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The Big Bang at 75
An image of a nebula, a giant cloud of dust and gas in space.

Where did the cosmos come from? This question has long been part of human speculation, says Vijay Balasubramanian. Today, thanks to scientists like Ralph Alpher and George Gamow, we have a rough picture: Some 13 billion years ago, the universe was a hot, dense state that cooled as it expanded. 

(Image: NASA via Unsplash.)

  • Q&A

    • The Big Bang at 75

    Theoretical physicist Vijay Balasubramanian discusses the 75th anniversary of the alpha-beta-gamma paper, what we know—and don’t know—about the universe and the “very big gaps” left to discover.

    Kristina García

    Penn fourth-year Vikram Balasubramanian named George J. Mitchell Scholar
    Vikram Balasubramanian standing in front of a leafy hedge wearing a suit and tie

    Fourth-year Vikram Balasubramanian has been selected as one of 12 in the nation to receive a George J. Mitchell Scholarship, which covers one academic year of graduate study in Ireland or Northern Ireland.

    Penn fourth-year Vikram Balasubramanian named George J. Mitchell Scholar

    Fourth-year Vikram Balasubramanian, a double-major in statistics and philosophy in the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected as one of 12 in the nation to receive a George J. Mitchell Scholarship, which covers one academic year of graduate study in Ireland or Northern Ireland.
    Defining neural ‘representation’
    A computer screen displays the brain activity of a man with electrodes on his head.

    Neuroscientists use the word “represent” to encompass multifaceted relationships between brain activity, behavior, and the environment.

    Defining neural ‘representation’

    Neuroscientists frequently say that neural activity ‘represents’ certain phenomena, PIK Professor Konrad Kording and postdoc Ben Baker led a study that took a philosophical approach to tease out what the term means.

    Marilyn Perkins

    Exploring what it means to be curious
    Book cover of Curious Minds: The Power of Connection by Perry Zurn and Dani S. Bassett along side image of the two scholars

    Exploring what it means to be curious

    In a new book “Curious Minds: The Power of Connection,” Penn’s Dani S. Bassett and twin sibling Perry Zurn weave together history, linguistics, network science, neuroscience, and philosophy to unpack the concept of curiosity.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Undergraduate research projects look at migration from multiple angles
    art of people walking across a brown expanse carrying suitcases and bundles

    For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Wolf Humanities Center explored the topic of migration. Image: The Migration of the Negro, #18: The migration gained in momentum, 1941. Casein tempera on hardboard, 12"x18". Lawrence, Jacob (1917-2000) ©ARS, NY Location: The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A.

    Undergraduate research projects look at migration from multiple angles

    The Wolf Undergraduate Humanities forum takes on the topic of migration, with individual research projects ranging from slavery debates within the Jewish Orthodox community to Southeast Asian refugee youth.

    Kristina García

    Questioning what we know about dementia
    An elderly person, seated, holds hands with a caregiver standing over them.

    Questioning what we know about dementia

    Penn researchers are looking into moments of sudden, clear communication in someone with progressive neurodegenerative disease for a deeper understanding of both brain science and philosophy.

    From Penn Memory Center

    Protecting a singular ecosystem in the Galápagos
    Giant tortoises on the Galápagos Islands.

    The Galápagos giant tortoises at the the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Galápagos Islands. (Image: Elias Rovielo)

    Protecting a singular ecosystem in the Galápagos

    Michael Weisberg, the Bess W. Heyman President's Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, students, and Ecuador's Ambassador to the United States reflect on the momentous expansion of the Galápagos Marine Reserve.

    Blake Cole