2013
Jane Willenbring Discovers Earlier Peak for Spain's Glaciers
It has been thought that the last ice age peaked about 20,000 years ago, but geologist Jane Willenbring and her team have discovered that glaciers actually reached their maximum extension around 6,000 years earlier, at least in southern Europe.
Penn Researchers ID Grid Cells that Help Guide Us
If you don’t know how you got anywhere before GPS, the problem might be your grid cells. In an article in Nature Neuroscience, Penn Psychology Professor Michael Kahana and his team have identified a new type of cell in the brain that helps people to keep track of their relative location while navigating an unfamiliar environment.
SAS Team Discovers Protein Needed for Cell Movement
A new multi-disciplinary study at Penn illuminates a crucial step in the process of cell movement. The protein they examined, Exo70, induces a reshaping of the cell’s plasma membrane, a necessary step in how a cell migrates from one location to another. The findings deepen the understanding of how cells initiate movement, and have implications for conditions dependent on cell migration, including cancer.
Gene That Resists Sleeping Sickness Might Have a Dark Side
Could the high incidence of kidney disease among African-Americans be the flip side of a gene that resists sleeping sickness?
Physicist Randall Kamien Awarded Five-Year Simons Foundation Grant
Randall Kamien, Vicki and William Abrams Professor in the Natural Sciences in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Penn Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a five-year, $500,000 grant from the Simons Foundation, as part of its 2013 class of Simons Investigators.
Psychology Professors Show That When it Comes to Learning Words, Quality is More Important Than Quantity
A study coauthored by Psychology's Professor Emerita Lila Gleitman Professor John Trueswell shows that early vocabulary improvement is likely to have more to do with the “quality” of the interactions in which the words are used rather than the sheer quantity of speech directed at young children.
Penn Gazette: Dean Fluharty Q&A
“As a country, we are incredibly focused on short-term returns,” says Steven Fluharty C’79 G’79 Gr’81, Penn’s senior vice provost for research, who in January was selected to become the next dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “What did that investment create in the following year? In the following two years?” he adds, by way of example. “That’s just not the right timeline for academic pursuits.
Penn Biologists Simulate Protein Translation in a Cell
Associate Professor of Biology Joshua B. Plotkin and Postdoctoral Fellow Premal Shah have used a computational model to shed new light on what sets the pace of protein translation in cells. Their discoveries were released in a recent paper in Cell.
Coming Back to Where You Started: Incoming Arts and Sciences Dean Steven Fluharty Reflects on His Path at Penn
SAS’s next dean has a long history with Penn and a unique perspective on the School: as an undergraduate, a graduate student, a dedicated teacher, and the parent of an undergraduate. Currently the University’s Senior Vice Provost for Research, Fluharty is also a professor of pharmacology, psychology, and neuroscience, and for 10 years he served as director of the School’s highly popular undergraduate Biological Basis of Behavior program.
Penn Selected for Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative
The University of Pennsylvania has been named a project site for the Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative. Penn Arts and Sciences will play a major role in the multiyear, multimillion dollar project, which aims to improve the quality of education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Vanessa Ogle Awarded Kluge Fellowship
Assistant Professor of History Vanessa Ogle has been awarded a Kluge Fellowship for 2013-2014. Funded by the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, up to ten fellowships are awarded yearly to scholars conducting research in the humanities and social sciences, especially those whose studies are interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, or multilingual.
SAS Students Awarded State Department Critical Language Scholarships
Nine students affiliated with the School of Arts and Sciences have won U.S. State Department 2013 Critical Language Scholarships to study languages during the summer:
Mark Allen Named Scientific Director of Penn’s Singh Center for Nanotechnology
Mark G. Allen has been named the inaugural scientific director of the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology. The Singh Center, located on Walnut Street on the eastern edge of Penn's campus, will house state-of-the-art nanotechnology facilities that will enable researchers in the Penn community and the surrounding area to make critical advances in this growing field.
Daniel J. Mindiola Appointed Presidential Term Professor of Chemistry
Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price announced today that Daniel J. Mindiola will be the fourth Presidential Term Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, effective August 1. Mindiola will be Presidential Term Professor of Chemistry in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Biology’s Dustin Brisson Receives Award for Investigators in Infectious Disease
Assistant Professor of Biology Dustin Brisson has been named a recipient of the 2013 Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease award. These five-year awards provide $500,000 to support accomplished investigators at the assistant professor level in their studies of pathogenesis (the development of disease).
New Gift from Alumni Robert A. and Penny Grossman Fox Expands Fox Leadership Program at Penn
Thanks to a generous boost from its founders, the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania will be able to prepare even more students for lives of leadership and service.
Team Led by Randall Kamien Integrates Origami and Engineering
The quintessential piece of origami might be a decorative paper crane, but in the hands of an interdisciplinary University of Pennsylvania research team, it could lead to a drug-delivery device, an emergency shelter, or even a space station.
Giving Across Generations
From a member of the Class of ‘49 to students right here on campus, a proud Penn family shows that when it comes to scholarships, generosity spans generations.
Dean Bushnell Honored With Professorship
Though her literary specialty is tragedy, Rebecca Bushnell’s tenure as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences has been anything but, as she oversaw a transformative time for the School and the most successful campaign in its history. In recognition of her success, the SAS Overseers have created an academic chair in her honor, which she will hold after she steps down as Dean.
Marks Chair Will Cover Economic History
Edmund Burke’s axiom “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it” is as true for economists as anyone else—something Howard S. Marks, W’67, knows well. To assure that Penn undergraduates do not fall victim to this phenomenon, Marks, a University trustee, and his wife Nancy have established the Howard Marks Professorship in Economic History with a $3 million gift to the School of Arts and Sciences.
Expanding Energy Exploration
A $2 million gift from David Elliman, C’73, WG’77, and Dr. Andrea Branch through the BAWD Foundation will enable SAS to jumpstart its effort to attract three new faculty members to Penn. The funds will provide startup support for faculty specializing in ways to bring renewable energy sources to market.
Levin College Deanship Honors Family's History
A family’s history with Penn—and of support for the liberal arts—will be honored with the naming of the Stephen A. Levin Dean of the College. Three generations of the Levin family have attended Penn: Stephen Levin, C’67; his father Leonard C. Levin, W’41; and his sons Eric, C’92, and Andrew, C’14.
Dinner and a Mission
“I wanted to reconnect,” says Gillian Meltzer Miniter, C’90, about how she first turned back to her alma mater. She had taught English and traveled in Europe for two years after graduation, then returned to the U.S. and was working as an analyst on Wall Street.
Perelman Gift Creates Center for Political Science and Economics
A gift of $25 million from Ronald O. Perelman, W’64, WG’66, will create the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, providing a new home for the Departments of Political Science and Economics in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Rakesh Vohra, Latest Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, Will Hold Dual Appointments in Economics and Engineering
Rakesh Vohra has been named the University of Pennsylvania’s 15th Penn Integrates Knowledge professor, effective August 1.
Two from SAS Win Pulitzer Center International Student Reporting Fellowships
In a pilot partnership with Penn's African Studies Center, two students have been named 2013 Pulitzer Center International Student Reporting Fellows.
Stephanie McCurry Elected to Society of American Historians
Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of History Stephanie McCurry has been elected to the Society of American Historians, one of the highest honors in the field. The Society is open to both academic historians and professional writers of American history. Membership, by invitation only, is limited to 250 authors and 14 publishers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.