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Changing neighborhoods, changing times
Lance Freeman stands with hands in pockets outside of a building.

Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Lance Freeman, of the Weitzman School of Design and the School of Arts & Sciences, studies how people interact with the built environment. 

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Changing neighborhoods, changing times

Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor Lance Freeman of the Weitzman School of Design and School of Arts & Sciences studies how people interact with the built environment.

Kristina García

Tracing the connections between Chinese high-speed rail and electric vehicle sales
Two bullet trains sit side-by-side in a silver-and-white train station. The train closest to the camera has red markings on the side and top.

China’s high-speed bullet trains like this one at a station in Beijing are a significant factor in boosting electric vehicle sales, a new research paper says. 

(Image: iStock/Nikada)

Tracing the connections between Chinese high-speed rail and electric vehicle sales

“Range anxiety” from electric vehicle owners can be alleviated by alternative transportation methods such as high-speed rail, Penn research shows.
Dolores Albarracín honored with BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
Dolores Albarracin.

Image: Kyle Cassidy/Annenberg School for Communication

Dolores Albarracín honored with BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

Albarracín, a PIK Professor with appointments in the Annenberg School for Communication and School of Arts & Sciences, is being recognized for increasing “our understanding of how attitudes can be changed, particularly with regard to persuasive messages.”
The story of the famed Salt Lake Tabernacle Organ
A tall gold-colored pipe organ stands above blue seats. The background is purple and blue.

The pipe organ in the LDS Church Tabernacle in Salt Lake City grew over time, expanding to more than 10,000 pipes in 1916.

(Image: Jon G. Fuller / VWPics via AP Images)

The story of the famed Salt Lake Tabernacle Organ

A new book from historian Jared Farmer traces the legacy of music and media in the LDS Church.
Expanding on a legacy of heart health education
Taylor Brothers, Aravind Krishnan, and Rashmi Acharya at Project HERO workshop.

At a recent Project HERO workshop at one of SHOP’s partner sites, Aravind Krishan, center, gave a brief presentation on heart health and Taylor Brothers, left, gave a CPR demo.

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Expanding on a legacy of heart health education

Fourth-year Aravind Krishnan, the inaugural Sarah Katz Award recipient, is working to help shelter residents in Philadelphia better monitor their health.
Unearthing the secrets of an ancient Greek city
Two ancient mosaics recently unearthed.

Underneath layers of built-up dirt, Mantha Zarmakoupi and colleagues began to uncover the tiled edge of at least two mosaics, spread across separate rooms dating back to the 3rd century BCE. One that stood out depicted two fighting cupids (top), figures of Eros, the Greek god of love, whose imagery is related to Dionysos, the Greek god of wine and the patron deity of Teos, with a major temple in the city.

(Image: Courtesy of Teos Archaeological Project)

Unearthing the secrets of an ancient Greek city

Classical archaeologist and architectural historian Mantha Zarmakoupi from the School of Arts & Sciences has spent the past four summers excavating the ruins of a city council building at the center of Teos in western Türkiye.

Marilyn Perkins

2 min. read

Penn fourth-year Annabelle Jin named 2025-26 Luce Scholar
Annabelle Jin standing outside in the sunshine

Penn fourth-year student Annabelle Jin is one of 16 students chosen as a 2025-26 Luce Scholar by the Henry Luce Foundation.

(Image: Courtesy of Annabelle Jin)

Penn fourth-year Annabelle Jin named 2025-26 Luce Scholar

Annabelle Jin, a fourth-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 16 recipients selected by the Henry Luce Foundation to be a 2025-26 Luce Scholar.
Can surface fractures on Earth, Mars, and Europa predict habitability on other planets?
A view of a planet in the solar system.

(On homepage) A global view of Jupiter’s moon Europa displaying extensive surface fractures—long, curving lines carved into the ice by tidal forces from Jupiter. These cracks hint at dynamic activity beneath Europa’s frozen shell and may provide clues about the moon’s potentially habitable subsurface ocean.

(Image: Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech)
 

Can surface fractures on Earth, Mars, and Europa predict habitability on other planets?

Geophysicist Douglas Jerolmack has used the mathematical framework developed for understanding fracture patterns on Earth to survey two-dimensional fracture networks across the solar system, which could offer insights into detecting potentially habitable environments on other planets.
Penn announces seven 2025 Thouron Scholars
a composite with seven headshot photos

Penn’s 2025 Thouron Scholars are (left to right): (top) Benjamin Cohen, Alexander Gerlach, Joy Gong, and Sarah Hinkel; (bottom) Sophie Kadan, Benjamin May, and Joey Wu.

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

Penn announces seven 2025 Thouron Scholars

Seven University of Pennsylvania affiliates—five fourth-years and two recent graduates—have each received a 2025 Thouron Award to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.