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Eugene Lew reflects on a year without live performances
Eugene Lew in his music studio

Eugene Lew, lecturer and director of Sound and Music Technology in the Department of Music. (Image: OMNIA)

Eugene Lew reflects on a year without live performances

During the pandemic, the lecturer and director of Sound and Music Technology in the Department of Music switched from organizing live performance events to collaborative online technology.

Susan Ahlborn

The ins and outs of research, through a yearlong practicum
Two people standing outside, with a bridge and trees blurry in the background. One, in a blue button-down shirt and khakis, stands with hands in pockets. The other, in a red dress, stands with arms crossed.

Through a yearlong practicum taught by William (Zev) Berger (left), a fellow with the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Penn, rising senior Jeanica Geneus and four classmates learned how the research process works, including what to do when the results are unexpected.

The ins and outs of research, through a yearlong practicum

The course, which just completed its third iteration, takes undergrads through the process, from generating a hypothesis and creating experiments to analyzing results and writing a paper. The most recent cohort studied mentorship and educational inequality.

Michele W. Berger

Penn team expands cultural heritage work in Iraq, backed by new funding
Taq-i Kisra Taq-i Kisra is a vaulted hall near Baghdad that likely dates to the 6th century. After heavy rains in late 2020 caused part of it to collapse, the Penn team was asked to conduct an assessment on the structure. It’s one of the newest projects for the IHSP, funded by the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.

Penn team expands cultural heritage work in Iraq, backed by new funding

Three big new projects—restoration of a fortification gate, repair of an important landmark, and a survey of historic nonreligious architecture—recently got underway.

Michele W. Berger

Ballerina Emily Davis is ‘on her toes’
Ballerina Emily Davis completed her Penn degree while dancing with the Pennsylvania Ballet.

May graduate Emily Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies while working full-time as a ballerina with the Pennsylvania Ballet and volunteering to conduct research at CHOP and community service with Philadelphia nonprofits. (Image: Arian Molina Soca)

Ballerina Emily Davis is ‘on her toes’

May graduate Emily Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies while working full-time as a ballerina with the Pennsylvania Ballet and volunteering to conduct research at CHOP and community service with Philadelphia nonprofits.

Louisa Shepard

New Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition focuses on introspection and contemplation
woman standing in doorway of art exhibition with paintings on the walls

The Arthur Ross Gallery’s new exhibition features 17th-century Dutch genre paintings paired with rare books from the Penn Libraries collection. On display until July 25, “An Inner World,” co-curated by Gallery Assistant Director and Curator Heather Gibson Moqtaderi, focuses on contemplation.

New Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition focuses on introspection and contemplation

The Arthur Ross Gallery’s new exhibition features 17th-century Dutch genre paintings paired with rare books from the Penn Libraries collection. On display until July 25, “An Inner World” focuses on contemplation.

Louisa Shepard

Penn Vet dual degrees: The student experience
From left to right: Jaclyn Camus, Anna Shirosky, Caitlyn Tukdarian

From left to right: Jaclyn Camus, Anna Shirosky, and Caitlyn Tukdarian. (Images: John Donges/Penn Vet)

Penn Vet dual degrees: The student experience

The expansion of the dual degree program is timely, given the recent perfect storm of a pandemic; growing awareness of social, racial and economic inequity; and increased impact of climate change .

From Penn Vet

Designing public institutions that foster cooperation
wooden blocks with a person icon shown connected by a web

Designing public institutions that foster cooperation

People are more likely to cooperate with those they see as “good.” Using a mathematical model, School of Arts & Sciences researchers found it’s possible to design systems that assess and broadcast participants’ reputations, leading to high levels of cooperation and adherence.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The use and misuse of race in health care
drawing of diverse group of people
  • Q&A

    • The use and misuse of race in health care

    In a Q&A, PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff, the Perelman School of Medicine’s Giorgio Sirugo, and Case Western Reserve University’s Scott Williams shed light on the “quagmire” of race, ethnicity, genetic ancestry, and environmental factors and their contribution to health disparities.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    How gender norms and job loss affect relationship status
    A person outside leaning over on a black railing, with leaves and trees blurry in the foreground.

    Pilar Gonalons-Pons is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology in the School of Arts & Sciences and a member of the Population Studies Center.

    How gender norms and job loss affect relationship status

    Research from Penn sociologist Pilar Gonalons-Pons shows that, in cultures that value men as breadwinners, their unemployment can affect the long-term success of a romantic relationship.

    Michele W. Berger

    Israel’s new coalition government
    A man with short gray hair wearing a dark blue suit jacket, white shirt and light blue tie is seen in profile in front of an Israeli flag

    An upcoming vote in Israel’s parliament could end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12 years in power. (Image: Press service of the president of the Russian Federation)

  • Q&A

    • Israel’s new coalition government

    Middle East expert Ian Lustick discusses why this power play is happening now and what the coalition government means for the future of Israeli politics.

    Kristen de Groot