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Undergraduate Students

Hard at work, crews make progress during summer construction
vagelos laboratory exterior

(On homepage): The Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology, pictured in July 2023, features innovative sunshades designed to increase daylighting while blocking approximately 40% of light. A similar design of shades was recently used in London’s U.S. embassy building.

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Hard at work, crews make progress during summer construction

Ahead of the arrival of students, summer on campus bustles with construction teams advancing various building projects and maintenance work. Here, a look at what’s happening now.
Operatic notes: One student’s research on opera in society
Thomas Sharrock standing on the steps outside a building

Sharrock asked patrons to complete the research survey two hours before each of the seven opera performances, and during the intermission.

(Image: Shea Roggio) 

Operatic notes: One student’s research on opera in society

Rising second-year Thomas Sharrock attended seven operas this summer at the Royal Opera House in London, studying audience perceptions of opera in the United Kingdom.
Starstruck on the Cannes red carpet
two students standing on the red carpet steps with many people behind them

Naiburg-Smith (left) and Sweeney on the fabled Lumière Theater red-carpet stairs at Cannes.

(Image: Courtesy of Isabel Sweeney)

Starstruck on the Cannes red carpet

The 30 students who attended the Cannes Film Festival through a Penn Summer Abroad course were able to watch screenings of at least three to four films a day. For the most sought-after American film premieres they waited in “last-minute” lines for hours.
Could psychedelics simultaneously treat chronic pain and depression?
Ahmad Hammo

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Could psychedelics simultaneously treat chronic pain and depression?

This summer, Ahmad Hammo, a rising third-year student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, is conducting a pilot study to explore psilocybin’s potential as a therapy for chronic pain and the depression that often accompanies it. 

Liana F. Wait

A sweet treat on a hot summer day
Liz Magill and others scooping ice cream for a crowd on College Green.

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A sweet treat on a hot summer day

President Liz Magill hosted an ice cream social for the Penn community on Thursday afternoon, drawing faculty, staff, and students together on College Green. 

Lauren Hertzler

Cultures of the book
four students standing next to table looking at printed materials with professor

In the course Cultures of the Book taught by Whitney Trettien (center), assistant professor of English, students study materials in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books & Manuscripts in the Penn Libraries. 

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Cultures of the book

In the Cultures of the Book course taught by Whitney Trettien, assistant professor of English, students “adopt a book” they select from the Penn Libraries collection, and their research projects are published on an academic website.