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Connecting with America’s 250th anniversary
The Declaration of Independence at the National Archives

Connecting with America’s 250th anniversary

Ahead of the main event on July 4, 2026, marking the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Penn students, faculty, and staff will have multiple early opportunities to engage with America’s 250th anniversary.

3 min. read

A massive chunk of ice, a new laser, and new information on sea-level rise

A massive chunk of ice, a new laser, and new information on sea-level rise

For nearly a decade, Leigh Stearns and collaborators aimed a laser scanner system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their long-running survey reveals that Helheim’s massive calving events don’t behave the way scientists once thought, reframing how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise.

5 min. read

Election Day on campus, in pictures

Election Day on campus, in pictures

On Election Day, volunteers with Penn Leads the Vote were on hand with voting guides and civic swag for students. Penn President J. Larry Jameson joined the PLTV volunteers and cast his ballot at his campus polling location.

1 min. read

https://in-principle-and-practice.upenn.edu/
Students walk beneath The Covenant on Locust Walk at dusk

In Principle and Practice

Penn’s strategic framework

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.

Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) doing hands-on experimental work in the Composto Lab.

Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia

Third-year students Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research endeavor to evaluate a reflective pavement coating as a tool to mitigate extreme heat. Their work may inform policy efforts to improve urban heat resilience.

4 min. read

Penn in the News

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  • Gene editing helped one baby—could it help thousands?
    Scientific American

    Gene editing helped one baby—could it help thousands?

    Kiran Musunuru and Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas of the Perelman School of Medicine are attempting to shorten the length of a cutting-edge gene-editing therapy, previously produced in a record-breaking six months.

    Category 6 is the new hurricane normal, scientists warn
    The Independent

    Category 6 is the new hurricane normal, scientists warn

    Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that it no longer makes sense to artificially cap the hurricane scale at five while wind-based metrics continue to be used.