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Social scientists trade academic silos for shared work space
Coren Apicella and Corey Cusimano standing to the side as Geoff Goodwin speaks at a podium.

Penn psychologists Coren Apicella and Geoffrey Goodwin (at podium) co-direct the new Social and Behavioral Sciences Initiative, part of mindCORE. Corey Cusimano (center), a grad student in Goodwin’s lab, will also participate. Cusimano studies the ways in which people hold others responsible for their attitudes. (Photo: Yevgeniy Olkhov)

Social scientists trade academic silos for shared work space

Faculty and grad students in the new Social and Behavioral Sciences Initiative have access to two state-of-the-art labs, grants, and a collaborative environment aimed at creating a vibrant research community.

Michele W. Berger

The Power of Penn in London
group-sitting-on-stage-power-of-penn-backdrop

Penn President Amy Gutmann (left) was joined by (from left to right) faculty members Henry Daniell, Kathleen Morrison, and Anjan Chatterjee at the Nov. 15 Power of Penn event in London. 

The Power of Penn in London

In London, President Amy Gutmann presented the vision for the University’s $4.1 billion campaign, The Power of Penn.

Penn Today Staff

Showcasing veteran voices
JD Goins sits near a window, looking out onto the beautiful fall colors on the Penn campus' trees.

James “J.D.” Goins, of Nashville, Tenn., says the lessons he learned in the U.S. Air Force have prepared him for a life of enlightenment at Penn and beyond. 

Showcasing veteran voices

After regularly searching through campus events, sophomore James “J.D.” Goins says he had a difficult time finding activities that showcased veteran voices. To change that, he is launching a series of campus conversations, bringing veterans who are now involved in business, politics, and other industries to Penn to share their insights on success.
Dry conditions may have helped a new type of plant gain a foothold on Earth
Pots on a table in a greenhouse filled with grasses in various stages of growth

Biochemical and paleoclimate modeling revealed that plants with a new photosynthetic pathway known as C4, present in several important crop species today, emerged when atmospheric carbon dioxide was still quite high, roughly 30 million years ago. Water limitations, rather than Co2, drove its initial spread, a Penn-led team found.

Dry conditions may have helped a new type of plant gain a foothold on Earth

Plants reap energy from the sun using two photosynthesis pathways, C3 and C4. A new study led by Haoran Zhou, Erol Akçay and Brent Helliker suggests that water availability drove the expansion of C4 species, which may help to explain how different plant lineages came to be distributed on the planet today.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Social media use increases depression and loneliness
Four people stare at their smartphones.

Social media use increases depression and loneliness

Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram may not be great for personal well-being. For the first time, an experimental study shows a causal link between time spent on these social media and increased depression and loneliness.

Michele W. Berger

A veteran’s story: Saluting diversity at Penn
Army veteran Jesse Raines seated on a bench near a glass window.

The first in his family to attend college, Penn senior Jesse Morgan Raines of Reno, Nev., volunteers with Service2School, a non-profit that helps veterans gain access to higher education opportunities.

A veteran’s story: Saluting diversity at Penn

Senior Jesse Morgan Raines is a veteran who spent eight years in the Army. Today, he volunteers with Service2School, a non-profit organization that helps veterans gain access to higher-education opportunities.
Inventive legal approach decreases gang violence by 18 percent
Outlines of men outside, in black and white

Inventive legal approach decreases gang violence by 18 percent

The drop came after the City of Los Angeles filed nearly 50 civil injunctions against gangs, limiting the activity of their members, according to research from Penn criminologists.

Michele W. Berger

New Ronald O. Perelman Center looks to the future while preserving the past
VIPs cutting the Perelman building ribbon Gutmann (center) was joined on stage by (from left to right) Penn Provost Wendell Pritchett, Perelman, Cohen, and School of Arts and Sciences Dean Steven J. Fluharty.

New Ronald O. Perelman Center looks to the future while preserving the past

For the first time, the School of Arts and Sciences’ departments of Political Science and Economics will coexist in the same building.
Meet the ‘original typical Penn student’
Founding fathers meeting to sign the Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence signing, by John Trumbull. (Image: Architect of the Capital)

Meet the ‘original typical Penn student’

“Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father,” by creative writing lecturer Stephen Fried, explores the life of Benjamin Rush, who had many ties to the University and is an oft-overlooked figurehead of the American Revolution.