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Lynn Meskell elected Fellow to the British Academy
Lynn Meskell

Meskell is the Richard D. Green Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor with joint appointments in the School of Arts & Sciences, the Weitzman School of Design, and the Penn Museum.

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Lynn Meskell elected Fellow to the British Academy

The honor recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences.

3 min. read

Penn students and alumni awarded Fulbright 2025-26 U.S. Student Program grants
headshots of 17 people

The 17 Penn students and alumni who have been offered 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants are (from left) (top row) Emily R. Antrilli, Leo Biehl, Emmie Chacker, Claire Elliot, Zane Grenoble, and Arielle Hardy; (center row) Theresa Haupt, Timothy Lie, Paul Lin, Henry McDaniel, and Nova Meng; (bottom row) Aleena Parenti, Rajat Ramesh, Elan Roth, Emma Steinheimer, Rachel Swym, and Teresa Xie. Not pictured: Anjalee Bhuyan and Margaret Gerhart.

(Images: Courtesy of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships)

Penn students and alumni awarded Fulbright 2025-26 U.S. Student Program grants

As of early July, 19 Penn students and alumni have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants for the 2025-26 academic year. They will conduct research, pursue graduate degrees, or teach English in more than a dozen countries.

5 min. read

Weitzman faculty earn ASLA Honors

Weitzman faculty earn ASLA Honors

Weitzman School of Design dean and Paley Professor Fritz Steiner, and associate professor of landscape architecture Christopher Marcinkoski are among the individuals and firms selected by the board of trustees of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for its 2025 Honors, the highest recognition ASLA bestows each year.

Designing cleaner, greener concrete that absorbs carbon dioxide
Masoud Akbarzadeh holding up one of the fabricated materials.

The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory is housed at the Pennovation Center and brings together designers, engineers, and computer scientists to reimagine the built world. Using graphic statics, a method where forces are mapped as lines, they design forms that balance compression and tension. These result in structures that use far fewer materials while remaining strong and efficient.

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Designing cleaner, greener concrete that absorbs carbon dioxide

Penn engineers, materials scientists, and designers have developed a 3D-printed concrete solution based on diatomaceous earth that has enhanced carbon capture, is stronger, and uses fewer materials like cement.

6 min. read

Exhibition as conversation
Exterior view of “(Ex)Urban Futures of the Recent Past” artwork.

Exterior view of “(Ex)Urban Futures of the Recent Past” at Galleria Thomas Schultz in Berlin.

(Image: Courtesy of Weitzman News)

Exhibition as conversation

For three faculty members in the Department of Fine Arts, curating exhibitions offers the opportunity to explore relationships between works of art, art and politics, history, and the environment.

From the Weitzman School of Design

2 min. read

Weitzman team selected for Special Recognition in the Los Angeles Small Lots, Big Impacts Design Competition

Weitzman team selected for Special Recognition in the Los Angeles Small Lots, Big Impacts Design Competition

FORMA (led by associate professor of practice Daniel Markiewicz and Miroslava Brooks) and Studio Zimm (led by Weitzman alum Michael Zimmerman) teamed up to design a project for the Los Angeles Small Lots, Big Impacts design competition, and received Special Recognition for their work on both sites within the Gentle Density category.

Native plants from afar
A diagram of areas where marigolds are native plants.

Image: Courtesy of Weitzman News

Native plants from afar

In a course led by 2024-25 McHarg Fellow Leah Kahler, students explored the movement of plants across cultures and climates, as well as the relationships between recreational and productive landscapes.

From the Weitzman School of Design

2 min. read

Professor of practice Leslie Richards on innovative transit and city planning
Leslie Richards.

Leslie Richards, professor of practice in the Weitzman School.

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Professor of practice Leslie Richards on innovative transit and city planning

Once described as a “battleship turner” by Philadelphia Magazine, Weitzman professor of practice Leslie Richards served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and subsequently led the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), where she oversaw a $2 billion budget and a network that connects over five million residents in Greater Philadelphia. Having earned a master of regional planning degree from Penn in 1993, she was the first planner and

From the Weitzman School of Design

2 min. read

Penn students innovate in the time of AI
Helen Jin, Davis Brown

Helen Jin and Davis Brown.

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Penn students innovate in the time of AI

Students from schools across the University are putting knowledge into practice, asking deep questions and finding innovative uses for AI tools.

5 min. read

At the Venice Biennale, a convergence of innovations in materials, structures, and landscapes
Robert Gerard Pietrusko’a installation ”A Satellite Symphony.”

Robert Gerard Pietrusko collaborated on the installation ”A Satellite Symphony,” which explores how satellites frame how we understand the Earth itself; the viewing structure is constructed from trees from the Veneto region downed by storms.

(Image: Gaia Cambiaggi / Studio Campo)

At the Venice Biennale, a convergence of innovations in materials, structures, and landscapes

Several Weitzman School of Design faculty and students will exhibit at the Venice Biennale’s 19th International Architecture Exhibition.

From the Weitzman School of Design

3 min. read