Faculty
Research Roundup: A Great Cup of Coffee Through Physics, Math Nudges, and More
We share recent findings from four Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, including one who used physics to make a delicious cup of coffee with fewer beans and another studying behavioral health practices to improve math scores.
60-Second Lectures at Quaker Days
Over three days, six faculty experts from criminology, English, biology, history and sociology of science, music, and German, spoke briefly on subjects from Airbnbs and crime to deep listening.
Mark Trodden named Dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences
A distinguished physicist and accomplished academic leader, Trodden will assume the role on June 1.
In Conversation with Statistician Nate Silver
At the Stephen A. Levin Family Dean’s Forum, Silver spoke with Al Filreis, Kelly Family Professor of English, about many topics, chief among them the difference between playing it safe and embracing risk.
Penn ATLAS Shares 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
The team, which includes Joseph Kroll, Evelyn Thomson, Elliot Lipeles, Dylan Rankin, and Brig Williams from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is part of an expansive collaboration studying high-energy collisions from the Large Hadron Collider.
2025 College of Arts & Sciences Graduation Speakers
Michael Platt, James S. Riepe University Professor, will speak at this year’s College of Arts & Sciences graduation ceremony, along with student speaker Anthony Wong, C’25, Sunday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m. on Franklin Field.
Knowledge by the Slice: Whither South Korean Democracy? (Video)
During this recent lunchtime conversation, a panel of faculty experts discussed democratic backsliding, executive power, and constitutional governing in the wake of recent political turmoil in South Korea.
The Price of Parenthood
Research from Pilar Gonalons-Pons, Alber-Klingelhofer Presidential Associate Professor of Sociology, and Ioana Marinescu of Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice, reveals how high childcare costs create family income inequality in the United States.
Office Artifacts: Megan Kassabaum
Kassabaum, Associate Professor of Anthropology, describes five meaningful objects that surround her as she works.
Centering Black History
Ahead of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the Library Company, and 1838 Black Metropolis collaborated on a conference about Black Philadelphia in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Modern Medicine and the History of Graverobbing
Using archival documents and primary source material in Philadelphia and Scotland, Catherine Sorrentino, C’25, uncovered what happened to society’s most vulnerable with the rise of “anatomical medicine.”
Unearthing the Secrets of an Ancient Greek City
Classical archaeologist and architectural historian Mantha Zarmakoupi has spent the past four summers excavating the ruins of a city council building at the center of Teos in western Türkiye, in collaboration with the Teos Archaeological Project of Ankara University.
A Dialogue about the Past and Future of Democracy
Ben Talks NYC, which took place this year at the Times Center in front of a crowd of 270 people, featured Jeffrey Green and Michele Margolis of Political Science, Donovan Schaefer of Religious Studies, and Sophia Rosenfeld of History.
Living Deliberately through Existential Despair (Video)
In a recent Knowledge by the Slice, Professor Justin McDaniel discusses the experiences from two of his Penn courses in which students take on “monastic” challenges and how unplugging from distractions can lead to unexpected breakthroughs and moments of clarity.
Can Sports Fandom Be a Religious Experience?
With the Philadelphia Eagles set to compete for the ultimate prize at Super Bowl LIX, Megan Robb, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, has noticed a “buzz of collective effervescence” in her Religion and Sports class, a space where students discuss ritual and ceremony, debate where sports and religion intersect—even meet the Eagles chaplain.