11/15
Graduate Students
Patterns of Soviet Jewish emigration in the post-Stalin era
For four decades, more than one million Jews left the USSR despite the Soviet Union’s complex bureaucracy and opposition to emigration. Doctoral candidate Sasha Zborovsky explores the intricate dynamics.
Chinatown and community as a cornerstone
Will Chan, a Thouron Scholar and Ph.D. candidate in theoretical physics, is also an advocate for building Asian communities.
Penn expands its Yellow Ribbon program for veterans and their beneficiaries
Penn expands its Yellow Ribbon program for veterans and their beneficiaries, now offering unlimited slots and funding for undergraduate students.
Stringing together the history of an ancient Incan textile
Kyle Marini, a Barra Dissertation Fellow in Art and Material Culture at The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, is developing an interdisciplinary methodology to recreate an ancient Incan rope to illuminate Inca modes of artistic representation.
A series on wellness and well-being
A roundup of the six-part series from Penn Today that focuses on University resources available to students, faculty, staff, and postdocs for their mental, physical, technical, and financial health.
Finding a new behavioral adaptation in fruit flies
Penn researchers discovered “wing spreading” in Drosophila santomea, research that hints at a rare, novel finding and offers insights into an underrepresented area in sexual reproduction research: female-initiated behaviors.
Acoustic signals for better wireless technologies
Researchers push the limits of sound wave control, unlocking the potential for faster, clearer wireless communication and quantum information processing technologies.
Disability awareness at Penn
About one-fifth of all college students identify as having a disability, a figure that has grown in recent decades. At Penn, students form advocacy clubs, work with the Weingarten Center, and study disability.
Who, What, Why: Hiro Chiba-Okabe on law and applied math
Chiba-Okabe explains his transition from practicing law in Japan to pursuing a Ph.D. in applied math and computational science and how those interests intersect.
Twisted sheets yield electrifying outcomes
Researchers uncovered how twisting layers of a material can generate a mysterious electron-path-deflecting effect, unlocking new possibilities for controlling light and electrons in quantum materials.
In the News
Rising student absenteeism may be hurting teacher job satisfaction
A study by Michael Gottfried and Ph.D. student Colby Woods of the Graduate School of Education finds that student absences are linked to lower teacher job satisfaction, which could exacerbate growing teacher shortages.
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CAR-T cell therapies show promise for autoimmune diseases
Daniel Baker, a Ph.D. student in Carl June’s lab at the Perelman School of Medicine, discusses the results of a study on donor CAR-T cell therapy.
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Many wealthy members of Congress are descendants of rich slaveholders — new study demonstrates the enduring legacy of slavery
A co-authored study by Ph.D. student Neil Sehgal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science found that legislators who are descendants of slaveholders are significantly wealthier than members of Congress without slaveholder ancestry.
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Penn analysis supports state commission’s recommendation for boost in Pa. education funding
An analysis by A. Brooks Bowden and doctoral candidates David Loeb and Katie Pullom of the Graduate School of Education outlines the measurable benefits of a $5.1 billion increase in Pennsylvania K-12 spending over seven years.
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A new idea for Market East: A ‘Welcoming District’ for immigrants who are driving population growth
Graduate students at the Weitzman School of Design are submitting speculative proposals for a Welcoming District near Philadelphia’s Fashion District that could replace or supplement the Sixers arena.
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Few options available to Western leaders weighing response to Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny’s death
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Western countries have little practical leverage to push Russia off its authoritarian path after Alexei Navalny’s death, given the economic and diplomatic sanctions already levied against Vladimir Putin.
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