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Championing scientifically driven energy policy
amy chu smiles while adjusting a knob on a metal piece of lab equipment

Amy Chu spends a lot of her time running chemical reactions using one of her lab’s pressurized reactors. When she’s not doing research on fundamental chemistry, she’s busy working as a scientific consultant on a project collaborating with energy policy researchers. 

Championing scientifically driven energy policy

In the lab, chemist Amy Chu is aiming to make the chemical reaction that converts carbon dioxide into methanol more sustainable. Her work reflects her philosophy that scientists should have a stronger role in both public policy and education.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Cells use sugars to communicate at the molecular level
Illustraion showing Percec cell morphology

Cells use sugars to communicate at the molecular level

A recent study reveals the chemistry behind cellular communication using a new method that holds promise for future applications ranging from materials science to nanomedicine.

Erica K. Brockmeier , Erica K. Brockmeier

A tour of the ancient world—in Mandarin
Susan Radov leads a tour of the China Gallery with sculptures in the background Susan Radov, an undergraduate cultural anthropology student, leads a tour of the China Gallery at Penn Museum.

A tour of the ancient world—in Mandarin

The Penn Museum offers tours of its exhibits in Mandarin, increasing cross-cultural access to its invaluable assemblage of objects on display, the only known museum in Philadelphia with regularly scheduled tours in the language.
From urban renewal to today, tracking the struggles of America’s cities
Penn history professor Brent Cebul working with students on wall maps.

With help from the Penn Libraries' staff, Cebul and his students worked with maps in an electronic classroom in Van Pelt-Dietrich Library. 

Image: Eric Sucar

From urban renewal to today, tracking the struggles of America’s cities

Equipped with SEPTA Key cards, Brent Cebul’s students are taking a deep dive into Philadelphia’s history, looking into the past and present challenges facing cities.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Treasures revealed
Librarian standing behind museum display case holding several books and illustrations.

David McKnight of the Penn Libraries led the decade-long project to sort through the 200,000 books, and additional materials, and catalogue the Gotham Book Mart donation. A new exhibit showcases 300 selections, including the writing and illustrations of author Edward Gorey, who collaborated with the storied book shop. 

Treasures revealed

It has taken nearly a decade for the Penn Libraries to sort and catalogue the contents of the Gotham Book Mart, the legendary New York City bookstore and publisher. A new exhibition, now on display through May 20, showcases a select 300 items.
The ignorance of blackface
abstract faces rendered in bold patterns and colors

The ignorance of blackface

Historian Mia Bay discusses the history of blackface, its intent, and why it is still occurring in the 21st century.
The ‘off’ button that lets plants make flowers
Scanning electron microscope image of plant parts. Main image is covered in spikes, smaller one looks smoother and less complex.

AA 10-day-old Arabidopsis seedling displayed no defect in forming new organs (main image), unless they lacked the key genes MP, ETT, and ARF4. In that case, a small stubby plant (inset) that cannot form new organs is the result. (Image: Wagner lab)

The ‘off’ button that lets plants make flowers

Flowers aren’t just pretty to look at; without them, plants couldn’t reproduce. Investigating the critical process of flower formation in plants, School of Arts and Sciences biologist Doris Wagner and colleagues discovered how a key gene is shut off in order for blooms to form. “Identity is not just what you are; it’s what you aren’t,” she says.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Penn sophomore wins an Oscar
Claire Sliney at the Academy Awards

Penn sophomore wins an Oscar

Claire Sliney is an executive producer of the short documentary “Period. End of Sentence.” that won an Academy Award on February 24.
The times and life of W.E.B. Du Bois at Penn
W.E.B. Du Bois sits at his desk in his office.

Photo courtesy: W.E.B Du Bois Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries

The times and life of W.E.B. Du Bois at Penn

In 1896, Du Bois was appointed an assistant instructor at Penn and began his investigation of the Seventh Ward of Philadelphia—research that he would turn into his groundbreaking work, “The Philadelphia Negro.”
Hands-on learning in the greenhouse
Holding a broad tropical leaf, a person speaks to students holding papers in a greenhouse.

Showing off the broad, tropical leaf of a banana plant, Samara Gray (left), greenhouse coordinator, highlights the diverse collection of the middle room of the Biology Department’s facility. During the tours, Gray and other staff point out specialized adaptations of certain plants, such as the water-conserving features of succulents, or the unusual features of carnivorous plant species.

 

 

Hands-on learning in the greenhouse

A revamped lesson in plant diversity added a tour of the campus greenhouse for students in introductory biology courses. Greenhouse coordinator Samara Gray worked with Linda Robinson and Karl Siegert to enhance the curriculum, incorporating lessons about plant biology and taxonomy that rely on the wide range of specimens present.

Katherine Unger Baillie