Matthew Levendusky on civics, partisan politics, and teaching public opinion
A look inside the political economy of early America
Robots that can see around corners using radio signals and AI
Mapping the expanding cosmos: Dark Energy Survey unveils clearest picture yet
Who, What, Why: Katelyn Candido on improving surgical procedures and keeping health care human-first
David Holt is making cancer visible
David Meaney on Penn’s research enterprise
Expert viewpoints on the Iran war
Historian, scholar, and best-selling author Michael Beschloss to speak at Penn’s 270th Commencement
Featured Events
Ghosts of the Machine
During this Public Trust event, UCLA professor of cinema and media studies Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli and film scholar Nora Alter will discuss the human figure and its representation in the age of AI. They will explore how AI techniques have done more than simply recycle the dead and the living by repurposing old audiovisual materials. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
The Albert M. Greenfield Memorial Lecture
The 2026 Albert M. Greenfield Memorial Lecture will feature a conversation between Lily Brown, an assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at Penn, and Jose A. Bauermeister, Albert M. Greenfield Professor of Human Relations. They will discuss this year’s theme, “Connection as Intervention: Digital Peer Mentorship in Suicide Prevention.” Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend in-person or virtually.
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
Penn Forward’s Access, Affordability, and Value co-chairs on creating opportunity
A conversation with Penn Forward’s Global Opportunity and New Markets co-chairs
Through Penn First Plus, students unlock potential and purpose
Penn in the News
Massive scrap metal fire on barge in Delaware Bay spews smoke throughout Philadelphia region
Marilyn Howarth of the Perelman School of Medicine offers advice on avoiding smoke coming from a barge in Delaware Bay.
Beneath the Surface: Approach chronic wound sites ‘like real estate’
Joel M. Gelfand of the Perelman School of Medicine discusses chronic wounds, which impact about 6 million Americans a year.
Penn medical student with rare genetic form of ALS on mission to develop gene therapy
“A medical student at the University of Pennsylvania is on a special mission in the research lab that could save her life. Yentli Soto Albrecht’s battle is against ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease. She has a rare genetic form of the disease.”
Philly’s cherry blossoms may bloom later after a lingering winter
Vince Marrocco of the Morris Arboretum says Philadelphia cherry trees are built to withstand freezing temperatures.