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Penn fourth-year awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Jonibek Muhsinov

Jonibek Muhsinov will pursue a Ph.D. in psychiatry at the University of Cambridge with support from a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

(Image: Courtesy of Jonibek Muhsinov)

Penn fourth-year awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Jonibek Muhsinov of Key West, Florida, will pursue a Ph.D. in psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
Stefan Hatch: Tackling housing insecurity
Stefan Hatch stands in the McNeil Building.

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Stefan Hatch: Tackling housing insecurity

Fourth-year Stefan Hatch is researching one of Philadelphia’s most pressing challenges: housing insecurity. The double major combines urban studies and psychology to explore solutions.

2 min. read

Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior
Artist's rendering of bacteria moving through a nanofabricated tube.

(Pictured) An artist’s depiction of a single cell moving through the nanofabricated mictostrucures biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen’s team used to study E. coli.

(Image: Courtesy of Ruoshui Liu/Cylos Studio)

Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior

Bacteria can actively swim upstream, leading to severe infections in places like the urinary tract and respiratory system and contamination of medical devices like catheters. Biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues have uncovered how and why this happens, revealing that E. coli actually “thrives under pressure.” Their findings point to new strategies for designing safer, more effective biomedical tools and treatments.

3 min. read

Two Penn students chosen as 2026 Marshall Scholars
Adelaide Lyall, left, Norah Rami, right

From left, Adelaide Lyall and Norah Rami are Penn's 2026 Marshall Scholars.

(Images: Courtesy of Adelaide Lyall and Norah Rami)

Two Penn students chosen as 2026 Marshall Scholars

Adelaide Lyall, a graduate student in the School of Social Policy & Practice, and Norah Rami, a fourth-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, will receive funding for as much as three years of graduate study in the United Kingdom.

2 min. read

Bridging philosophy and politics

Bridging philosophy and politics

What does it mean for everyone to have a say in a democracy? This summer, philosopher professor Daniel Wodak and undergraduate Jasmine Ni explored the contradictions and questions raised by political equity.

From Omnia

2 min. read

Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) doing hands-on experimental work in the Composto Lab.

Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) examine CoolSeal-treated asphalt bricks in the Composto Lab to better understand how this coating behaves in controlled environments.

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Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia

Third-year students Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research endeavor to evaluate a reflective pavement coating as a tool to mitigate extreme heat. Their work may inform policy efforts to improve urban heat resilience.

4 min. read

A summer in the tick trenches
A person in PPE holding blue painters tape covered in several ticks.

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A summer in the tick trenches

With the help of five Penn undergrads, biology professor Dustin Brisson’s research group collected 9,000 tick specimens this summer to understand how seasonal activity patterns of these arachnids affects human pathogens and what role a changing climate might play.

Kristina Linnea García

2 min. read

Bold ideas and innovation on display at the Fall Research Expo
Houston Hall full of posters and students and visitors at the CURF Poster Expo

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Bold ideas and innovation on display at the Fall Research Expo

On Sept. 15, hundreds of posters were presented throughout Houston Hall at the annual Fall Research Expo, representing the research projects of 410 undergraduate students conducted through the Center for Undergraduate Research.

3 min. read

Exploring the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment on America’s founding
Eric Ryu stands outside of College Hall.

Eric Ryu spent part of his summer in Scottish university archives researching the Scottish Enlightenment.

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Exploring the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment on America’s founding

Fourth-year Eric Ryu studied 18th and 19th century lectures notes from university archives in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews to trace the intellectual roots of the two movements.

2 min. read