Q&A

The science behind Spider-Man’s superpowers

A Q&A with biomaterials engineer Shu Yang about the real-life technologies and research that could allow people to climb up walls and synthesize their own superstrong spider silk.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Lamentations for Sudan

Sudanese scholar Ali Ali-Dinar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Africana Studies, discusses the ongoing uprising in the East African country and the Sudan massacre.

Greg Johnson

Toxins from the tap

In Pennsylvania and hundreds of other locations around the country, manmade chemicals known as PFAS have been found in drinking water. Howard Neukrug discusses the potential harm, how local and federal agencies are responding, and the many related questions that remain unanswered.

Katherine Unger Baillie

A unique perspective on renewable energy

In a conversation with Rachel Kyte, the U.N. special representative and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All discusses how this energy sector has changed in the past decade and what happens when political will doesn’t match the science.

Michele W. Berger

‘Ladysitting’

A new memoir by Lorene Cary, “Ladysitting: My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century,” describes the year she spent caring for her grandmother in her home.

Louisa Shepard

Will stalemate lead to resolution in Venezuela?

In a Q&A, political science professor Dorothy Kronick says negotiation is an uphill battle but may be the only way to settle the dispute over who will lead the troubled country.

Gwyneth K. Shaw



In the News


Scientific American

Grumpy voters want better stories. Not statistics

In a Q&A, PIK Professor Duncan Watts says that U.S. voters ignored Democratic policy in favor of Republican storytelling.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Back at Penn, former president Amy Gutmann reflects on ambassadorship and where she is now: ‘I feel very free’

In a Q&A, Amy Gutmann discusses her life post-Penn presidency and ambassadorship, including her return to campus for the christening of Amy Gutmann Hall.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Former Penn president Judith Rodin on the changing relationship between business and universities

In a Q&A, former Penn President Judith Rodin discusses her current role advising the Bellwether District, which seeks to reinvent two square miles of former oil refineries in South and Southwest Philly, and the rapid changes in business-academic relations throughout her career.

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Forbes India

Life is not a series of linear stages defined by age: Mauro F Guillen

In a Q&A, Mauro F. Guillén of the Wharton School discusses his latest book, “The Perennials,” which outlines the shaping of a post-generational society and its implications for businesses, governments, and society at large.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

The Biden administration is trying to make it easier to convert offices to apartments post-pandemic

In a Q&A, Vincent Reina of the Weitzman School of Design discusses a new White House initiative to incentivize commercial-to-residential conversion projects, especially as the office market continues to struggle.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Lab tests and scans interpreted by AI? These Penn doctors are researching the good—and bad—ways to use AI in health care

In a Q&A, Samiran Mukherjee of the Perelman School of Medicine discusses the potential ways that AI can benefit health care professionals and patients.

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