School of Arts & Sciences

blue and yellow swirls of light around a large dark spiral

Unique electrical properties in quantum materials can be controlled using light

New research on Weyl semimetals, a class of quantum materials, unlocks unique quantum properties that can be used to create light-controlled electronic devices in the future.

Three students engaged in conversation sitting at a desk covered with papers, notebooks, and a computer.

Q&A

Advice-giving benefits the person sharing guidance

In a Q&A, Wharton postdoc Lauren Eskreis-Winkler discusses new findings that signal it may be time to shift how we think about motivation and achievement.

A conversation with Michael Horowitz

In the latest episode of Penn Today’s ‘Office Hours’ podcast series, a chat with Michael Horowitz, professor of political science and associate director of Perry World House.

vachellia collinsii tree with swollen thorns growing in a pot

Timing is everything for the mutualistic relationship between ants and acacias

With a new insight into a long-described mutualistic relationship, plant biologists from the School of Arts and Sciences reveal the genetic factors and evolutionary forces that govern the development of the acacia’s ant-sustaining traits.

adult dinosaur with frill on skull characterized by penn paleontologists is standing on two legs and flanked by two smaller dinosaurs on the water's edge

Small horned dinosaur from China, a Triceratops relative, walked on two feet

Auroraceratops, a bipedal dinosaur that lived roughly 115 million years ago, has been newly described by an international team of researchers led by Peter Dodson of the School of Arts and Sciences and School of Veterinary Medicine.

Gladys Tantaquidgeon seated on a beach with four other people and a black umbrella on the ground.

Indigenous ethnologist

Gladys Tantaquidgeon, the first Native American student in Penn’s anthropology department, published a series of academic articles, authored a book on ethnobotany and accompanied the department chair as his assistant, interviewing tribes and collecting folklore.

Black and white image of a person on a fence in front of a field.

For non-Hispanic whites in the U.S., life expectancy outlook worsens

Research from Penn demographers shows that, though trends vary regionally, mortality is increasing, particularly for women, 25- to 44-year-olds, and those in rural areas.

The beauty and nuances of Iceland, through a multidisciplinary lens

Tracing a circular path around Iceland, the students in Alain Plante’s Penn Global Seminar saw firsthand the nation’s unique geology, culture, politics, energy, people, and wildlife.

Student standing in lobby of marble building wearing an Identification badge.

Immersed in poetry at the Library of Congress

Rising junior Joyce Hida is making the most of her RealArts summer internship, working at the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Four smiling students posing by a blue container with a level on top of it

Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time

Due to a rapidly depleting underground aquifer, many residents of Mexico City are left with little-to-no easily accessible clean water for hours or days at a time. This summer, members of the Penn chapter of Isla Urbana helped install rainwater harvesting and filtration systems to provide residents of the Mexican capital with clean water year-round.

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