Class of 2023 Ivy Day The Penn Alumni Student of Merit Award winners (left to right): Joan Dartey, William Chase Seklar, Rebecca Nadler, Ryan Afreen, and Margaret Gladieux. (Image: Prestige Portraits) Class of 2023 Ivy Day For 150 years, Ivy Day has been an annual tradition at Penn, with each graduating class installing at least one new plaque, planting a sprig of ivy, and recognizing individual achievements.
A grant to upgrade Simons Observatory The Devlin lab are working on creating an extremely cold environment (nearly -460 degrees Fahrenheit) so that the new Simons Observatory can detect cosmic microwave background (CMB), the residual radiation left behind by the Big Bang. Work done at the High Bay is essential for keeping the project from falling further behind after shutdown delays. nocred A grant to upgrade Simons Observatory Mark Devlin and colleagues have been awarded an NSF grant to upgrade the prominent observatory in the high Atacama Desert in Northern Chile.
‘Everyday Utopia’—a radically hopeful vision for contented and connected societies Kristen R. Ghodsee’s new book offers a radically hopeful vision for how to build more contented and connected societies, alongside a practical guide to what we all can do to live the good life each and every day. (Image: Courtesy of Simon & Schuster and Kristen R. Ghodsee) ‘Everyday Utopia’—a radically hopeful vision for contented and connected societies In her new book, Kristen R. Ghodsee of the School of Arts & Sciences takes readers on a tour through history and around the world to explore places that have dared to reimagine how we might live our daily lives.
Act First, a PEP winner, wants to teach Philly students critical first aid—and the confidence to follow through Catherine Chang and Kenneth Pham are co-founders of Act First and winners of the 2023 President’s Engagement Prize. Their nonprofit teaches Philadelphia high school students how to do CPR, prevent blood loss, and administer Narcan. (Image: Eric Sucar) Act First, a PEP winner, wants to teach Philly students critical first aid—and the confidence to follow through Kenneth Pham and Catherine Chang, winners of the 2023 President’s Engagement Prize, will teach Philadelphia high school students CPR, Narcan administration, and blood loss prevention.
Crisis in Sudan: A Q&A with Ali Ali-Dinar Smoke rises from a building in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 19, 2023. The U.S. conducted its first organized evacuation of citizens and permanent residents from Sudan on April 29, two weeks into the conflict. (Image: AP Photo/Marwan Ali) Q&A Crisis in Sudan: A Q&A with Ali Ali-Dinar The Sudanese scholar and senior lecturer in the Department of Africana Studies offers some background that led to the recent violence and potential paths to peace.
‘Communities for Childbirth’ in action A Ugandan health center, August 2022. (Image: Seungwon “Lucy” Lee) ‘Communities for Childbirth’ in action President Engagement Prize winner and fourth-year Seungwon ‘Lucy’ Lee is creating a coordinated referral system of first responders, emergency dispatchers, and systemized hospital networks to improve emergency maternal health care in Uganda.
The Sachs Program announces 2023 grants nocred The Sachs Program announces 2023 grants Now in its sixth year of supporting creative practice at Penn and in the surrounding community, The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation announced grants totaling $170,000 at its annual Sachs Grants Awards ceremony.
Aiming high with McCaleigh Marr Image: Eric Sucar Aiming high with McCaleigh Marr The fourth-year gymnast discusses her love of gymnastics and her record-setting career at Penn.
A time to celebrate for inaugural SNF Paideia Fellows nocred A time to celebrate for inaugural SNF Paideia Fellows The first cohort of fellows is set to graduate, taking with them the pillars of the SNF Paideia Program—dialogue, citizenship, service, and wellness—on their next life adventures.
Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID Image: iStockPhoto / AlexLinch Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID The School of Arts & Sciences’ Irma Elo and Samuel Preston, with a collaborative team of researchers, assessed racial disparities in U.S. COVID-19 deaths, calling for continued efforts to better understand and implement targeted strategies for addressing health inequalities.