Featured Articles

A person wearing a backpack outside a university building.

From college community to career path

Joyce Kim, an advanced doctoral student in sociology and education, wants to know what motivates undergraduates—especially those who are the first in their families to attend college—to choose the career trajectories that they do.

9/16/2024
Penn students walking through Norris Square Neighborhood Project’s community garden.

How food moves around cities

Domenic Vitiello, an urban and regional planning expert, teaches classes that invite students to locations in and around Philadelphia to better understand how its denizens dine.

9/4/2024
Portrait of Xinlan Emily Hu

The mechanics of collaboration

Penn Ph.D. student Xinlan Emily Hu leads a group of budding engineers and social scientists who study communication across teams. The group has developed a new toolkit aimed at helping researchers analyze and measure teamwork.

8/30/2024
A human head with branches similar to neurons emanating.

The inner workings of chronic pain

Jessica Wojick, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biology in the School of Arts & Sciences, examines the biological experiences of pain and how to mitigate suffering.

8/19/2024
Penn students and volunteers on Locust Walk during Move-In.

Move-In primer 2024

Penn Today offers a practical guide to undergraduates moving into College Houses and participating in orientation Aug. 19-26.

8/12/2024
A small racecar in a makeshift track in Penn Engineering with student spectators.

Racing to the future

Rahul Mangharam’s scaled-down, self-driving race cars are revamping engineering education at Penn.

8/5/2024
An image of people picking through a dump with a handful of skyscrapers along the horizon

The anthropology of plastics in India

Doctoral candidate Adwaita Banerjee uses ethnographic research to document the ecological transition of the Deonar dumping ground, where thousands of Dalits and Muslim migrants mine the area for plastic that can be resold and recycled.

7/8/2024
A robotic arm in a lab.

Exploring the limits of robotic systems

Bruce Lee, a doctoral student in Penn Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, offers insights into the fundamental limits of machine learning.

6/25/2024
color powder on student's face during holi festival

Our favorite photos of the year

Penn Today’s iconic photos of the 2023-24 academic year highlight the beauty, achievements, innovation, and celebration in the Penn community.

6/10/2024
Photograph of researcher, China Byrns, in front of monitor showing microscopy images of fly brain

Fruitful insights on the brain

China Byrns of Nancy M. Bonini’s lab led research on 'zombie-like' cells, findings that could offer insights into neurodegenerative disease and aging.

6/5/2024
two people looking at laptop computers

Measuring readers of romance

Researchers at the Price Lab for Digital Humanities are making new discoveries about the oft-dismissed literary genre.

5/31/2024
Nader Engheta and Firooz Aflatouni sit at a table clutching Penn-branded mugs filled with tea.

Brewing brilliance

Nader Engheta and Firooz Aflatouni of Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science turn tea time into new ideas.

5/24/2024
Maya Moritz giving a lecture in front of a mural.

Can more art equal less crime?

Maya Moritz, a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminology, is building the case, studying the effect of Philadelphia murals on the city’s crime rate.

5/23/2024
college hall facade

Visit Penn Today

If there’s news at Penn, you’ll find it here. We strive to bring you faculty, staff, and student profiles, research updates, and the latest happenings on campus.

Visit Penn Today