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A study of the ancient built environment
An ancient excavation site.

A view of the trench with the early Hellenistic mosaic.

(Image: Courtesy Teos Archaeological Project)

A study of the ancient built environment

A book of essays co-edited by history of art professor Mantha Zarmakoupi dives into a historic movement focused on recentering how we think about ecological concerns and the built environment.

How interdisciplinary teaching becomes climate action

How interdisciplinary teaching becomes climate action

Penn graduate students are learning that net zero is a systems challenge requiring fluency across disciplines, and why interdisciplinary teaching is climate action—including how it builds the human capital the clean energy transition demands.

From Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

Three ways to reframe boredom
A person sleeping at their desk.

Image: iStock/cyano66

Three ways to reframe boredom

In modern society, boredom is largely considered a bad thing. Stephen M. Gorn Family Assistant Professor of English Lilith Todd thinks people can reframe how to think about being idle.

2 min. read

Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior
Artist's rendering of bacteria moving through a nanofabricated tube.

(Pictured) An artist’s depiction of a single cell moving through the nanofabricated mictostrucures biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen’s team used to study E. coli.

(Image: Courtesy of Ruoshui Liu/Cylos Studio)

Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior

Bacteria can actively swim upstream, leading to severe infections in places like the urinary tract and respiratory system and contamination of medical devices like catheters. Biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues have uncovered how and why this happens, revealing that E. coli actually “thrives under pressure.” Their findings point to new strategies for designing safer, more effective biomedical tools and treatments.

3 min. read

Awards and accolades for Penn faculty
College Hall seen through the archway of Fischer Fine Arts.

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Awards and accolades for Penn faculty

A roundup of appointments and awards for various members of Penn’s faculty across several schools.

2 min. read

20 breakthroughs of 2025
Masoud Akbarzadeh holding up one of the fabricated materials.

The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory is housed at the Pennovation Center and brings together designers, engineers, and computer scientists to reimagine the built world. Using graphic statics, a method where forces are mapped as lines, they design forms that balance compression and tension. These result in structures that use far fewer materials while remaining strong and efficient.

(Image: Eric Sucar)

20 breakthroughs of 2025

From ancient tombs and tiny robots to personalized gene editing and AI weather models, Penn’s 2025 research portfolio showed how curiosity—paired with collaboration—moves knowledge into impact and stretches across disciplines and continents.

5 min. read

Addressing the psychological impacts of inflammatory bowel disease
Therapist and patient.

Image: lorenzoantonucci via Getty Images

Addressing the psychological impacts of inflammatory bowel disease

In a collaborative study, Psychologist Melissa Hunt and gastroenterologist Chung Sang Tse showed that cognitive behavioral therapy reduced disability for patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and that psychologists with no prior gastrointestinal experience could learn to deliver IBD-informed CBT effectively.

3 min. read

How one molecule keeps plants youthful
flowering acacia plant.

Image: Courtesy of Omnia.

How one molecule keeps plants youthful

In a career-defining paper, Scott Poethig, a biologist at the School of Arts & Sciences, has discovered that a single molecular switch can freeze plants in their juvenile state.

Marilyn Perkins

2 min. read

Reflecting on Jane Austen, 250 years after her birth
Jane Austen book by Robert Miles and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

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Reflecting on Jane Austen, 250 years after her birth

English professors Michael Gamer and Barri Joyce Gold have been teaching courses specifically dedicated to Jane Austen for years. They spoke with Penn Today about their approach to teaching her novels, how they challenge common readings and myths, and what makes Austen’s work so enduring—and adaptable to the screen—more than two centuries later.

3 min. read