News Archives

Where it all began

Q&A/The mysteries of the universe—where it came from, what it’s made of—have intrigued Licia Verde since she was a young girl. Fortunately for her, she’s part of a research project that aims to answer just those kind of fundamental questions, and offer humankind a greater understanding of our vast, confounding universe. “The amazing thing is that we can use scientific method, mathematics and physics to describe the whole universe.”

STAFF Q&A:Anne Stamer

STAFF Q&A/Anne Stamer has helped turn Weiss Tech House into Penn’s ‘hub’ for technology. “Our mission is to help excite and invigorate students around technology.” During the early days of the Weiss Tech House, Director Anne Stamer, Faculty Director Karl Ulrich and about 20 students operated out of a cubicle in Huntsman Hall. But these days, things have certainly changed for the campus technology and innovation hub.

Staff Q&A: Andrew Zitcer

Andrew Zitcer’s charge as Penn’s Cultural Asset Manager is to look after the real estate in Penn’s portfolio that don’t fall under the traditional headings of commercial, residential or retail spaces.These include The Rotunda, a community performing arts venue that Zitcer, a Penn alum, wrote undergraduate and graduate theses about; the Slought Foundation art gallery; internationally renowned artist Osvaldo Romberg’s studio; the newly relocated Scribe Video Center; the 40th Street artist-in-residency program and The Cinema, programmed with community events and film screenings.

Cover story: Designing for the Delta

The debate over the future of New Orleans can’t begin and end with the levees. If Hurricane Katrina taught us anything, says Anuradha Mathur, it’s that we need to change the way we look at our landscapes—especially those prone to flooding. “What if you started to rethink the rebuilding of New Orleans as if there were no levees?” For about six months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, Anuradha Mathur avoided the debates about the future of New Orleans. Instead, she listened.

Staff Q&A: Bob Gutowski

STAFF Q&A/Bob Gutowski shares his love of nature as head of Morris Arboretum’s public programs. “You’ve never seen an evening gown that’s as beautiful as a cedar waxwing.” Bob Gutowski paid his first visit to Penn’s Morris Arboretum in the 1960s when he was making ends meet with landscaping jobs. “My employer came out here to ask some questions of the rose gardener,” he recalls. “It was like going into a Dickens novel. I have a dim memory of huge overgrown honeysuckles.”

Q&A/Sarah Barringer Gordon: An 'amazing tapestry'

Americans aren’t getting any less religious, says Sarah Barringer Gordon. And so, just as it has for all of U.S. history, religion will continue to shape American politics, law and culture. “An open skeptic like Thomas Jefferson ... might have had a hard time in 2000.” Sarah Barringer Gordon remembers watching in disbelief as Jerry Falwell led the Republican National Convention in a group prayer back in 1980.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. at Penn

The Oscar goes to ...

Q&A/This film scholar and author of a book about Hollywood culture talks about the past and present of the Oscars—and what the future holds for the movie industry. “I think people still like the experience of going to movies. It’s ... a communal experience.” Making movies is hardly an exact science, says Peter Decherney, so it’s a bit of a guessing game to know what’s going to spark an audience’s interest and what’s going to flop.

Staff Q&A: Michael Ketner

STAFF Q&A/Trombonist Michael Ketner is the man behind the curtain at Penn’s Music Department. “These are student groups, but they’re good, and they play at a high level.”

Cover story: An experimental era

Q&A/This spring the 6th floor of Van Pelt is celebrating Ben Franklin with an exhibit on Colonial education in the Delaware Valley. We talk to the library staff who brought “Educating the Youth of Pennsylvania” from a rough idea to a fully realized exhibit. “Charter schools today remind me a lot of what was going on during the Colonial period.”