School of Arts & Sciences

Three newly-hired Penn assistant professors, all transplants to Philadelphia, found each other soon after they arrived and discovered that, although they were in different areas of study, they all focused on the Middle Ages, specifically 13th-century France. 

Louisa Shepard , Louisa Shepard ・March 23, 2018

Finding food is a necessary survival skill, but so is avoiding pain. Research led by J. Nicholas Betley and postdoctoral researcher Amber Alhadeff showed that being hungry activates a neural pathway that inhibits the sensing and responding to chronic pain. The findings offer up new targets for treating pain.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・March 22, 2018

The Wolf Humanities Center’s latest “Afterlives”-themed event recognizes a shared thread of humanity among us all: We all tell stories.

Brandon Baker ・March 22, 2018

Mark Bookman and Alice McGrath are on a quest to map physical and social barriers across campus. The goal is a crowd-sourced platform that automatically updates to present a real-time user accessibility resource.

Michele W. Berger ・March 21, 2018

Students of Penn Global Seminars enjoy an alternative spring break by traveling to Jordan and Israel to learn about conflict, culture and global engagement.

Jill DiSanto , Jill DiSanto ・March 20, 2018

As new technologies emerge, they bring with them new ethical challenges. The topic of the future of technology was front and center on day three of the Penn Teach-in.

Ali Sundermier March 20, 2018

The first full day of the Penn Teach-in engaged participants with expert panels on vaccine denial and firearm violence, an "evolutionary walk through time," and a dialogue on the production and dissemination of knowledge.

Katherine Unger Baillie, Michele W. Berger ・March 19, 2018

Chosen for her expertise in Southern and African-American literature, author and poet Thadious Davis was one of the first professors recruited by Penn President Amy Gutmann. Davis was honored at a reception and a symposium which focused on her work exploring race, region, and gender.

Louisa Shepard ・March 19, 2018

Stephen Hawking, one of history’s most influential physicists, spent his life grappling with mysteries of the universe. Vijay Balasubramanian of the School of Arts and Sciences shared some of his memories of Hawking and discussed the impact the Briton had on scientists and nonscientists alike.

Ali Sundermier March 18, 2018

Assaults decrease by 3 percent the Monday after the switch to Daylight Saving Time in the spring, according to research from Penn criminologists.

Michele W. Berger ・March 16, 2018