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Q&A

Michael Weisberg on building community at Penn
Michael Weisberg.

Michael Weisberg has been chosen lead the continued implementation of recommendations from the 2024 University Task Force on Antisemitism and the Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community.

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Michael Weisberg on building community at Penn

Michael Weisberg, a distinguished professor of philosophy, has been appointed to lead the continued implementation of recommendations from the Task Force on Antisemitism and the Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community.

7 min. read

Q&A on the College House system and advice for first-years
A smiling woman stands in front of her living room with arms folded.

Carol Muller is faculty director of Riepe College House, which houses first-year students. 

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Q&A on the College House system and advice for first-years

Carol Muller, faculty director of Riepe College House, discusses what makes a first-year house special and how to create community.

3 min. read

Staff Q&A with Peter Fixler
Peter Fixler stands among the trees and greens at the Morris Arboretu.

Image: Eric Sucar

Staff Q&A with Peter Fixler

The lead arborist at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens discusses his interest in tree work, how trees benefit the planet, the tallest tree he has climbed, current research at the Morris, and its impact in America and beyond.

6 min. read

Japan’s election outcomes
A man is seen on a television screen, framed by the heads of people watching.

A TV screen shows Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaking a day after Japan's parliamentary elections, in which his party lost its majority. Ishiba said he will remain in his role.

The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images
 

Japan’s election outcomes

Political scientist Daniel Smith discusses the results of the Japanese parliamentary elections and the effects on the country’s future.

2 minutes

Impact of research
Idea illustration showing hands reaching towards a lightbulb of ideas overlayed on a cityscape.

Illustration: Lauren Thomas

Impact of research

Senior Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell discusses with Inspiring Impact Magazine why a robust research enterprise is at the core of Penn’s educational mission.

From Penn Inspiring Impact

5 min. read

‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That’
Cover of Elusive Cures book next to headshot of Nicole Rust.

Tackling brain conditions, says psychology professor Nicole Rust, requires thinking about the brain not as a domino chain but as a complex dynamical system with feedback loops.

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‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That’

The first book from psychology professor Nicole Rust of the School of Arts & Sciences dives into why research on conditions like Alzheimer’s and depression hasn’t translated more effectively into better treatments.

5 min. read

What is an NPU? A Penn expert explains
A computer chip being placed by a rubber-gloved hand.

Image: Narumon Bowonkitwanchai via Getty Images

What is an NPU? A Penn expert explains

Benjamin C. Lee, a professor of electrical and systems engineering, explains what a neural processing unit (NPU) is and why it matters in the age of artificial intelligence.

5 min. read

Q&A: The first American pope
The new pope, Pope Leo, waves from St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter’s Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8.

(Image: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Q&A: The first American pope

Melissa Wilde of the Department of Sociology, whose research has led her to the Vatican Secret Archive, among other places, discusses the new Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, and the implications for the Roman Catholic Church.

3 min. read

Q&A on the German election results
The dome of a building is visible on the left. To the right, a striped black, red and yellow flag is flying on a pole. An inscription on the building reads: “Dem Deutschen Volke,” or “To the German People.”

The German flag flies in front of the Reichstag building the day after the German Bundestag elections were held.

(Image: Christophe Gateau/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Q&A on the German election results

Kristen Ghodsee of the Department of Russian and East European Studies discusses the outcome of the German parliamentary elections and the implications for Europe’s future.