Awards and accolades for Penn faculty nocred News Awards and accolades for Penn faculty A roundup of appointments and awards for various members of Penn’s faculty across several schools.
20 breakthroughs of 2025 The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory is housed at the Pennovation Center and brings together designers, engineers, and computer scientists to reimagine the built world. Using graphic statics, a method where forces are mapped as lines, they design forms that balance compression and tension. These result in structures that use far fewer materials while remaining strong and efficient.(Image: Eric Sucar) News 20 breakthroughs of 2025 From ancient tombs and tiny robots to personalized gene editing and AI weather models, Penn’s 2025 research portfolio showed how curiosity—paired with collaboration—moves knowledge into impact and stretches across disciplines and continents.
One School, many schools of thought School of Arts & Sciences dean Mark Trodden joins faculty in discussion for Omnia’s latest podcast series.nocred One School, many schools of thought A special edition of the Penn Arts & Sciences “Ampersand” podcast features Dean Mark Trodden in conversation with SAS faculty from different disciplines. 2 min. read
Exploring Philadelphia’s petrochemical past Philadelphia Gas Works in an 1890 illustration. It sat on the east side of the Schuylkill River, between Market and Filbert streets.(Image: David J. Kennedy. Courtesy of Historical Society of Philadelphia, via petrodelphia.org.) Exploring Philadelphia’s petrochemical past Penn historian Jared Farmer recently launched a website about Philadelphia’s fossil fuel economy to help students and residents learn about the local past in larger context. 2 min. read
Medieval medicine and magic Elly Truitt (left, standing) says she hopes the students can use these historical examples to make sense of their own experiences.nocred Medieval medicine and magic In Elly Truitt’s Medicine, Magic, and Miracles class, rare manuscripts provide an window into the intriguing—and sometimes strange—evolution of medieval medicine. 2 min. read
Penn Museum opens new interactive exhibit highlighting history of Indigenous peoples Penn In the News KYW Newsradio (Philadelphia) Penn Museum opens new interactive exhibit highlighting history of Indigenous peoples Megan C. Kassabaum of the Penn Museum introduces the new North American Native Gallery. Understanding the climate record through objects In her office, Melissa Charenko has paintings by artist Jill Pelto that depict the kind of climate proxies Charenko writes about in her new book, such as sediment cores containing pollen grains.nocred Understanding the climate record through objects Melissa Charenko’s new book shares the history of how 20th-century scientists used climate “proxies”—such as tree rings and fossil pollen—to understand past climates, which has implications for future climate action. 3 min. read Visit Philly’s only revolutionary tavern Penn In the News WHYY (Philadelphia) Visit Philly’s only revolutionary tavern Emma Hart of the School of Arts & Sciences joins a discussion about a Philadelphia tavern that dates to 1759. New members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters Alan Charles Kors (left) and Philip E. Tetlock, elected members of the members of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters.nocred New members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters Alan Charles Kors and Philip E. Tetlock have been invested as members of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, a nonprofit that promotes scholarship and honors achievement in the arts and sciences. 2 min. read U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece Malcolm Nelson, a new Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Penn’s Department of Classical Studies, draws on his U.S. Army experience in his research on empathy in ancient Greece.nocred U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece Serving in the Army from 2009 to 2012 informed the research of Malcolm Nelson, Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in classical studies, on empathy norms in ancient Greek culture. 2 min. read Load More
Understanding the climate record through objects In her office, Melissa Charenko has paintings by artist Jill Pelto that depict the kind of climate proxies Charenko writes about in her new book, such as sediment cores containing pollen grains.nocred Understanding the climate record through objects Melissa Charenko’s new book shares the history of how 20th-century scientists used climate “proxies”—such as tree rings and fossil pollen—to understand past climates, which has implications for future climate action. 3 min. read
Visit Philly’s only revolutionary tavern Penn In the News WHYY (Philadelphia) Visit Philly’s only revolutionary tavern Emma Hart of the School of Arts & Sciences joins a discussion about a Philadelphia tavern that dates to 1759. New members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters Alan Charles Kors (left) and Philip E. Tetlock, elected members of the members of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters.nocred New members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters Alan Charles Kors and Philip E. Tetlock have been invested as members of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, a nonprofit that promotes scholarship and honors achievement in the arts and sciences. 2 min. read U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece Malcolm Nelson, a new Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Penn’s Department of Classical Studies, draws on his U.S. Army experience in his research on empathy in ancient Greece.nocred U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece Serving in the Army from 2009 to 2012 informed the research of Malcolm Nelson, Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in classical studies, on empathy norms in ancient Greek culture. 2 min. read
New members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters Alan Charles Kors (left) and Philip E. Tetlock, elected members of the members of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters.nocred New members of American Academy of Sciences and Letters Alan Charles Kors and Philip E. Tetlock have been invested as members of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, a nonprofit that promotes scholarship and honors achievement in the arts and sciences. 2 min. read
U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece Malcolm Nelson, a new Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Penn’s Department of Classical Studies, draws on his U.S. Army experience in his research on empathy in ancient Greece.nocred U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece Serving in the Army from 2009 to 2012 informed the research of Malcolm Nelson, Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in classical studies, on empathy norms in ancient Greek culture. 2 min. read