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AI Across Disciplines event highlights the power of ‘breadth and connectivity’ at universities
AI Across Disciplines panelists on stage engaged in conversation.

From left: Bhuvnesh Jain, Marylyn Ritchie, Dawn Bonnell, René Vidal, Duncan Watts, and Lynn Wu. 

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AI Across Disciplines event highlights the power of ‘breadth and connectivity’ at universities

At a cross-disciplinary gathering at Amy Gutmann Hall, the Penn community celebrated the launch of the Penn AI Initiative with a panel discussing AI research at Penn—and writ large.

5 min. read

Five Penn third-year students are 2025 Goldwater Scholars
five student headshots and a Penn sheild

The Penn 2025 Goldwater Scholars are third-year students (left to right, top to bottom) Tristen Brisky, Caitlyn Chen, Kason Kunkelmann, Nayoon Justina Lee, and Colby Snyder.

(Images: Courtesy of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships)

Five Penn third-year students are 2025 Goldwater Scholars

Five Penn third-year students have received 2025 Goldwater Scholarships, awarded to those planning research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering.

Louisa Shepard

4 min. read

Baseball’s ‘magic mud’
A jar of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud sits on a table beside a muddy, dirty baseball.

Lena Blackburne’s legendary baseball rubbing mud has been a game-day staple for nearly a century, helping Major League pitchers achieve a better grip. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have scientifically confirmed its friction-enhancing properties, revealing its significance not just in baseball, but also in the broader field of materials science.

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Baseball’s ‘magic mud’

Douglas Jerolmack and Paulo Arratia led research that could someday crack the code of the mud smeared on baseballs for nearly a century that pitchers profess provides a perfect grip.

3 min. read

Five from Penn elected 2024 AAAS Fellows
Headshots of five Penn professors elected 2024 AAAS Fellows.

(Clockwise from bottom left) M. Susan Lindee, Marlyse Baptista, Jinbo Chen, George Cotsarelis, and Christopher B. Murray were elected 2024 AAAS Fellows. 

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Five from Penn elected 2024 AAAS Fellows

Professors from the School of Arts & Sciences, Perelman School of Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science are among 471 scientists, engineers, and innovators being recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

4 min. read

Modeling careers in STEM
Allyson Mackey, Melissa Kelly, Ping Wang, and Vanessa Chan speaking to audience.

This year’s Women in STEM Symposium featured (left to right) Allyson Mackey of the School of Arts & Sciences, Melissa Kelly of Penn Center for Innovation, Ping Wang of the Perelman School of Medicine, and Vanessa Chan of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. 

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Modeling careers in STEM

At Penn’s annual Women in STEM Symposium, Vanessa Chan, Allyson Mackey, Ping Wang, and Melissa Kelly shared lessons from their experiences.

3 min. read

Three new Lauder Intercultural Ventures (LIV) locations launched in March

Three new Lauder Intercultural Ventures (LIV) locations launched in March

During Penn’s spring break, the Lauder Institute broadened its global footprint with three new Lauder Intercultural Ventures in Armenia, Botswana, and Brazil. Each LIV brought together 17-24 students under the guidance of a faculty expert, immersing them for eight days in the cultural, political, and economic environment of the country.

Evaluating large language models for cyberbullying behavior
A portrait of Helen Jin at Amy Gutmann Hall.

Helen Jin, a doctoral student at Penn Engineering, is project lead for the Brachio Lab’s AI cyberbullying capability case study.

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Evaluating large language models for cyberbullying behavior

In the Brachio Lab, doctoral students at Penn Engineering probe AI models for signs of cyberbullying capabilities. This emerging problem with the rise of AI may pose challenges in areas like business, education, and public health.

5 min. read

From the Archives: Photograph of Penn’s first female law graduate
43 people sitting and standing on the steps of College Hall

University of Pennsylvania Law School Class of 1883 group portrait on the steps of College Hall in 1883. Caroline Burnham Kilgore, the first female graduate of Penn Law is top row, center. The photo is a gift of Peter Conn of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences.

(Image: Broadbent and Taylor, courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Archives and Records Center)

From the Archives: Photograph of Penn’s first female law graduate

A photo in the University Archives pictures 43 members of the Penn Law School graduating class of 1883 on the steps of College Hall. Among them is Caroline Burnham Kilgore, the first woman to enter the law school, to receive a law degree, and to be admitted to the Pennsylvania bar.

Louisa Shepard

3 min. read