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Math, stereotypes, and social belonging
person looks perplexed holding a pencil staring into middle distancw with chalkboard behind them with math equations.

Math, stereotypes, and social belonging

Philip Gressman, professor of mathematics, discusses how stereotype threat can affect student performance in math, and how social belonging can curb it.

Penn Today Staff

Using science to make cities safer and healthier
Two people standing in front of a fenced-in vacant lot, one leaning against the fence, the other standing with arms crossed.

Penn Medicine’s Eugenia South, seen here with John MacDonald of the Department of Criminology, studies the effect of chronic stress and neighborhood environment on health outcomes. South’s latest pilot, Nurtured in Nature, follows work from the pair showing that cleaning up vacant lots leads to a signifiant decrease in gun violence and less stress for local residents. (Pre-pandemic photo)

  • Q&A

    • Using science to make cities safer and healthier

    In a Q&A, criminologist John MacDonald discusses his new book, grounded in years of research on the positive effects of remediation like fixing up abandoned lots and houses.

    Michele W. Berger

    Inspiring young women in STEM
    a group of people seated at a circle of chairs talking to each other

    Inspiring young women in STEM

    Over two days, nearly two dozen female STEM role models at Penn welcomed more than 100 high school students and teachers to campus as part of the Girls Advancing in STEM (GAINS) Initiative Conference on campus.

    Erica K. Brockmeier

    Immersive stories to spur action on climate
    Person wearing a virtual reality headset looks to the side, standing next to a statue facing the same direction

    In one of four virtual reality pop-up stations around campus this week, sophomore Katie Collier of Orlando takes in a vignette from “The Altering Shores,” which will premier at the PPEH Environmental Storytelling and Virtual Reality festival on Saturday. (Image: Roderick Coover)

    Immersive stories to spur action on climate

    Organized by the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH), a two-day festival, “Environmental Storytelling and Virtual Reality” begins Friday, and will explore how virtual reality and other immersive storytelling might inspire action on climate change.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Demographic shifts, voter fears, and presidential voting
    Several adolescents stand under a giant American flag like a parachute aloft at an immigration reform rally.

    Demographic shifts, voter fears, and presidential voting

    New research shows Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign didn’t benefit from voters’ fears of immigrants in communities experiencing greater demographic change.

    Kristen de Groot

    A conversation with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw
    Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw speaking

    A conversation with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw

    In the latest episode of “Office Hours,” a Penn Today podcast, Professor of History of Art Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw explains the curation process behind the Barnes Foundation’s “30 Americans” exhibit.
    Paideia’s spring course offerings highlight wellness, service, and citizenship
    A group of students sit on the lawn under a cherry blossom tree on College Green.

    Paideia’s spring course offerings highlight wellness, service, and citizenship

    The first four courses offered to Penn undergraduates as part of the new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program will focus on passion, civility, effective communication, and a deep dive into American Chinatowns.

    Kristen de Groot

    The data at the heart of Green New Deal public housing legislation
    Two people installing solar panels on a chilly day, wearing gloves and snow hats.

    Funding in the recently proposed Green New Deal for Public Housing legislation would go toward energy-retrofitting interventions such as installing solar panels. 

    The data at the heart of Green New Deal public housing legislation

    Beyond improving living conditions, greening these spaces would reduce emissions and create 250,000 jobs annually, according to research from Penn and Data for Progress.

    Michele W. Berger

    A second life for leaves
    Two researchers stand in a roped-off area of land, backlit by the rising sun. A study site marked with pink flags is at their feet.

    Eliza Nobles, a Morris Arboretum intern, and Jessie Buckner, an ecologist with Applied Ecological Services, set up the first plots at Penn Park on a sunny morning in October. Their study will examine how using leaf mulch or allowing fallen leaves to remain on a site impacts soil health and ecology.

    A second life for leaves

    Taking a scientific approach to managing campus land, Facilities and Real Estate Services is partnering with soil scientists and ecologists to study how mulching plots with leaves fares for soil health and biodiversity.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Researchers create better light-trapping devices
    nine spirals of yellow and white over a dark blue impressionist background, with darker lines of waves along the bottom of the image

    Researchers create better light-trapping devices

    A new study shows how the performance of optical resonators can be improved using topological physics, which can lead to more efficient lasers, sensors, and telecommunication devices.

    Erica K. Brockmeier