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Katherine Unger Baillie
Science News Officer
kbaillie@upenn.edu
Earth and Environmental Science
Mr. Energy
Mr. Energy
During two decades at Penn, Mark Alan Hughes has made the University a leader in the field of energy policy—and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Weighing the environmental impacts of a byproduct of biofuel combustion: plant skeletons
Weighing the environmental impacts of a byproduct of biofuel combustion: plant skeletons
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Reto Gieré and Ruggero Vigliaturo and colleagues found that phytoliths—small, silica-containing deposits present in many plant species—are emitted during biofuel combustion.
How to make progress for Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers
How to make progress for Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers
The Water Center at Penn has completed the first phase of a high-level study of the challenges and opportunities for water resource management in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Region.
Talking climate change with Rafe Pomerance
Talking climate change with Rafe Pomerance
In a Q&A, the longtime environmental activist, who came to campus to speak at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, discusses where we are today and how we can avoid the worst effects of a warming planet.
Dissecting the Green New Deal
Dissecting the Green New Deal
During what’s likely the largest climate event ever held at Penn, leaders in a range of fields discussed the practicalities and implications of the resolution introduced into Congress in February aimed at stemming climate change.
Inferno in the rainforest
Inferno in the rainforest
Satellite images have detected more than 100,000 points of fire in the Amazon this year. Scientists Reto Gieré and Alain Plante illuminate some less obvious impacts of the fires, including health threats and climate impacts.
Crowdsourcing 10,000 years of land use
Crowdsourcing 10,000 years of land use
More than 250 archaeologists from around the world contributed their knowledge to ArchaeoGLOBE, an effort to better understand the prevalence of agriculture, pastoralism, and hunting and gathering at different points in human history.
A conversation with Doug Jerolmack
A conversation with Doug Jerolmack
In the latest episode of Penn Today’s ‘Office Hours’ podcast series, a chat with Doug Jerolmack that ranges from geophysics to taco shops.
Making insights into ancient marine ecosystems with 3D-printed shells
Making insights into ancient marine ecosystems with 3D-printed shells
If you’re a snail hoping to survive an encounter with a hungry fish, it helps to have a strong shell. Paleoecology doctoral student Erynn Johnson is using 3D printing to understand how predator-prey interactions may have played out hundreds of millions of years ago.
With summer field course, students get their hands dirty learning about soils
With summer field course, students get their hands dirty learning about soils
Taught by the School of Arts and Sciences’ Alain Plante, Field Study of Soils gives students skills and familiarity with different soil types, including some on University property.
Media Contact
In the News
Atlas Obscura
Found: A 5.5-Million-Year-Old Ancestor of the Red-Eared Slider
Penn student Steven Jasinski found the remains of Trachemys haugrudi, an ancestor of the red-eared slider turtle, suggesting a “once greater diversity” of turtles than today.
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Inside Science
Biodiversity in the Oceans Exploded After Dinosaurs Fell
Lauren Sallan of the School of Arts and Sciences offered commentary on the diversification of marine life in the period following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
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