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Graduate Students

The concept, popularity, and dismissal of the ‘beach read’
Beach reads display table at bookstore.

Cheryl Krementz of Penn Business Services—which oversees the Penn Bookstore—says that a beach read “leans toward the ‘lighter’ genre: romantasy, light science fiction, memoir and cozy mysteries, true crime.” She describes the bookstore’s selection as “very Penn beach reads,” as they are “fun and breezy with a little bit of intellect in it.”

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The concept, popularity, and dismissal of the ‘beach read’

Penn Today talked about beach reads with comparative literature Ph.D. candidate Angelina Eimannsberger, whose dissertation focuses on women readers, social media, the romance genre, and bookstores.

3 min. read

How same-sex parents divide work and childcare
Two women sit on a couch with a child and dog.

Image: Drazen_ via Getty Images

How same-sex parents divide work and childcare

The birth of a child can cause one member of a couple to specialize more in paid work and the other in childcare, but sociology and demography Ph.D. student Emily Curran found that female same-sex couples specialize less than different-sex couples or male same-sex couples.

2 min. read

Dean Mark Trodden on what’s next for Penn Arts & Sciences
Mark Trodden with folded arms in front of College Hall.

Mark Trodden, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences.

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Dean Mark Trodden on what’s next for Penn Arts & Sciences

Dean Trodden reflects on his first year on the job, how the School of Arts & Sciences is supporting students’ futures through curriculum innovation, the new Physical Sciences Complex, and other initiatives.

6 min. read

Helping robotic arms solve problems using tools
Three students working on a robotic arm in the GRASP lab

Image: Sylvia Zhang

Helping robotic arms solve problems using tools

Penn engineers have developed VLMgineer, an AI framework that can design, adapt, and deploy tools in the real world.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Enabling robots to chart a better course
Shadow of a drone over a map of housing units.

Image: Francesco Scatena via Getty Images

Enabling robots to chart a better course

A novel, open-source system has the ability to streamline disaster recovery and parcel delivery by rapidly generating a smooth path plan that cuts travel time and avoids obstacles.

From Penn Engineering

2 min. read

Weitzman externships in retrospect: Aidan Williams
Aidan Williams.

Weitzman Master of Architecture student Aidan Williams.

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Weitzman externships in retrospect: Aidan Williams

The Weitzman Master of Architecture student spent his externship with in situ studio, a small design-based architecture practice.

From the Weitzman School of Design

2 min. read

AI education for kids
A student experimenting with a handheld STEM project in a classroom.

Image: Courtesy of Penn GSE

AI education for kids

An interdisciplinary seminar at Penn’s Graduate School of Education explores how students can design, critique, and teach AI and machine learning in K–12 education.

From Penn GSE

2 min. read

Awards and accolades for Penn faculty and Centers
People walking down Locust Walk in the summer.

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Awards and accolades for Penn faculty and Centers

A roundup of the latest awards and honors for faculty in the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the School of Arts & Sciences, Penn Nursing, and the Wharton School.

Penn Today Staff

2 min. read