News Archives

Panoramic view of Penn captured by Google 'Street View'

Photos by Scott H. Spitzer Users of Google Maps are now able to see panoramic street views of Penn’s campus through a new feature called Google “Street View.”

Penn GSE Professor Explores Technology and Learning in "Worlds of Wonder: Can Video Games Teach Science?"

PHILADELPHIA — A professor from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and researcher in education technology, Yasmin Kafai, has organized a discussion panel, “Worlds of Wonder: Can Video Games Teach Science?” at the American Association for Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in San Diego on Feb. 21. From Whyville to Second Life, Kafai argues that the countless hours children spend playing games can also be used to teach science.

University of Pennsylvania Material Scientists Turn Light Into Electrical Current Using a Golden Nanoscale System

PHILADELPHIA –- Material scientists at the Nano/Bio Interface Center of the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated the transduction of optical radiation to electrical current in a molecular circuit. The system, an array of nano-sized molecules of gold, respond to electromagnetic waves by creating surface plasmons that induce and project electrical current across molecules, similar to that of photovoltaic solar cells.

University of Pennsylvania Sociology Professor Camille Charles to Give Talk, Sign Books at Penn Bookstore

Penn Announces Scrape Bucket Challenge to Highlight Food Waste and Composting

Witch hazel in winter

This is the time of year that seems the darkest, when it feels like the warmer days of spring will never, ever come. But some bright spots do exist amidst the bare branches of winter. On Sunday, Feb. 28, the Morris Arboretum is hosting a day of fun and exploration centered on the vibrantly colored witch hazel shrub that blooms from fall through winter.

University Club

WHAT: Some people still call it the Faculty Club, but in 2005, the name of the dining facility inside the Inn at Penn was officially changed to the University Club to encompass all eligible members—faculty, staff, graduate students and alumni, as well as emeritus and retired faculty and staff.

Pop culture meets ancient history

Pop culture today is filled with tales of older women seducing younger men, men who seemingly hop from woman to woman and unwed parents quarreling over their children (and everything else under the sun). In 2005, former “Brat Packer” Demi Moore was labeled a “cougar” for marrying actor Ashton Kutcher, who is 16 years her junior. In his book, journalist Peter Biskind alleges that Warren Beatty, an actor and one-time notorious “playa,” slept with nearly 13,000 women before settling down in the early 1990s.

The Monuments Men

Not only was Adolph Hitler a diabolical, genocidal despot, he was also a thief. As he and the Nazis made their way across Europe, they stole tens of thousands of pieces of priceless artwork from their European conquests and Jewish prisoners, including renowned works by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Jan van Eyck.

How the Earth works

Photo credit: Candace diCarlo Geology to most Philadelphians probably amounts to the study of the depths of a SEPTA tunnel, digging into the earth to reach busted water pipes or scaling mountain-like steps to the summit of the Comcast Center.