Douglas Jerolmack Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Professor of Earth and Environmental Science

Jerolmack

Douglas Jerolmack, Professor of Earth and Environmental Science and Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, has been named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Professor of Earth and Environmental Science. Jerolmack is pioneering the emerging field of “Soft Earth Geophysics” that centers on advancing our understanding of Earth’s dynamic surface through the physics of “squishy” materials. He also works with roboticists and cognitive scientists to improve how we explore our Earth, the moon and Mars, and with education experts to improve learning and engagement in STEM.

Jerolmack’s group, the Penn Soft Earth Dynamics Lab, uses laboratory experiments combined with field work and theory to elucidate the minimum number of ingredients required to explain physical phenomena. Particular areas of focus include natural hazards such as mudslides, earthquakes, and flooding; the formation and evolution of land forms, such as rivers, sand dunes, and crack patterns on Earth and other planets; stochastic and nonlinear transport processes; and landscape response to climate change. Applications of this research are aimed at improving sustainable geomaterials, hazard prediction, landscape management practices, and planetary exploration.

The Kahn chairs were established through a bequest by Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn. Edmund Kahn was a 1925 Wharton graduate who had a highly successful career in the oil and natural gas industry. Louise Kahn, a graduate of Smith College, worked for Newsweek and owned an interior design firm. They supported many programs and projects at Penn, including Van Pelt Library, the Modern Languages College House, and other initiatives in scholarship and the humanities.

Arts & Sciences News

Michael Jones-Correa and Sophia Rosenfeld Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

They join three others from the University of Pennsylvania, selected as part of the Academy’s mission to convene leaders from “every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together.”

View Article >
Eva Del Soldato Awarded 2025-26 Rome Prize

She joins Sean Burkholder, of the Weitzman School of Design, and just 33 others in receiving the prestigious honor from the American Academy in Rome.

View Article >
Mark Trodden named Dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences

A distinguished physicist and accomplished academic leader, Trodden will assume the role on June 1.

View Article >
Two Penn Arts & Sciences Faculty Named Guggenheim Fellows

Marcia Chatelain, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies, and Matthew Levendusky, Professor of Political Science, are among 198 in the U.S. and Canada selected for this 100th class of fellows.

View Article >
Penn ATLAS Shares 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

The team, which includes Joseph Kroll, Evelyn Thomson, Elliot Lipeles, Dylan Rankin, and Brig Williams from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is part of an expansive collaboration studying high-energy collisions from the Large Hadron Collider.

View Article >
2025 School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Awards Announced

Penn Arts & Sciences annually recognizes faculty, lecturers, and graduate students for their exemplary teaching. This year’s honorees come from 10 departments and two programs.

View Article >