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School of Arts & Sciences
Janet Malcolm to Teach at Penn March 18-19 as Kelly Writers House Fellow
Craig Seligman wrote of the University of Pennsylvania’s latest Kelly Writers House Fellow,
Penn Alum Evelyn Boettcher Wins Gates Cambridge Scholarship
University of Pennsylvania alum Evelyn Boettcher has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D.
Penn Alum Lawrence Lessig to Speak at National Constitution Center for Democracy Café
Lawrence Lessig, a University of Pennsylvania alumnus and public intellectual, is leading a charge to overhaul the U.S. Constitution.
Penn Researchers Show that Suppressing the Brain’s “Filter” Can Improve Performance in Creative Tasks
The brain’s prefrontal cortex is thought to be the seat of cognitive control, working as a kind of filter that keeps irrelevant thoughts, perceptions and memories from interfering with a task at hand. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that inhibiting this filter can boost performance for tasks in which unfiltered, creative thoughts present an advantage.
Penn Study Links U.S. Mortality Rates Under Age 50 to U.S. Life Expectancy Lagging Other High-Income Countries
Higher mortality rates among Americans younger than 50 are responsible for much of why life expectancy is lower in the United States than most of the world’s most developed nations.
Penn Museum Mummies Contribute to Emerging Medical Understanding of Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, has been widely assumed to be a disease of modern times, brought on by modern foods and lifestyles — until now.
Ten Students Appointed to RealArts@Penn Internships
The 10 RealArts@Penn summer internship positions aren’t jobs for gophers or work experiences that look better on resumes than in real life.
Willenbring to Discuss Antarctica, Climate Change at Penn Science Café March 12
WHO: Jane Willenbring Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Science
Penn IUR Honors Leaders in Urban Food Systems at the Ninth Annual Urban Leadership Forum
The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) hosts the 9th Annual Urban Leadership Forum on Wednesday March 13th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm to celebrate exemplary leaders in the effort to build resilient, food-secure, and livable cities.
Groundbreaking Penn Conference Tackles the Complex of Urbanization and Food
Feeding Cities: Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World, the first international conference examining the critical link between urbanization and food security, will be held at the University of Pennsylvania from Wednesday, March 13, through Friday, March 15, 2013.
In the News
Associated Press
Here’s why experts don’t think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai’s downpour
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that many people blaming cloud seeding for Dubai storms are climate change deniers trying to divert attention from what’s really happening.
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Associated Press
In death, three decades after his trial verdict, O.J. Simpson still reflects America’s racial divides
Camille Charles of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Black Americans have grown less likely to believe in a famous defendant’s innocence as a show of race solidarity.
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The Wall Street Journal
‘Slouch’ review: The panic over posture
In her new book, “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America,” Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces society’s posture obsession to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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Salon.com
“Record-shattering” heat wave in Antarctica — yep, climate change is the culprit
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that persistent summer weather extremes like heat waves are becoming more common as people continue to warm the planet with carbon pollution.
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The New Yorker
The truth behind the slouching epidemic
Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces the history of a poor-posture epidemic in the U.S. which began at the onset of the 20th century.
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