Penn’s ENIAC, the world’s first electronic computer, turns 80
Housed in the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School Building, ENIAC—the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose computer—launched in 1946. ENIAC’s ability to be reprogrammed to solve a wide range of complex numerical problems was revolutionary and laid the foundation for modern digital systems.
How children consider objects provides a peek into their behavior
Young children gravitate toward objects with anthropomorphic features, an inclination that is not as strong in children with early signs of antisocial behavior, according to research from the lab of associate professor of psychology Rebecca Waller.
1 in 4 young people using psychotropic drugs are taking dangerous combinations
A Penn Medicine study shows that the use of medicines to address mental health or behavioral conditions climbed from 2001 until 2020, but the increase has led to safety concerns.
Framework for assessing trustworthiness of scientific research
The systems-level framework for evaluating the trustworthiness of research findings is published by a group of researchers, including Annenberg Public Policy Center director Kathleen Hall Jamieson.
A typesetting workshop at Penn’s Common Press invited participants to reinterpret lines from the Declaration of Independence as part of the Typography of Independence project and Penn’s America 250 programming.
A seminar from Middle Eastern medievalist Paul Cobb gets students talking and thinking about the ‘disorienting’ storytelling in ‘One Thousand and One Nights.’
Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold
Penn geophysicists and colleagues have uncovered Earth-sculpting processes that result from the formation of snowball-like aggregates they call ‘sandballs.‘ Their findings provide fundamental insights into erosion and will broaden scientific understandings of landscape change, soil loss, and agriculture.
Douglass Day is an annual program marking the birth of Frederick Douglass. Each year, the Price Lab for Digital Humanities gathers thousands of participants for a transcribe-a-thon—an event in which people work side-by-side on a crowdsourcing transcription project—to help create new and freely available resources for learning about Black history. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
Recent data offer encouraging signs that opioid overdoses may be declining, with overdose deaths falling nearly 27% in 2024 compared to 2023. As policymakers work to sustain this progress, efforts to expand access to medications for opioid use disorder and to leverage telemedicine remain critical. This virtual seminar will explore the current trajectory of the opioid epidemic and examine policy opportunities and challenges at both the federal and state levels. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
Penn’s guiding principles are the University’s enduring values and distinctive strengths: anchored, inventive, interwoven, and engaged. The practices support and strengthen Penn’s core educational mission.
At Penn Today, we focus on some of the ways the University is putting this framework into action. From student, faculty, and staff profiles to research updates and event coverage, Penn Today highlights the latest examples of the University’s principled approach to excellence.
Penn Forward’s Access, Affordability, and Value co-chairs on creating opportunity
As co-chairs of Penn Forward’s Access, Affordability, and Value working group, Sara Bachman, dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice, and Patrick Harker, a professor and dean emeritus of the Wharton School, discuss breaking down barriers and opening pathways.
A conversation with Penn Forward’s Global Opportunity and New Markets co-chairs
In a Q&A with Ezekiel Emanuel and Megan Ryerson, co-chairs of the Global Opportunity and New Markets working group for Penn Forward, the duo discuss the charge of their group, where they are in the process, and leaning into global engagement.
Through Penn First Plus, students unlock potential and purpose
Providing first-generation and limited-income students with a comprehensive array of support, Penn First Plus equips undergraduates for success during and after their time at Penn.
The eighth annual Penn Local Business Exchange brought together entrepreneurs, city officials, and University buyers to swap insights and build relationships.
