News Archives

Eric Furda: Clarifying the college application process

Penn: U.S. Obesity Epidemic Contributes to Its Poor International Ranking in Life Expectancy

 PHILADELPHIA -- The United States has the highest prevalence of obesity, measured by body mass index, and one of the lowest life expectancies among high-income countries.  A new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania directly links America’s high obesity rate to the country’s lower longevity ranking compared to other high-income countries. 
           

Penn Division of Public Safety to Host Open House

PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania Division of Public Safety will hold its annual Open House on Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 3 to 6 p.m. at 4040 Chestnut St. Visitors can take a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the PennComm Communications Center, which serves as the command and control center for the Public Safety operation and take a turn on the Firearm Training Simulator.  Used for police officer training, the simulator tests a person’s instincts and response to scenarios that may require the use of deadly force.

Athletes to Talk at Penn About Bullying in Sports

  WHO:            Ben Cohen, England Rugby World Cup champion    Hudson Taylor, Columbia University wrestling coachWHAT:          “Ally Athletes in Action” WHEN:          Oct. 3, 2011

QR codes provide quick access to campus information

Soon, typing in a web address to access information is going to seem obsolete. Quick Response (QR) codes, those square barcodes readable by smartphones and webcams, are increasingly being used across campus to provide information in seconds. Scanning the QR code with a smartphone or webcam connects directly to a webpage, text, video or geographic coordinate.

Penn partners with the city to help employees buy a home

Penn employees looking to live in one of West Philadelphia’s beautiful Victorians or modern condominiums can use a city program that provides aspiring homeowners with a matching grant toward closing costs. Penn Home Ownership Services (PHOS) has partnered with Philadelphia Home-Buy-Now to sweeten the incentives for University faculty and staff to purchase a home in the PHOS-designated area.

Gift from Roy and Diana Vagelos to Create New Undergraduate Program in Energy Research

PHILADELPHIA –University of Pennsylvania trustee emeritus P. Roy Vagelos, C’50, Hon’99 and his wife, Diana, parents ’90, have made a gift of $13.6 million to Penn to establish the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER), an innovative, dual-degree undergraduate program to be offered by the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Penn Researcher Helps Identify 'Superfast' Muscles Responsible for Bat Echolocation

PHILADELPHIA – As nocturnal animals, bats rely echolocation to navigate and hunt prey. By bouncing sound waves off objects, including the bugs that are their main diet, bats can produce an accurate representation of their environment in total darkness. Now, researchers at the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Pennsylvania have shown that this amazing ability is enabled by a physical trait never before seen in mammals: so-called “superfast” muscles. 

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to speak at Penn

In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama promised to “return science to its rightful place” in American governance, with a specific goal of tackling the problems of climate change and fossil fuel dependence. Obama quickly acted on that pledge by becoming the first president to appoint a Nobel Prize-winning scientist to his cabinet: Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.  

SP2 screens documentary tracing slavery trade in the North

For generations, the DeWolf family of Bristol, R.I. stood for everything the town was proud of-–prosperity, American ingenuity and patriotism. Their descendants went on to become legislators, philanthropists, writers, scholars, and Episcopal bishops and priests. The family’s most prominent member, James DeWolf (1764-1837), was a U.S. senator and affluent merchant who was reportedly the second-richest person in America when he died.