Faculty Archive

Discover the stories behind the Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication's favorite office items.

In less than one year, Penn’s collection of Mongolian literature grew from just 600 titles held by Van Pelt-Dietrich Library to the fourth largest collection in the United States. All it took was a professor on a mission, an intrepid librarian, a serendipitous conference, a late-night browsing session, and an excursion to Inner Mongolia.

Professor of Africana Studies Michael Hanchard established the Marginalized Populations Project after reflecting on his graduate work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

David Christianson, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Beth Linker, Associate Professor of History and Sociology of Science, received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching—the highest teaching honor at the University. The Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty was given to Lorene Cary, Senior Lecturer in English, while Madeleine Joullié, Professor of Chemistry, received the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring.

We think of the events in classic tragedies as inevitable: The characters always make the same decisions, and the outcome never changes. But what if you could stop and rewind the action? If you gave Macbeth a second chance, would he make a different choice?

It’s not every day that scientists get to say they have discovered a new planet in our solar system, but that day arrived this past July for Masao Sako, an associate professor of physics and astronomy, and Gary Bernstein, the Reese W. Flower Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

A new model developed by Penn Arts and Sciences chemists could be the first step towards better harnessing heat energy to power nanoscale devices.

A new book examines members of the Indian diaspora, both Indian- and American-born, and offers reasons for their successes in the United States.

Since the 2016 election, scores of women across the nation have enlisted in political campaign training programs like Emerge America and Ready to Run. One researcher is gathering their data to understand why some women throw their hats in the ring while others don’t.

May 2016 marked the 50th anniversary of the launching of the Cultural Revolution in China, a political upheaval that rocked the country for a decade.

A new course brings together students from divergent disciplines with the hope of finding common ground.

Rogers Smith, the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, offers his take on why the firing of James Comey, as well as Trump's use of executive action and social media, is challenging the balance of power in Washington.

During Alumni Weekend 2017, presenters provided quick, expert takes on topics ranging from 3-D models of galaxies to the history of animal nutrition science.

Writing course offers creative study of the iconic songwriter and Nobel Prize laureate Bob Dylan.

Onoso Imoagene, Assistant Professor of Sociology, explores the idea of race and national identity.

Professor Peter T. Struck, the Evan C Thompson Chair for Excellence in Teaching, on the cultural significance of "The Simpsons."

A new Penn Arts and Sciences initiative is awarding grants to faculty to encourage the collective investigation of global topics across the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Dean Steven J. Fluharty recently announced the first round of projects to be funded through this program, called the Dean’s Integrative Global Inquiries Fund.

Political Science faculty assess U.S. foreign policy during the first 100 days.

Professor Christopher Atwood and librarian Brian Vivier build Penn’s Mongolian collection from scratch.

Nikhil Anand, assistant professor of anthropology, discusses how water quality impacts society.