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Earth and Environmental Science

Navigating urban waters, with an interdisciplinary approach
PPEH Summer Research Group

Navigating urban waters, with an interdisciplinary approach

With independent research projects and immersive experiences on and near Philadelphia’s waterways, summer fellows with the Penn Program in the Environmental Humanities are collaborating to develop new ways of learning and sharing knowledge.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Five things to know about the new EPA acting administrator
epa

Five things to know about the new EPA acting administrator

Following Scott Pruitt’s resignation, will Andrew Wheeler stay the course or chart a new path for the agency, and what does it mean for the environment?

Michele W. Berger

Philly as lab, classroom, and collaborator
Sayre Health Clinic

Philly as lab, classroom, and collaborator

Philadelphia’s rich history and forward momentum make it ripe for scientific inquiry for a number of Penn schools and departments, from urban and population studies to medicine and anthropology.

Michele W. Berger

Frigid polar oceans, not coral reefs, are hot spots for formations of fish species
Sallan.parrot fish

The bicolor parrotfish is a member of a group of fish that dwells in the tropics, which a new study found to be, counterintuitively, slower-evolving than fish in colder ocean waters. (Image: Richard Ling/Wikipedia)

Frigid polar oceans, not coral reefs, are hot spots for formations of fish species

Tropical waters contain a dazzling diversity of fish species compared to colder ocean areas. Yet a new study paradoxically indicates that the colder waters are home to the highest species formation rates.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Fine arts professor marries art and science on the Schuylkill River banks
Deirdre Murphy Schuylkill River

Deirdre Murphy, a “toolmaker” for the Ecotopian Toolkit project as part of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities, examines the banks of the Schuylkill River.

Fine arts professor marries art and science on the Schuylkill River banks

Fine Arts lecturer Deirdre Murphy answered a call for artists for Penn's Ecotopian Toolkit project with a piece based on the migratory patterns of birds on the Schuylkill River, right in her backyard.
Leveraging Penn’s expertise to meet challenges in the water sector
Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk

Bridging the gap between researchers and practitioners, the Water Center aims to serve as a regional hub of water expertise.

Leveraging Penn’s expertise to meet challenges in the water sector

A conference on campus brings together The Water Center at Penn and city officials and community members across the country to find solutions for better water utilities and access.

Katherine Unger Baillie

By river, ocean, or wind, rocks round the same way
Jerolmack.river rocks

A mathematical formula predicts the way that river rocks, ocean pebbles and dune sands acquire a rounded shape, Penn researchers found. Credit: AniVar/Wikipedia

By river, ocean, or wind, rocks round the same way

Observations from Puerto Rican river rocks, New Mexican sand grains, Italian ocean pebbles, and the lab lent Douglas Jerolmack and his team insight into a general geophysical process.

Katherine Unger Baillie