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School of Arts & Sciences
Rare Chinese scroll unfurled at Penn Museum
Students in a history of art course taught by Professor Nancy Steinhardt had the chance to closely examine a rare 200-year-old painted Chinese scroll at the Penn Museum.
Brain regions linked to memory and emotion help humans navigate smell
The work points to the existence of a grid-like hexagonal structure in olfactory-related brain areas, similar to mapping configurations previously found to support spatial navigation in animals.
Building literacy and leadership through basketball
Three seniors with roots in West Africa will use their President’s Engagement Prize to build a program for Liberian girls that will combine sports and reading.
A first-hand look at the complexity of technology for development
Students in Guy Grossman’s Penn Global Seminar traveled to Uganda in March, an experience one student says ‘entirely changed’ her thinking about the value of smartphones and other innovations in Africa.
Protecting the planet at Penn
Earth Day and every day, the University community is at work to make the world a little better. Here are some highlights from those efforts.
In the pursuit of happiness, a new class leads the charge
The course, taught by Positive Psychology’s James Pawelski, not only gives students an intellectual understanding of the subject but asks them to practice what they’re learning.
Strella Biotechnology’s biosensors minimize food waste, one apple at a time
With their 2019 President’s Innovation Prize, Katherine Sizov and Malika Shukurova are looking to disrupt the agricultural sector.
How superstitions spread
Superstitious beliefs may seem irrational, but they catch on in a society. Using an evolutionary approach to studying the emergence of coordinated behaviors, Erol Akçay and Bryce Morsky showed how a jumble of individual beliefs, including superstitions, coalesce into an accepted social norm.
Three from Penn elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Vice Provost for Faculty Anita Allen of the Law School and the School of Arts and Sciences, Daniel Rader of the Perelman School of Medicine, and Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of Perry World House join a group recognized for their world-class leadership and expertise.
By the numbers: First-ever image of black hole’s event horizon
An overview of how scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration were finally able to see the unseeable, and what it means for the future of astronomy.,
In the News
Smithsonian Magazine
If Thanos actually wiped out half of all life, how would Earth fare in the aftermath?
Lauren Sallan of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed the hypothetical results of a mass-extinction event, like the one depicted in “The Avengers” movie franchise. “I think humans would figure out a way to [survive], provided that not all of the ecosystems collapse,” said Sallan.
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The Wall Street Journal
How the U.S. surrendered to China on scientific research
In an op-ed, PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel and Amy Gadsden and Scott Moore, all of Penn Global, said America’s “lead in science and technology fields has been significantly eroded.” The authors say the U.S. needs to “meet [China’s] strength with strength” by investing in innovation.
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Time
Why spicy food makes your nose run—and why it’s great for you
Paul Rozin of the School of Arts and Sciences explained why we enjoy eating spicy food, a kind of “benign masochism.” “People seem to enjoy pushing the limits of what we can take,” he said.
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Vox.com
Native American activists: The fire at Notre Dame is devastating. So is the destruction of our sacred lands
Sally Gordon of the Law School and the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the history behind the lack of protections for indigenous people’s sacred lands in the U.S. “The process of eliminating native power and consigning native Americans primarily to reservations meant the appropriation, through treaty or otherwise, of so many millions of acres.”
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The Washington Post
A smarter way to think about willpower
Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts and Sciences and Katherine Milkman of the Wharton School are among co-authors of an op-ed about self-control. While many believe Americans’ willpower is on the decline, the authors write, “the scant scientific evidence on the question suggests that if anything, the capacity to delay gratification may be increasing.”
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