News Archives

Penn Alexander School Wins National Design Award

PHILADELPHIA -- The Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School has been recognized by KnowledgeWorks Foundation as one of just 14 schools in the nation that best exemplifies a growing national trend to build schools as centers of community.

Former Merck CEO to Speak at Penn's Kelly Writers House About New Book "Medicine, Science, and Merck"

WHO:Roy Vagelos, retired CEO of Merck and former chairman of Penn Board of Trustees.WHAT:Vagelos will be talking about his new book "Medicine, Science, and Merck."WHEN:6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 7WHERE:Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust WalkIn his memoir, Vagelos has two stories to tell: one about the growth and development of medical science in business and the other about the dream of the ethnic American realized, and these stories are social, national and intellectual rather than merely personal in nature.

Penn Chemist Alan G. MacDiarmid Honored with China's Friendship Award

PHILADELPHIA -- University of Pennsylvania Professor and Nobel Laureate Alan G. MacDiarmid received the Friendship Award today from Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu at a ceremony in Beijing.  This year, the annual Friendship Award was conferred on 84 foreign experts for their outstanding contributions to China's economic and social development.   MacDiarmid was honored for his work as chairman of the Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute at Jilin University in ChangChun, China, and professor in Jilin University Chemistry Department.

University of Pennsylvania and Sayre High School Hold Community Celebration Day and Health Fair

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania and Sayre High School are holding the "Penn-West Philadelphia Community Celebration Day and Health Fair" at the Sayre campus, 58th and Walnut streets, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 9.The event will feature free medical and dental screenings by Penn medical and dental school students and faculty, a clean-up of the school and surrounding area, food and drinks and comments by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell.

Hidden Diversity: DNA "Barcoding" Reveals a Common Butterfly Is Actually 10 Different Species

 PHILADELPHIA -- A common butterfly, found in a variety of habitats from the southern United States to northern Argentina, is actually comprised of at least 10 separate species, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania.     

New site shines light on Penn arts

In the last few years Penn’s web presence has changed dramatically. First there was the complete overhaul of the University’s main web site, designed to make virtual visits to the campus more user friendly. On the heels of that initiative came a new site called Research at Penn, which drew attention to the University’s leadership role in research. Now comes a site that shines a spotlight on Penn’s rich and varied arts and culture offerings.

Return of the minute-long treatise

Daniel Janzen says most of the world is plant illiterate. That is, people can’t read nature. And, as a result, most of us don’t know enough about the natural world to make any sense of it. “ If you couldn’t read, that library over there would just be a stone cave full of firewood,” Janzen, a biology professor and biodiversity expert in the Department of Biology, told his audience at the first of this fall’s 60-Second Lectures. “Well, 5.5 billion people in the world can’t read this,” Janzen added, picking up a plant. In the not-so-distant future, he said, that will change.

Out & About: Trees made simple

It wasn’t long after Timothy Block and Ann Fowler Rhoads had published a comprehensive guide to Pennsylvania’s plants—“The Plants of Pennsylvania” (Penn Press, 2000)—that the duo realized their work was only half done. Four years and more than a few long nights later, the pair has finally finished work on the follow-up book they knew they had to write—“Trees of Pennsylvania” (Penn Press, 2004), a comprehensive guide to Pennsylvania’s more than 200 known tree species. It sounds like too many trees to take in in just one day.

E-learning hasn’t lived up to the hype

Interest in e-learning soared in the 1990s, when it was praised as a revolutionary way for students to participate in global communities from kindergarten to higher education. E-learning—educational content provided through emerging technology—promised students quick feedback on papers and course work for substantially lower costs than using books. Companies planned to use it to teach new skills to employees, and adults who wanted to finish their baccalaureate and graduate education could now do so online.

At Work With...Shavonne Gadson