After conducting a national search, the University named one of its own, Samuel H. Preston, Ph.D., as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dec. 18. Preston, the Frederick J. Warren Professor of Demography, known internationally for his population studies, has been on the faculty of the Department of Sociology since 1979, and is long-time director of the Population Studies Center here.
Preston, who began his new appointment two days ago, has chaired the Department of Sociology and the graduate group in demography at Penn, and was the acting chief of the population trends and structure section of the United Nations from 1977-79.
"An exhaustive search has led us to a distinguished scholar in our own midst, and we are absolutely delighted at the result," said President Judith Rodin, adding that the combination of his extraordinary scholarship and demonstrated leadership ability "make Sam Preston the ideal candidate to lead the School of Arts and Sciences into the 21st century." Preston succeeds interim Dean Walter Wales.
Penn engineers and collaborators have developed a transparent, micro-engineered device that houses a living, vascularized model of human lung cancer—a “tumor on a chip”—and show that the diabetes drug vildagliptin helps more CAR T cells break through the tumor’s defenses and attack it effectively.
Tumor-on-a-chip offers insight into cancer-fighting cells in immunotherapy
Penn engineers and collaborators have built a living tumor on a chip to expose how cancers block immune attacks, and how one existing drug could make immunotherapy like CAR T more effective against solid tumors.
Xin Sun prepares samples collected from the Eastern Tropical North Pacific aboard a research vessel. By adding stable isotope tracers to these vials, Sun and her team can track how different microbial groups convert nitrogen compounds into nitrous oxide, revealing how subtle shifts in oxygen and organic matter change the ocean’s chemistry.
Can tiny ocean organisms offer the key to better climate modeling?
In the shadowy layers of the Pacific, microbes decide how much nitrous oxide—a potent greenhouse gas—rises skyward. New research from Penn’s Xin Sun offers an improved understanding of microbial ecology and geochemistry—key to forecasting global emissions in response to natural and man-made climate change.
Two X-ray plates from Arthur Goodspeed, believed to have created the world’s first X-ray image, were donated by his family to Penn’s University Archives.
Over 20,000 educators share insights on school cell phone policies
Preliminary findings in the landmark research initiative “Phones in Focus” suggest stricter cell phone policies are linked to less disruption and greater teacher satisfaction.
After conducting a national search, the University named one of its own, Samuel H. Preston, Ph.D., as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dec. 18. Preston, the Frederick J. Warren Professor of Demography, known internationally for his population studies, has been on the faculty of the Department of Sociology since 1979, and is long-time director of the Population Studies Center here. 
