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Marcia Chatelain and Matthew Levendusky named 2025 Guggenheim Fellows  
Marcia Chatelain and Matthew Levendusky headshots

Marcia Chatelain and Matthew Levendusky of the School of Arts & Sciences each have been awarded a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship.

(Images: Courtesy of Marcia Chatelain and Matthew Levendusky)

Marcia Chatelain and Matthew Levendusky named 2025 Guggenheim Fellows  

Marcia Chatelain and Matthew Levendusky of the School of Arts & Sciences each have been awarded a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship.

2 min. read

Do ‘harm reduction’ interventions for substance use lower or raise trust in government?

Do ‘harm reduction’ interventions for substance use lower or raise trust in government?

“Harm reduction” interventions for substance use such as needle exchange programs and methadone distribution aim to reduce the adverse effects of substance use, rather than punish or prevent it, and have repeatedly shown to lower the risk of overdoses, mortality, and drug-related crime. But in many communities in rural America, there is a stigma attached to these approaches.

From research to fiction: How David Lydon-Staley merges academia and creativity
David Lydon-Staley.

David Lydon-Staley is an assistant professor of communication and principal investigator in the Addiction, Health, & Adolescence (AHA!) Lab at the Annenberg School for Communication.

(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)

From research to fiction: How David Lydon-Staley merges academia and creativity

The Annenberg School for Communication professor discusses his creative practice, the overlap between his creative and academic work, and how his teaching informs his writing outside of the classroom.

From Annenberg School for Communication

2 min. read

Data-driven map shows local economic impact of cuts to federal funding for health research
A map of the US showing the impact of federal health research cuts

Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMaP).

(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)

Data-driven map shows local economic impact of cuts to federal funding for health research

A new interactive map co-developed by researchers at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication shows that proposed NIH funding cuts lead to an estimated $16 billion in economic loss and 68,000 jobs lost nationwide.

From Annenberg School for Communication

2 min. read

Penn Museum and Egyptian archaeologists unearth a 3,600-year-old tomb from the lost Abydos dynasty
Archaelogists performing a dig in Egypt.

Penn Museum’s ongoing fieldwork at Abydos, Egypt has uncovered the tomb of an unknown king from a lost dynasty.

(Image: Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum)

Penn Museum and Egyptian archaeologists unearth a 3,600-year-old tomb from the lost Abydos dynasty

The excavation will continue through 2025, which includes protection, site management, and conservation of the structures. "This discovery is a new window to understanding the origins of the enigmatic Abydos Dynasty,” says Josef Wegner, Penn Museum curator of the Egyptian Section and professor of Egyptian Archaeology.

2 min. read

People select feedback to flatter others, except when they dislike them

People select feedback to flatter others, except when they dislike them

New research by Penn’s Social Action Lab research associate Xi Shen and PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín finds that people generally want to make other people feel good about themselves—unless they dislike that person.

From the Annenberg Public Policy Center

2 min. read

Exploring the history of making choices, small and large
Sophia Rosenfeld leans against a bookshelf smiling.

Sophia Rosenfeld’s new book traces the history of the idea of choice. She likes to work on ideas that are “ubiquitous,” or so prevalent in society that we rarely talk about or even notice them.

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Exploring the history of making choices, small and large

In a new book, Sophia Rosenfeld of the Department of History chronicles the past and present of an elusive idea—choice—and what it has meant and still means for people and society.

4 min. read

Sarah J. Jackson awarded fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study

Sarah J. Jackson awarded fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study

Jackson, an associate professor at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication will begin a one-year fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s foremost centers for intellectual inquiry. Jackson studies the ways media, journalism, and technology represent and are used by marginalized publics. Her research focuses on how communication arising from Black, feminist, and activist spaces contributes to U.S. progress.

‘Hacking’ data for insights and innovation
Jackie Balanovsky, Glynn Boltman, Ki Joon Lee, and Geddy Lucier sit around a table working on their laptops.

(From left) Jackie Balanovsky, Glynn Boltman, Ki Joon Lee, and Geddy Lucier, all third-year students in the College of Arts and Sciences, work on their analysis of student loan complaint data during the 2025 PORES Hackathon.

(Image: Courtesy of Andrew Arenge)

‘Hacking’ data for insights and innovation

Penn student data science teams tackle large volumes of information as they compete for honors with the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies.

3 min. read