School of Arts & Sciences

Penn Professor David Wallace teaches a travel writing freshmen seminar, including Yoni Gutenmacher.

Pen to paper: journey to discovery

In a freshman seminar on travel writing, students wrote articles about their experiences during Spring Break. Yonathan Gutenmacher described his family’s journey to Brazil to explore his mother’s childhood.

Sociologist Steve Viscelli studies the trucking industry. A report publishing soon looks at what effect driverless trucks will have on the industry as a whole.

Science fiction or the future of trucking?

Driverless trucks seem like science fiction, part of a far-off world where robots and humans live and work side by side.

Quayshawn Spencer, an assistant professor in the philosophy department, studies the philosophy of science, biology, and race.

Race has a place in human genetics research, philosopher argues

New research out of the philosophy department argues that certain racial classifications have utility in medical genetics, particularly when considering those classifications as ancestry groups.

Penn Professor Mary Caldwell teaches a freshman seminar on medieval music.

Exploring the sounds of the Middle Ages

In a seminar on the sounds of the Middle Ages taught by music professor Mary Channen Caldwell, freshmen learned about period music and instruments, the carillon bells in a historic church on Philly’s Rittenhouse Square.

Two faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences

Shelly Berger and Karen Goldberg are among 84 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors for a scientist.

New York Times columnist Charles Blow and Penn Professor Al Filreis at Kelly Writers House.

A reading and discussion with Charles Blow, following a deep dive into his work

For their class at Kelly Writers House, Penn students read 82 columns and a personal memoir written by Charles Blow, an opinion writer at The New York Times.

Two innovative researchers selected as 2018 Carnegie Fellows

Daniel Q. Gillion and Beth Simmons are among the 29 recipients who will receive a stipend to fund up to two years of research and writing.

five people standing behind curtains at a polling place.

Fear of losing status, not economic hardship, drove voters in 2016

Research from Annenberg's Diana Mutz challenges the discourse surrounding voter motivation in the 2016 election: Fears of economic insecurity did not drive voters to the voting booth in support of Donald Trump, as public sentiment has believed.

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation announces 23 project grants

At a special event featuring a performance by John Waters and remarks by President Amy Gutmann, the late Keith Sachs was celebrated and $123,000 of grants were doled out for arts projects.

Three years on: A look at the Penn Wharton China Center

The impact of the Beijing-based center and research fund has been far-reaching on campus and in China.