School of Arts & Sciences

For Mia Levine, an assistant professor in the biology department, shown with postdoctoral scientist Cara Brand, participating in the Pathways program has given her a chance to take a step back from the demands of her day-to-day tasks and reflect on larger goals.

Launching junior faculty into fulfilling careers

Taking a holistic approach, the Penn Faculty Pathways Program equips early career professors with the tools they need to excel professionally and personally.

a metal tube with a line of flames coming out of the top and a blurred person posing in the background

Physics on display

Hundreds of regional junior high and high school students visited Penn’s campus in early January to beat the winter blues—and reds—by watching physics demonstrations about lights and waves.

Spencer named Robert S. Blank Presidential Professor

Quayshawn Spencer, an associate professor of philosophy, has been named the Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy.

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall talking to Christopher Murray

'Advocate for the hearing of the truth'

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a Global Order Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Perry World House and a former deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, encouraged scientists to tell policymakers what they know about climate change, to help shape regulations and policy decisions.

a close-up of chemical reactions written on a glass screen with a person in a lab coat working in the background

Pushing the boundaries of fundamental chemistry

A team of chemists has created “impossible molecules” inside water- and oxygen-free environments.

Student looking closely at a rare document in a plastic sleeve he is holding, while seated in a library.

Walt Whitman up close

As part of the Penn Manuscript Collective, students transcribe rare documents and original works by Walt Whitman in the University’s collection. Their discoveries will be included in an international symposium at Penn this spring, Whitman at 200, led by the Penn Libraries marking the anniversary of the poet’s birth.

orange with GMO sticker sliced in half with different colored orange segments inside

What do opponents of genetically modified foods really know about the science?

The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, found that the strongest critics actually know less—a pattern similar for gene therapy, but not for climate change.

Free Thinking

The free, public Lightbulb and Science Cafes for spring 2019 will feature professors talking about everything from the Middle East peace process to translating “The Odyssey.”

Writers House reborn

Renovations were recently completed at Kelly Writers House to expand its premier Arts Cafe and make the space more technologically friendly.

Librarian examines several playbills spread out on wood conference table in a historic library room lined with bookshelves filled with books.

Historic Philly playbills get modern-day crowdsourcing

An innovative online crowdsourcing project led by Laura Aydelotte of the Penn Libraries allows the public to transcribe digitized 19th-century Philadelphia theater playbills. An upcoming conference will explore digital approaches to researching theater history.

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