News Archives

Penn Sociologist Receives Fulbright to Uruguay

PHILADELPHIA -- Frank Furstenberg, professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, has received a Fulbright Senior Specialists Grant in Sociology at the Instituto de Economía.The Fulbright Senior Specialists Program offers two- to six-week grants to leading U.S. academics and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at academic institutions in 140 countries around the world.

Scientists Find New Evidence of Cell 'Promiscuity': Fully Differentiated Blood Cells Remain Able to Switch Identity

PHILADELPHIA – Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have found a new wrinkle in the developmental biology dogma that cell differentiation occurs irreversibly as stem cells give rise to increasingly specialized types of offspring cells. The researchers have shown that certain mouse cells retain an ability to oscillate between very distinct blood cell types – B-cells and macrophages – long after what has been commonly regarded as the point of no return.

Suburban Sprawl, Non-Traditional Cities

Susan Nigra Snyder is a lecturer in architecture and fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania, a partner at Company for the Civic Arts in Philadelphia and a member of the public art committee for the Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia. Her research focuses on the effect commercial property in urban developments. Snyder says that sprawl development is not the city spreading out too far or the suburbs endlessly expanding -- people live in one area, work in another and shop in others. She sees the suburban development as a new type of city.

Tribute to Du Bois Being Held at Arthur Ross Gallery

PHILADELPHIA  The Arthur Ross Gallery, in cooperation with the Center for Africana Studies, is presenting Darkwater: Recital in Four Dominions, Terry Adkins after W.E.B. Du Bois, an exhibition celebrating 30 years of African American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, from Dec. 14-March 2, 2003.

Fisher-Hassenfeld Joint Gift Helps Transform Residential Life at Penn

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania's historic Quadrangle has received a joint $11.5 million commitment from Penn alumni Alan Hassenfeld and Jerome Fisher and Fisher's wife Anne. In recognition of the gifts, Woodland College House will be renamed Fisher Hassenfeld College House, and an entrance to the Quad will be named the Fisher Hassenfeld Memorial Tower Gate. The Fisher-Hassenfeld commitment is the lead gift in the transformation of the Quad into three distinct college houses.

Tiny tot robocop

Staff Q&A: Amy Zoll

Staff member. Author. Student. Amy Zoll wears many hats here at Penn. The anthropology doctoral student has found a way to combine both her expertise in ancient cultures and computers by working as an IT support specialist in the Anthropology Department.

Campus Buzz

Goodbye Penn, hello Columbus: We knew the people at Ohio State University were impressed with what Penn has done to revitalize its home neighborhood (Current, Jan. 24). Apparently, folks in Ohio State’s hometown were impressed enough to hire away one of the architects of Penn’s strategy.

More holiday shopping tips

Besides the finds described in “Out and About” on page 5, these two upcoming events offer you a chance to obtain truly unique holiday gifts and support worthy causes. The Arts ‘n’ Crafts Fair on Friday, Dec. 6, features a diverse array of local artists offering handcrafted clothing, jewelry, artwork and more. Sponsored by the Women of Color Committee. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St.

Hope for new drug

Nancy Bonini, a professor of biology, and her colleagues are using fruit flies to investigate Parkinson’s disease, the second most common human neurodegenerative disorder. They found that medication prevented the onset of a similar disorder in genetically-predisposed Drosophila melanogaster.