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Exploring the history of North American pastels
Megan Baker

Megan Baker is a Barra Foundation Fellow in Art and Material Culture at Penn’s McNeil Center.

(Image: Courtesy of McNeil Center for Early American Studies)

Exploring the history of North American pastels

McNeil Center Fellow Megan Baker’s dissertation research explores how the fine art medium tells a larger story of material transit across the Atlantic during a time of mounting political discord.

From The McNeil Center for Early American Studies

2 min. read

New faculty explore how individual minds influence group behavior
Three photos of Marlyse Baptista, Nacho Sanguinetti, and Fritz Breithaupt.

Linguist Marlyse Baptista, neuroscientist Nacho Sanguinetti, and humanities scholar Fritz Breithaupt were all hired through MindCORE under the theme of “interconnected minds,” focusing on how individual minds influence group behavior and vice versa.

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New faculty explore how individual minds influence group behavior

Linguist Marlyse Baptista, neuroscientist Nacho Sanguinetti, and humanities scholar Fritz Breithaupt are part of MindCORE’s Interconnected Minds cluster hire.
Blending empathy and analytics
Nature Hu.

Nature Hu is MSSP+DA student at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering)

Blending empathy and analytics

SP2 Class of 2026 student Nature Hu explains how qualitative insight coupled with strong data analysis can effectively shape policy and resource allocations.

In school and in practice, mass timber gains ground

In school and in practice, mass timber gains ground

Weitzman School of Design faculty and alumni are helping to update building code guidelines to highlight the safety and sustainability of mass timber over steel and concrete as go-to building materials in cities around the world.

Researching 17th century Caribbean freedom and empire
Clifton Sorrell III

Clifton E. Sorrell III is a McNeil Center for Early American Studies Advisory Council Fellow.

(Image: Courtesy of McNeil Center for Early American History)

Researching 17th century Caribbean freedom and empire

McNeil Center for Early American Studies Advisory Council Fellow Clifton E. Sorrell III pieces together the world that shaped how people of African descent experienced slavery and freedom in the early Caribbean.

From The McNeil Center for Early American Studies

2 min. read

Cutting through the cluttered media landscape
Duncan Watts and the lab members of Media Bias Lab.

Duncan Watts (far left) and managing director Jeanne Ruane (second from left) with members of Penn’s Computational Social Science Lab.

(Image: Courtesy of Inspiring Impact)

Cutting through the cluttered media landscape

Penn’s Computational Social Science Lab’s Media Bias Detector team, under founder and director Duncan Watts, explores how people behave, how media works, how society functions, and how the human mind operates.

From Penn Inspiring Impact

2 min. read

SP2 launches social work affiliate program with HUP and CHOP

SP2 launches social work affiliate program with HUP and CHOP

The first-of-its-kind social work affiliate program will advance workforce development and further elevate the role of social workers in improving health outcomes and systems of care.

Annenberg Scholars awarded Information and Democracy Research Grants from the Penn Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy

Annenberg Scholars awarded Information and Democracy Research Grants from the Penn Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy

The 16 awardees will conduct research that unpacks how media ecosystems shape public understanding, examine AI’s expanding role as an information intermediary, and investigate communication strategies that enable persuasion and common ground.

How does medicine come to be?
A bowl of dried ginger root for traditional Chinese medicine.

Image: LightStock via Getty Images

How does medicine come to be?

By tracing substances from their roots to how they’re used today, a team including Hsiao-Wen Cheng of the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations aims to answer questions about how medical practices evolve.

From Omnia

2 min. read

Penn GSE organizes transformative leadership professional development in Alabama

Penn GSE organizes transformative leadership professional development in Alabama

As a part of an ongoing Wallace Foundation funded initiative, Penn’s Graduate School of Education (GSE) brought district teams from across the country to Montgomery, Alabama for immersive learning at the Legacy Sites with founder Bryan Stevenson and GSE professor Howard Stevenson.