2013
Penn Arts & Sciences Magazine: Eight Years in the Life of a School
Join us as we take a look back at Dean Rebecca Bushnell's many contributions to SAS.Under Bushnell's leadership, the School stabilized faculty size, built on interdisciplinary strengths, redefined the liberal arts curriculum and supported educational innovation.With Bushnell at the helm, the School weathered one of the worst financal recessions since the Great Depression, and recently announced its record-breaking $529 million Making History campaign result.
Penn Researchers Conclude Adults in Malawi are Living Longer, but with Disabilities
The number of adults living beyond age 45 in the sub-Saharan African country of Malawi is growing rapidly, but according to a study by Penn and Malawian researchers, many of these older men and women experience physical illnesses or disabilities that limit their capacity to function normally.
The Wail of the Voice!
In 1971 Penn faculty composer George Crumb wrote Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale) for three masked players: electric flute, electric cello, and amplified piano. The piece has become a classic of 20th century music. “The work was inspired by the singing of the humpback whale, a tape recording of which I had heard two or three years previously," says Crumb, a Pulitzer Prize winner and one of the most recognized composers of our time.
Video Archive of 2013 College Graduation Speakers
School of Arts and Sciences Class of 2013Sunday, May 12, 2013Student Speaker: Stephanie Lamb, C’13Guest Speaker: P. Roy Vagelos, C'50, HON'99; physician, businessman, and philanthropistRead more about the speakers here.
Marija Drndić Makes Advance in Nanotech Gene Sequencing Technique
Finding more efficient ways to accurately sequence genes is a top research priority right now. Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Marija Drndić is developing a new method that promises to be efficient in both the actual sequencing and in the manufacturing and stability of the tools to do so.
Two SAS Professors Named Simons Fellows
Fellowships from the Simons Foundation will let two Penn professors pursue their research full time in the coming year—and in a happy coincidence, part of that research will be conducted together.
Anthropology Professors Take Documentary to South Africa
Deborah Thomas, Professor of Anthropology, John L.
Tukufu Zuberi Curates Two Exhibitions in Philadelphia Museums
Tukufu Zuberi, Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations in the department of Sociology, is curating two major exhibitions in Philadelphia this year. On May 4th, “Tides of Freedom: African Presence on the Delaware River” opened at the Independence Seaport Museum in Penn’s Landing.
Michael Katz Elected to American Philosophical Society
Michael Katz, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and Research Associate in the Population Studies Center, has been elected to the American Philosophical Society (APS). The APS honors extraordinary accomplishments in the fields of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Biological Sciences; Humanities; and Professions, Arts, and Affairs.
$1.3 Million from Mellon Foundation for Humanities and Urbanism Studies
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $1.3 million grant to the University of Pennsylvania for a five-year innovative, collaborative project entitled Fulfilling and Livable Cities: Design, Urban Life and the Humanities. The Schools of Arts and Sciences, the School of Design, and the Penn Institute of Urban Research (IUR) will be the focus of program activity with participation spread throughout the University.
Warren Breckman Named a 2013 Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin
Professor of History Warren Breckman has been named a 2013 Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin. Breckman is a professor of modern European intellectual and cultural history. His books include Karl Marx, the Young Hegelians, and the Origins of Radical Social Theory: Dethroning the Self and European Romanticism: A Brief History with Documents.
Shelley L. Berger Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Shelley L. Berger, Daniel S. Och University Professor and Professor of Biology, who holds dual appointments in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine, is one of three Penn professors elected to the 2013 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
2013 Teaching Award Winners Announced
SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell and Dennis DeTurck, Dean of the College, recently announced the recipients of the 2013 awards for distinguished teaching in the School of Arts and Sciences. The winners are being honored at a reception open to the University community on Thursday, April 25 at 4 p.m. in College Hall, room 200. Click here to see the full list of awardees.
Professor Behrman Leads Grand Challenges Canada Grant Project at Penn
Jere R. Behrman, the William R. Kenan, Jr.
Philippe Bourgois Awarded 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship
Philippe Bourgois has been named a 2013 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow.Selected from a field of over 3,000 applicants, Bourgois is among a group of 175 scholars, artists and scientists noted for their “prior achievement and exceptional promise” in the 89th annual competition in the United States and Canada.
Martha Farah Will Direct New Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program
This fall, the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Neuroscience and Society will partner with the School of Arts and Sciences to offer a first-of-its-kind program that aims to educate non-scientists about the workings of the brain.
Eve Troutt Powell to Serve as SAS Associate Dean for Graduate Studies
Rebecca Bushnell, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Steven Fluharty, SAS’s dean designate, have announced that Eve M. Troutt Powell, Professor of History and Africana Studies, will take over the post of Associate Dean for Graduate Studies effective July 1, 2013. In this role she will oversee the School's doctoral programs, which take place in 33 graduate groups and enroll approximately 1,400 students.
Justin McDaniel Awarded 2013 George McT. Kahin Book Prize on Southeast Asia
Justin McDaniel, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, was awarded the 2013 George McT. Kahin Book Prize on Southeast Asia by the Association for Asian Studies for his book, The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand.
Virgil Percec Elected to Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
Virgil Percec, P. Roy Vagelos Professor of Chemistry, has been appointed a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the oldest academy of engineering sciences in the world. Foreign members are chosen based on their record of outstanding work for the benefit of society and efforts to build ties within Swedish research and business industries.
Penn Chemistry Breaks New Ground with HTE Lab Expansion
From what is affectionately referred to as “the pit”—the basement level of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories—top Penn chemistry professors and administrators, alongside their Merck and Co., Inc. collaborators, recently announced the expansion of their state of the art High Throughput Experimentation (HTE) laboratory.
College Announces 2013 Graduation Speakers
P. Roy Vagelos will speak at this year’s graduation ceremony for the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences. As a physician, businessman, and philanthropist, Vagelos has made a global impact on health and science. The event, scheduled for Sunday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Franklin Field, will also feature Stephanie Lamb, C’13, as the student speaker.
Charles Yang's New Study Reveals That Young Children Understand Grammar but Chimps Don’t
A new study conducted by Charles Yang, Associate Professor of Linguistics in the School of Arts and Sciences and of Computer and Information Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, has shown that children as young as two understand basic grammar rules when they first learn to speak and are not simply imitating adults. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell to Be President of Shakespeare Association
Rebecca Bushnell, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor, and Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, has been elected the vice-president of the Shakespeare Association of America (SAA). She will become president of the association next year.
Biology Team Discovers that Sugar Propels Plants to Adulthood
Based on experiments with the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology has provided fresh insights into the role of sugar in “vegetative phase change,” the transition from the juvenile form of a plant to the adult plant.
Petersson to Receive 2013 Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry Award for Early Excellence
Assistant Professor of Chemistry E. James Petersson has won the 2013 Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry Award for Early Excellence in the Field of Physical Organic Chemistry. The award is given to an individual working in the field of physical organic chemistry who is less than six years into his or her first appointment.
Peter Holquist Awarded Cullman Center Fellowship
Associate Professor of History Peter Holquist has been named a 2013 fellow of New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.
Philippe Bourgois Awarded Collaborative Research Fellowship from American Council of Learned Societies
Philippe Bourgois, the Richard Perry University Professor of Anthropology and Family and Community Medicine, has received a 2013 Collaborative Research Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
Penn Team Wins National Public Policy Challenge
Fels Institute of Government’s second annual National Invitational Public Policy Challenge, held at the National Constitution Center, was won by the home team. Penn’s own Challenge winner, re:Mind, took the prize for its proposal of an appointment reminder system for mental health patients, with the ultimate goal of curbing the number of costly and preventable re-hospitalizations.
Florian Pop Appointed the Samuel D. Schack Professor of Algebra
Florian Pop has been appointed the Samuel D. Schack Professor of Algebra in the Department of Mathematics in the School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Pop is the recipient of numerous academic honors including several National Science Foundation research grants and a research grant from the John Templeton Foundation. He was named the Marie Curie Scholar of the European Union in 2007. Dr.
Psychology's Joseph Kable Re-examines Longstanding Self-Control Test
For decades, a psychological experiment known as the marshmallow test has captured the public’s imagination as a marker of self-control and a predicator of future success. In the test, a researcher presents a child with a marshmallow and leaves him or her alone for a few minutes. If the child can resist eating the marshmallow until the researcher returns, he or she can have two marshmallows instead of one.
Ph.D. Candidate Jessica Ho Examines Mortality Under 50
Although it is the richest nation in the world and the sole remaining superpower, life expectancy at birth in the United States is among the lowest of all high-income countries.
Chemistry Professor Eric Schelter Receives Cottrell Scholar Award
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Eric Schelter has received a 2013 Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement (RCSA). He is one of only 13 Scholars named in the U.S. this year.
Congratulations to Our Dean’s Scholars
The School of Arts and Sciences has named 20 students from the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, and the Graduate Division as 2013 Dean’s Scholars. This honor is presented annually to SAS students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise. The 2013 Dean’s Scholars were formally recognized as part of the Levin Family Dean’s Forum.COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Robin Hochstrasser, Donner Professor of Physical Science, Passes Away
Robin M. Hochstrasser, a pioneer and one of the world’s foremost scientists in the application of lasers in chemical and biomedical research, died February 27, 2013. He had been a professor and distinguished researcher in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania for the past 50 years.
Two Assistant Professors Appointed to SAS Chairs
Projit Mukharji of the Department of History and Sociology of Science has been named the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences. Mukharji’s research focuses on postcolonial technoscience, colonial medicine, indigenous medical traditions, and subaltern science; he has a special interest in the intersection of Western medicine and indigenous healing traditions in South Asia.
Fels Report Offers Solutions for Economy
Fels Institute of Government has published a new report offering suggestions for economic growth. “Solving the Skills Crisis: Promising Practices for Talent Pipeline Development” is based on on-site visits with more than a dozen American employers and interviews with more than 60 economic, governmental and business leaders.
Penn Cosmologists Nominated by NASA for 2020 Euclid Mission
Gary Bernstein, Reese W. Flower Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Bhuvnesh Jain, Edmund J. and Louise W.
Professor Charles Bosk Wins American Sociological Association’s 2013 Reeder Award
Professor of Sociology Charles L. Bosk has won the 2013 Leo G. Reeder Award from the American Sociological Association. He will receive the award in August at the ASA annual meetings in New York.
Kevin M. F. Platt is Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor in the Humanities
Kevin M. F. Platt of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures has been appointed the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor in the Humanities in the School of Arts and Sciences. Platt’s research examines representations of Russian history and historiography, history and memory in Russia, Russian lyric poetry, and global post-Soviet Russian culture.
Rita Copeland is Appointed the Sheli Z. and Burton X. Rosenberg Professor
Rita Copeland of the Department of Classical Studies has been named the Sheli Z. and Burton X. Rosenberg Professor in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Professor Allen Wins Prize for Arabic Literary Translation
Roger M.A. Allen has been awarded the 2012 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, for his translation of A Muslim Suicide by Bensalem Himmich.
Two Browne Distinguished Professors Appointed in SAS
Stephanie McCurry and Sharon Thompson-Schill have been appointed Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professors in the School of Arts and Sciences.Stephanie McCurry has been named the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of History. She is a specialist in 19th-century American history and focuses on the American South and the Civil War era, as well as the history of women and gender.
Penn Professor's Free Online Calculus Course Will Earn Students Credits
Calculus: Single Variable, an online Coursera course taught by Andrea Mitchell University Professor Robert Ghrist, has been recognized by the American Council on Education (ACE). Similar to advanced placement credit, this potentially would allow hundreds of institutions to award credits to students completing the course.
Two SAS Scientists Appointed to Endowed Chairs
Vijay Balasubramanian and Nancy Bonini have received appointments to endowed professorships in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Prof. Tukufu Zuberi Wins Best Documentary and Best Director at the San Diego Black Film Festival
Tukufu Zuberi, Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, Professor and Chair of Sociology, and Professor of Africana Studies, has been awarded two top honors at the recent San Diego Black Film Festival, including Best Documentary and Best Director, for his feature-length film titled African Independence.