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Earth and Environmental Science

Climate scientist Michael Mann makes a home at Penn
Michael Mann on Penn's campus

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Climate scientist Michael Mann makes a home at Penn

Known for his “hockey stick” graph that hammered home the dramatic rise of the warming climate, the climate scientist is now making his mark on Penn’s campus, both through his science and his work on communicating the urgent need for action on the climate crisis.

Katherine Unger Baillie

At Penn Energy Week, a time to reflect on energy science, technology, and policy
Solar panels and three wind turbines set against a blue sky and setting sun.

Image: iStock/hrui

At Penn Energy Week, a time to reflect on energy science, technology, and policy

Hosted by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, the third annual Energy Week, which runs March 20-24, offers events on decarbonization, careers in the energy sector, global energy security, and more.

Michele W. Berger , Lindsey Samahon

Update of a local tree field guide offers ‘antidote for plant blindness’
A many-trunked tree just blooming in spring sprawls at Morris Arboretum

An icon at Morris Aboretum, a many-trunked katsura tree is among those specimens featured in “Philadelphia Trees.” It was planted in the early 1900s.

(Image: Paul W. Meyer)

Update of a local tree field guide offers ‘antidote for plant blindness’

A new edition of “Philadelphia Trees,” coauthored by former Morris Arboretum director Paul W. Meyer, Catriona Bull Briger, and Edward Sibley Barnard offers tips for identifying tree species and highlights some of the most notable trees in the region, including many on Penn’s campus.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Who, What, Why: Tess Kuracina tends to the ‘BioPond,’ a beloved campus oasis
Person poses by the Biopond on Penn's campus

The BioPond, as it’s widely known, sits amid campus buildings, offering a place of respite for both the Penn community and the broader West Philadelphia community. Its accessibility sets it apart from many botanical gardens, Kuracina says.

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Who, What, Why: Tess Kuracina tends to the ‘BioPond,’ a beloved campus oasis

As garden supervisor for the treasured green space formally known as the James G. Kaskey Memorial Park, Kuracina plans, plants, waters, and weeds, aiming to make it ‘more beautiful and special every year.’

Katherine Unger Baillie

From glacier ice, a wealth of scientific data
Two scientists walk on glacier ice near a river and mountains

Jade Hatton and Anna Polášková of the CryoEco Group at Prague’s Charles University, collaborators of the BiCycles Lab, work in Greenland’s Upernavik region.

(Image: Jack Murphy)

From glacier ice, a wealth of scientific data

Biogeochemist Jon Hawkings of the School of Arts & Sciences and his lab study glaciers to understand the cycling of elements through Earth’s waters, soils, and air in its coldest regions, with implications for climate change, ecosystem health, and more.

Katherine Unger Baillie