Larry Gladney, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has been elected a 2014 Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). APS fellowships are a distinct honor signifying recognition by one's professional peers for exceptional contributions to the field of physics.
Penn Awarded $23.4 Million Contract for Pathogen Genomics Database
Since 2000, a team led by University of Pennsylvania and University of Georgia scientists has been responsible for developing genome database resources for microbial pathogens, including the parasites responsible for malaria, sleeping sickness, toxoplasmosis and many other diseases. To ensure this important work will continue, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease has awarded Penn and UGA a new contract for 2014-15 worth $4.3 million.
Sobti Family Fellowship Fund Supports Independent Research in India
Since 2007, the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) has provided funding to nearly 100 Penn undergraduate and graduate students for independent research and volunteer internships in India. In November 2013, the Center announced its first post-baccalaureate fellowship, the Sobti Family Fellowship Fund, created by Penn parents Rajiv Sobti, GR’84, and Slomi Sobti.
Students Explore Race and Class Through Conversations, Performance
Writing Out Loud, an academically-based community service course designed by Associate Professor of English Herman Beavers, and theater director and lecturer Suzana Berger, C’02, hosted The Ground on Which We Stand, an end-of-the-semester public performance, on December 14.
Penn Senior Rutendo Chigora Awarded non-U.S. Rhodes Scholarship
Rutendo Chigora, a University of Pennsylvania senior from Harare, Zimbabwe, has been named one of Zimbabwe’s two recipients of a Rhodes Scholarship which will fund two or three years of study at Oxford University in England. At Oxford, Chigora will pursue a master's degree in public policy.
Mathematics Professor Epstein Honored by AAAS
Charles L. Epstein, Thomas A. Scott Professor of Mathematics, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for his distinguished contributions to applied analysis—especially microlocal analysis, index theory, and boundary value problems—and his significant achievements in the mathematics of medical imaging.
Criminology Research Indicates Summer Jobs Decrease Youth Violence
A new study by Assistant Professor of Criminology Sara Heller finds that arrests of adolescents for violence decrease by up to 43 percent when the young people have summer jobs. The research, published in Science, focused on disadvantaged youth in Chicago who were enrolled in the One Summer Plus program. Individuals worked in nonprofit and government jobs, such as camp counselors, community garden workers and office assistants for an alderman, earning the minimum wage.
Psychology Study Questions Theory That Men Overestimate Women's Sexual Interest
New research from Penn Professor of Psychology Robert Kurzban and Carin Perilloux of Texas State University calls into question the theory that men are overconfident in estimating the sexual interest of a female partner. Their findings, published in Psychological Science, show that, when asked to interpret “signals” on the “dating behavior scale,” groups of men and women surveyed came to roughly the same conclusions about the women's behaviors.
Biologists Find Evolution Favors Strategic Cooperation and Selfishness
Professor of Biology Joshua Plotkin and post-doc Alexander J. Stewart last year published a mathematical explanation of the evolution of cooperation and generosity in nature through the use of the Prisoner’s Dilemma in game theory.
Preventing Memory Problems Caused by Sleep Deprivation
In a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, a team led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania found that a particular set of cells in a small region of the brain are responsible for memory problems after sleep loss. By selectively increasing levels of a signaling molecule in these cells, the researchers prevented mice from having memory deficits.
Psychologists Awarded Grant for Mental Health Treatment Tool
The United Kingdom-based mental health research charitable organization MQ: Transforming Mental Health, has awarded a Penn psychology team about $160,000 to support The Personalized Advantage Index (PAI), an analytic tool for predicting effective psychological treatments. The research team is led by Samuel H. Preston Term Professor in the Social Sciences Robert DeRubeis and doctoral candidate Zachary Cohen.
Yun S. Song Named Inaugural Calabi-Simons Professor in Mathematics and Biology
Yun S. Song has been named the inaugural Calabi-Simons Professor in Mathematics and Biology. He will join the faculty on July 1, 2015.
Chemist Jeffrey Winkler Elected to John Morgan Society
Professor of Chemistry Jeffrey Winkler has been elected to the John Morgan Society of the University of Pennsylvania. The Morgan Society, the oldest honorific biomedical society in the country, was founded to stimulate research in basic medical science by promoting favorable conditions for such investigations through fostering communication between its members.
Mary Frances Berry Elected Honorary Fellow of American Society for Legal History
The American Society for Legal History has elected Mary Frances Berry an Honorary Fellow of the Society, the highest honor the society can offer. Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.
Two Penn Physicists Awarded 2015 Benjamin Franklin Medal
University of Pennsylvania physicists Charles Kane and Eugene Mele have been chosen as 2015 recipients of the Benjamin Franklin Medal, one of the world's oldest science and technology awards. They will be honored at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on April 23, 2015.
Improved Ferrorelectric Speed May Have Applications for Next-Gen Computers
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley have found an easy method of increasing the operational speed for ferroelectric materials, making such materials viable candidates for use in low-power computing and electronics. Their findings were published in Nature Materials.
Kimberly Bowes Named Director of American Academy in Rome
Associate Professor of Classical Studies Kimberly Bowes has been named the 22nd director of the American Academy in Rome (AAR). Founded in 1894, the AAR awards the Rome Prize every year to a select group of artists and scholars who are invited to the city to pursue their work as part of a dynamic international community.
Penn Hosts 2014 Peace Science Society Conference
On October 10-11, Penn played host to the Peace Science Society Conference, an annual event that encourages the development of peace analysis and conflict management, with a particular focus on how social science theory relates to international relations. Presenters included scholars and experts from a wide variety of fields.
Aronowitz Elected Member of Institute of Medicine
Robert Aronowitz, University of Pennsylvania Professor of History and Sociology of Science, has been elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the field of healthcare in the United States. He also holds an appointment in the Perelman School of Medicine, in the Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine.
Penn Physicist to Receive Packard Fellowship
Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Alison Sweeney will receive a 2014 David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering. Sweeney is one of 18 early-career scientists and engineers who will each receive a research grant of $875,000 over five years. Sweeney studies sea creatures that exhibit living photonic structures, or cells that can manipulate light.
Seligman Receives TANG Prize for Achievements in Psychology
Martin Seligman, Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center and the Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology at Penn, will be honored with the inaugural TANG Prize for Achievements in Psychology during a ceremony at the University of Toronto this November. Awarded by the TANG Foundation in Toronto, the prize highlights the research and career achievements of leading scholars.
Penn Researchers Show the Brain's Compass Relies on Geometric Relationships
In a new study, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania show how the brain makes directional inferences, revealing that people use geometrical relationships to orient themselves.The study, published in Nature Neurosience, was conducted by Professor of Psychology Russell Epstein and Steven Marchette, a postdoctoral fellow in Epstein’s lab. Also contributing to the study were lab members Lindsay Vass, a graduate student, and Jack Ryan, a research specialist.
Penn Undergraduate Investigates Dialect and Identity in Italy
This summer, Benjamin Finkel, C’17, traveled to the Ciociaria region of Italy to look at why a dialect spoken there is not accompanied by a strong sense of cultural identity. He was inspired to do the research by a course he took last spring on Italian history. “My research is the first that I’m aware of,” Finkel says, “to consider the Ciociarian dialect from a geographic perspective in order to understand the boundaries of the region of Ciociaria.”
Arts and Sciences Appoints Two to Named Chairs
Dean Steven J. Fluharty has announced the appointments of two faculty members to named chairs in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Molander Receives Award for Synthetic Methods Research
Hirschmann-Makineni Professor of Chemistry Gary Molander has been chosen to receive an American Chemical Society (ACS) national award, the Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods. The Brown Award was created to recognize and encourage outstanding and creative contributions to research in synthetic methods.
Penn Biologists: DNA ‘Bias’ May Keep Some Diseases in Circulation
In a study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers Sarah A. Tishkoff and Joseph Lachance have found that a bias toward particular types of DNA sequences during gene conversion may be a significant factor in the persistence of heritable diseases in populations around the world.
Penn-UCSB Team Clarifies Purpose of Iridescent Structures in Giant Clams
A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Santa Barbara, has shown how giant clams use iridescent structures, the purpose of which was unknown before. The structures enable symbiotic algae on clam shells to absorb the ideal amount of light for them to thrive and serve as efficient food for the clam. Their findings could have implications for alternative energy research.
Penn a Leader in STEM Teaching Innovation
Writing in the online “policy-zine” Republic 3.0, Dennis DeTurck and Bruce Lenthall describe Penn’s innovative approach to teaching STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classes. Penn Arts and Sciences has introduced Structured Active In-Class Learning (SAIL) classes, which get students involved in doing science and mathematics actively, rather than watching someone else do it or listening to them talk about it.
Gillion Earns American Political Science Association Race, Ethnicity and Politics Section 2014 Best Book Award
Daniel Gillion, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, has won the American Political Science Association Race, Ethnicity and Politics Section’s 2014 Best Book Award for The Political Power of Protest: Minority Activism and Shifts in Public Policy.
Penn Chemists Identify Important Intermediate Molecule in Production of 'Atmosphere's Detergent'
A University of Pennsylvania team has observed rapid atmospheric reactions in the lab and identified an important intermediate molecule in Earth’s atmosphere. By tracking the molecule’s transformation to hydroxyl radicals, they are better able to predict how the atmosphere will respond to environmental changes. Their research helps to explain how the atmosphere maintains its reserves of hydroxyl radicals, which break down greenhouse gases like methane.
United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Gives Talk on ‘Seapower and the World Economy’
On September 25, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus spoke at Penn on the role of America’s maritime presence in the global economy to an audience of over 100 students and faculty.
As a Citation Laureate, Penn Physicist Contender for Nobel Prize
Charles Kane, Class of 1965 Term Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is one of this year’s Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates. The honor is designed to recognize researchers whose body of work puts them in contention for a Nobel Prize. Kane, along with Laurens W. Molenkamp of the University of Würzburg and Shoucheng Zhang of Stanford University, are named in physics for their research on the quantum spin Hall effect and topological insulators.
Feng Gai Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Chemistry
Feng Gai has been appointed Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Chemistry in the School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Gai works at the intersection of physical chemistry and biology, investigating protein-folding problems, which are thought to be instrumental in understanding diseases associated with malfunctioning enzymes. Using novel methods of laser and infrared spectroscopy, Dr.
Political Science Professor Will Lead GSWS and Alice Paul Center
The Penn Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program and Alice Paul Center for Research on Gender, Sexuality, and Women have appointed a new director, Professor of Political Science Nancy J. Hirschmann. She will succeed Professor Christine Poggi, who led the program from 2011 to 2014. Hirschmann, former holder of the R.
DeTurck Named Stephen A. Levin Dean of the College
Dennis DeTurck has been named the first Stephen A. Levin Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. A $5 million gift from Stephen, C’67, and Petra Levin will support the work of the College dean, and may be used to support programs, departments, and new initiatives in the College.
Marija Drndić Helms Interdisciplinary Nanocrystal Research Team
An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Marija Drndić, professor of physics and astronomy, has applied a cutting-edge technique for rapid gene sequencing toward measuring other nanoscopic structures. By passing nanoscale spheres and rods through a tiny hole in a membrane, the team was able to measure the electrical properties of those structures’ surfaces.
Arjun Yodh Helps Uncover Mechanism Behind Solid-Solid Phase Transitions
Working in collaboration with researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Arjun Yodh, director of the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter and James M. Skinner Professor of Science, published an article in Nature Materials on solid-solid phase transitions.
Doctoral Student Takes Ascetic Retreat to Mountains of Japan
Frank Clements' dissertation, which focuses on the Shugendô religious tradition, recently led him to the mountains of Japan for hands-on research. Shugendô blends esoteric Buddhism, Daoism, and Shinto into a complex tradition of mountain austerities and other related practices. Clements, an East Asian Languages and Civilizations doctoral student, took part in a three-day retreat at a pilgrim lodge in Haguro in Northeastern Japan.
Video profile of Chemistry Professor Chris Murray
In this video piece, Christopher B. Murray, Richard Perry University Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, talks about research and collaboration at the University of Pennsylvania. He is one of 15 Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professors, and holds dual appointments in Penn Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Struck Appointed to Thompson Term Chair for Excellence in Teaching
Associate Professor of Classical Studies Peter Struck has been appointed to the Evan C Thompson Term Chair for Excellence in Teaching, Provost Vincent Price and Vice Provost for Education Andrew Binns have announced. Struck is a prize-winning scholar and intellectual historian of ancient Greece. He is also the faculty director of the Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program.
Karen Beckman Interviewed About HAIKU Conference
Karen Beckman, Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Professor of Cinema and Modern Media, was on WHYY's NewsWorks to discuss the place of humanities and the arts in the wider university, and what can be learned by engaging with the arts. These questions will be explored in the HAIKU (Humanities and the Arts in the Integrated Knowledge University) conference running September 12-13 at Penn.
Penn Researchers Build on Theory of How Brain Learns from Mistakes
Penn researchers in psychology and biology have made another advance in understanding how the brain learns from its mistakes, a critical element of fine motor control. The study, published in the journal eLife, was led by Assistant Professor of Psychology Javier Medina and Farzaneh Najafi, then a graduate student in the Department of Biology.
Michael Katz: An Appreciation
We regret to announce the death of Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History Michael B. Katz, a pioneering scholar in the history of American education, urban social structure and family organization, and social welfare and poverty. His many books include Reconstructing American Education, One Nation Divisible: What America Was and What It Is Becoming (with Mark J. Stern), and The Undeserving Poor: From the War on Poverty to the War on Welfare.
Penn Arts and Sciences Welcomes New Faculty for 2014-2015
Penn Arts and Sciences has appointed 22 new members to its standing faculty for the 2014-2015 academic year. The School is pleased to welcome:Jessica Anna, Assistant Professor of Chemistry: Physical chemistry and energy science, with a focus on methods to reveal time scales for dynamical motions in biological and chemical systems using multi-pulse laser and two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy; quantum coherences. Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Senior Researches Plato’s Dramatic Technique
For many undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania, summer research means conducting field work in an exotic locale or running experiments in a laboratory. However, for classics major and University Scholar Donald Antenen it means methodically seeking answers to questions outside the norm of Plato scholarship, a pursuit that requires him to go no further than his well-stocked bookshelf.
Physics Professors Win Kaufman Foundation Initiative Award for Evolution Cluster Project
A pair of Penn professors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy will receive one of the nine grants being awarded this year by the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation, part of The Pittsburgh Foundation, which supports cutting-edge scientific research in chemistry, biology, and physics at institutions across Pennsylvania.
Physics and Astronomy Professors to Use New Telescope in Hunt for Dark Energy
After more than a decade of development and planning, the National Science Foundation has approved federal construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, of which the University of Pennsylvania is a member, will manage the $473 million construction project.
Amos Smith Wins Award from American Chemical Society
Amos B. Smith III has received the 2014 Paul G. Gassman Distinguished Service Award, sponsored by the Division of Organic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The award was established in 1994 to recognize outstanding service to the organic chemistry community.