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High-tech wall that’s a wrap
James Timberlake GAr’77 calls building materials with only one function “dumb.” Materials that contain embedded technology and have multiple functions are therefore “smart.” A “smart” wall, for example, can contain electronic data while screening the light, or it can block wind and simultaneously give an accurate temperature reading.
Innovators welcome at Weiss Tech House
A student with a novel idea walks into a state-of-the-art facility to use the computer between classes. While there, the student bumps into a classmate with a knack for marketing. They start talking about ideas, and decide to partner on a project.
Scholar peers into the feminist generation gap
Generation gaps are often cited as the reason for different tastes in cars, clothing and music. Now, Jason Schnittker, the Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor of Sociology, has asserted that a slight generation gap explains the decrease among younger women who identify themselves as feminists.
UPM gets Civic Center treasures
When Ginny Greene and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology opened boxes from the Civic Center Museum, they found items as wildly diverse as coconuts, fibers and textiles nestled side by side. The variety was staggering.
The stories behind the stories: Penn’s urban legends
Don’t walk over the compass at Locust Walk and 37th Street or you’ll flunk midterms. The high-rises that make up Hamilton Village were actually constructed as temporary structures. The design for Irvine Auditorium was a losing entry in an architectural competition.
The Jane Austen world of baboon society
Humans are hardly the only animals who can discern the nuances of rank and familial status. According to findings from Robert Seyfarth, chairman of the Department of Psychology, and Dorothy Cheney, professor of biology, baboons recognize each other through an intricate system of relationships that reflect rank and hierarchy between and within families. These findings were reported in the Nov.
We prefer to just kind of keep it unexpected
When he’s faced with the question, “What does your band sound like?,” Richard Flom usually says “eclectic” or “weird.” But he’ll be the first to tell you that’s not the whole story.
Homeless advocate does the right thing
When representatives from federal agencies within President Bush’s administration gathered to discuss how to end chronic homelessness, they tapped a social activist and Penn professor for advice.
ICA’s early years still Green in his mind
Sam Green claims he didn’t know what he was doing when he arrived in 1965 as the first full-time director of the Institute of Contemporary Art. Despite experience working at New York’s conveniently named Green Gallery and mounting one “pre-pop art” show at Wesleyan University, Green dryly remarked that he landed the job this way: “Well, I don’t think there were any other candidates.”
Economist looks at fast-track parents
In the last 100 years, most women chose between raising a family and pursuing a career. These days, a greater percentage of women want both.