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How to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate
A map of precipitation anomalies in Central America.

Precipitation anomalies in the Dry Corridor in Central America. Regions in red show significant drying during El Niño summers.

(Image: Courtesy of Environmental Innovations Initiative)

How to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate

Irina Marinov, associate professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, leads a research community focused on understanding global climate impacts, risks, and vulnerabilities to enable local action.

From the Environmental Innovations Initiative

2 min. read

Heat domes and flooding have nearly tripled since the ’50s
Everett Clayton looks at a digital thermometer on a nearby building that reads 116 degrees while walking to his apartment on June 27, 2021 in Vancouver, Washington.

Record-breaking temperatures lingered over the Northwest during a historic heatwave in June, 2021 in Vancouver, Washington.

(Image: Nathan Howard via AP Images)

Heat domes and flooding have nearly tripled since the ’50s

New research led by Michael E. Mann links a surge in stalled jet stream events to human-driven climate change, with major implications for future heatwaves, wildfires, and floods.

7 min. read

Penn Glee Club performs in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Beijing
students singing together holding folders

The Glee Club and students in the Wagner Society Choirs of Japan’s Keio University sang together in a collaborative concert. 

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Penn Glee Club performs in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Beijing

The Penn Glee Club performed at the famous Suntory Hall in Tokyo, an art gallery in Hong Kong, and the U.S. embassy in Beijing during a 12-day tour of Asia. Forty members went on the tour, including 25 singers, eight band members, and seven technical crew.

4 min. read

Creating a classroom democracy
Assistant Professor of History Sarah Gronningsater teaching Hamilton’s America to Penn students.

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Creating a classroom democracy

Through a Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia course, assistant professor of history Sarah Gronningsater and her students resuscitate early American history.

Kristina García

2 min. read

Professor Philip Rea wins Jesse H. Neal Award for Scientific Journalism

Professor Philip Rea wins Jesse H. Neal Award for Scientific Journalism

Rea, professor of biology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences and Belldegrun Distinguished Director of the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management has won the Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Technical/Scientific Content for his article “Gliflozins for Diabetes: From Bark to Bench to Bedside,” published in American Scientist.

‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That’
Cover of Elusive Cures book next to headshot of Nicole Rust.

Tackling brain conditions, says psychology professor Nicole Rust, requires thinking about the brain not as a domino chain but as a complex dynamical system with feedback loops.

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  • Q&A

    • ‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That’

    The first book from psychology professor Nicole Rust of the School of Arts & Sciences dives into why research on conditions like Alzheimer’s and depression hasn’t translated more effectively into better treatments.

    5 min. read

    Who, What, Why: Xiao Schutte Ke on Tibetan pastoralists and citizen science
    Xiao Schutte Ke.

    Image: Courtesy of Xiao Schutte Ke

    Who, What, Why: Xiao Schutte Ke on Tibetan pastoralists and citizen science

    Schutte Ke, a sixth-year linguistic anthropology doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, explains the importance of Indigenous citizen scientists in understanding a crucial ecosystem of nomadic livestock herders on the mountainous region of the Tibetan Plateau.

    3 min. read

    What can ants and naked-mole rats teach about societal roles?
    Leafcutter ants moving around a bright green leaf.

    In eusocial superorganisms like leafcutter ant colonies, labor is divvied up according to body shape and size, but PIK Professor Shelley Berger and her team discovered that molecular signals can override that blueprint. Their findings reveal how simple neuropeptides can reprogram ant behavior, reshuffling roles in nature’s most disciplined workforce.

    (Image: Courtesy of Tierney Scarpa)

    What can ants and naked-mole rats teach about societal roles?

    PIK Professor Shelley Berger and colleagues explored the genetic basis of labor distribution in communal-dwelling species and discovered that pathways dating back hundreds of millions of years are conserved across animal kingdoms. Their findings offer fundamental insights into complex social behaviors.

    5 min. read

    Diana Mutz wins the ASA Methodology Section’s Innovation Award

    Diana Mutz wins the ASA Methodology Section’s Innovation Award

    Mutz, Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication and director of the Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics is recognized for her contribution to sociological methodology.

    AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellows collaborate across disciplines
    Sibe-by-side portraits of Brynn Sherman, on left, and Kieran Murphy, right.

    Penn’s AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellows Program is breaking down traditional scientific boundaries by integrating artificial intelligence across diverse research fields. Less than a year in, the program is already paying dividends in the form of new collaborations and research publications for inaugural fellows like Brynn Sherman (left) of the School of Arts & Sciences and Kieran Murphy (right) of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

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    AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellows collaborate across disciplines

    The new fellowship program, offered through the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, offers mentorship and peer engagement opportunities.

    5 min. read