Penn Arts & Sciences
@sas.upenn.edu
The School of Arts & Sciences is the heart of Penn. Learn about events, news and get involved in the conversation by following us!
https://www.sas.upenn.edu
Visit our online publication, Omnia Magazine: https://omnia.sas.upenn.edu/
https://www.sas.upenn.edu
Visit our online publication, Omnia Magazine: https://omnia.sas.upenn.edu/
Is love at first sight possible? According to a new paper from Professor of Philosophy Errol Lord, the answer is yes—if you follow the theory of Romantic Kantianism. @upenn.edu #ValentinesDay #Love
Is Love at First Sight Possible
According to a new paper from Professor of Philosophy Errol Lord, the answer is yes—if you follow the theory of Romantic Kantianism.
omnia.sas.upenn.edu
February 13, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Is love at first sight possible? According to a new paper from Professor of Philosophy Errol Lord, the answer is yes—if you follow the theory of Romantic Kantianism. @upenn.edu #ValentinesDay #Love
Dorothy Roberts’ new memoir, ‘The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family,’ is "an exploration of race, identity, and family in America."
Dorothy Roberts’ memoir on interracial families in America | Penn Today
Roberts’ new memoir, “The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family” is an exploration of race, identity, and family in America.
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February 12, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Dorothy Roberts’ new memoir, ‘The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family,’ is "an exploration of race, identity, and family in America."
Ben Talks NYC in Photos: Nearly 200 alums came out to hear Dean Mark Trodden and a panel of faculty experts discuss what Homer, Shakespeare, and Bollywood can tell us about culture and history.
Ben Talks NYC in Photos
Nearly 200 alums came out to hear Dean Mark Trodden and a panel of faculty experts—Zachary Lesser from English, Rahul Mukerjee from Cinema & Media Studies, and Emily Wilson from Classical…
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February 12, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Ben Talks NYC in Photos: Nearly 200 alums came out to hear Dean Mark Trodden and a panel of faculty experts discuss what Homer, Shakespeare, and Bollywood can tell us about culture and history.
Artificial intelligence doesn’t make decisions like a human, but according to research from Assistant Professor of Economics Kevin He, people seem to think it does.
Anthropomorphizing AI
Artificial intelligence doesn’t make decisions like a human, but according to research from Assistant Professor of Economics Kevin He, people seem to think it does.
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February 11, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Artificial intelligence doesn’t make decisions like a human, but according to research from Assistant Professor of Economics Kevin He, people seem to think it does.
Reposted by Penn Arts & Sciences
What do Homer, Shakespeare, and Bollywood tell us about culture and history? At our latest edition of Ben Talks, Zachary Lesser, Rahul Mukerjee, and Emily Wilson discussed how art reflects, preserves, and connects us to the human experience. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu
Ben Talks NYC in Photos
Nearly 200 alums came out to hear Dean Mark Trodden and a panel of faculty experts—Zachary Lesser from English, Rahul Mukerjee from Cinema & Media Studies, and Emily Wilson from Classical…
omnia.sas.upenn.edu
February 11, 2026 at 8:00 PM
What do Homer, Shakespeare, and Bollywood tell us about culture and history? At our latest edition of Ben Talks, Zachary Lesser, Rahul Mukerjee, and Emily Wilson discussed how art reflects, preserves, and connects us to the human experience. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu
Penn geophysicists and colleagues have uncovered Earth-sculpting processes that result from the formation of snowball-like aggregates they call ‘sandballs.‘ Their findings provide fundamental insights into erosion—and much more.
Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold | Penn Today
Penn geophysicists and colleagues have uncovered Earth-sculpting processes that result from the formation of snowball-like aggregates they call “sandballs.” Their findings provide fundamental…
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February 10, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Penn geophysicists and colleagues have uncovered Earth-sculpting processes that result from the formation of snowball-like aggregates they call ‘sandballs.‘ Their findings provide fundamental insights into erosion—and much more.
A seminar from Middle Eastern medievalist Paul Cobb gets students talking and thinking about the ‘disorienting’ storytelling in ‘One Thousand and One Nights.’ “It’s not a book between two covers,” says Cobb. “It is a complex collection of stories with lives of their own.” @upenn.edu
Exploring ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ | Penn Today
A seminar from Middle Eastern medievalist Paul Cobb gets students talking and thinking about the “disorienting” storytelling in “One Thousand and One Nights.”
penntoday.upenn.edu
February 9, 2026 at 9:35 PM
A seminar from Middle Eastern medievalist Paul Cobb gets students talking and thinking about the ‘disorienting’ storytelling in ‘One Thousand and One Nights.’ “It’s not a book between two covers,” says Cobb. “It is a complex collection of stories with lives of their own.” @upenn.edu
Prithvi Parthasarathy, C'26, designed an AI triage tool to improve hospital efficiency and patient care. "I'm really interested in not only being a physician but also bringing the health care system to the patients, and designing the system aspects as well,” he says. @upenn.edu
An innovative AI tool to improve health care delivery in rural India | Penn Today
Prithvi Parthasarathy, a fourth-year neuroscience major, designed an AI triage tool to improve hospital efficiency and patient care.
penntoday.upenn.edu
February 9, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Prithvi Parthasarathy, C'26, designed an AI triage tool to improve hospital efficiency and patient care. "I'm really interested in not only being a physician but also bringing the health care system to the patients, and designing the system aspects as well,” he says. @upenn.edu
Reposted by Penn Arts & Sciences
A new Q&A with my colleagues Justin Khoury and Bhuvnesh Jain in the Department of Physics and Astronomy discuss a cosmological breakthrough that could alter our understanding of dark energy, its link to dark matter, and Einstein’s theory of gravity. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu
Upending What We Know about Dark Energy
Physicists Justin Khoury and Bhuvnesh Jain discuss a cosmological breakthrough that, if proven true, could alter our understanding of dark energy, its link to dark matter, and even Einstein’s theory…
omnia.sas.upenn.edu
February 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM
A new Q&A with my colleagues Justin Khoury and Bhuvnesh Jain in the Department of Physics and Astronomy discuss a cosmological breakthrough that could alter our understanding of dark energy, its link to dark matter, and Einstein’s theory of gravity. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu
Research led by Prof. Joshua Plotkin of Biology shows that collective intelligence doesn’t emerge by rewarding the most accurate individuals but by rewarding those who improve the group’s prediction as a whole. @uofpenn
How to incentivize problem solving in groups | Penn Today
Why do some groups get smarter together while others collapse into groupthink? New research from theoretical biologist Joshua Plotkin and collaborators show that collective intelligence doesn’t emerge...
penntoday.upenn.edu
February 7, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Research led by Prof. Joshua Plotkin of Biology shows that collective intelligence doesn’t emerge by rewarding the most accurate individuals but by rewarding those who improve the group’s prediction as a whole. @uofpenn
Beyond the MD track, non-clinical career options in healthcare abound. Penn Arts & Sciences alumns Amy Remick, C’00, Daniel Wittmer, C’22, W’22, and Victoria Groner, C’19, disscuss their career paths in healthcare. @upenn.edu
Alternate Paths
Beyond the MD track, non-clinical career options in healthcare abound. Here are three chosen by Penn Arts & Sciences alums.
omnia.sas.upenn.edu
February 7, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Beyond the MD track, non-clinical career options in healthcare abound. Penn Arts & Sciences alumns Amy Remick, C’00, Daniel Wittmer, C’22, W’22, and Victoria Groner, C’19, disscuss their career paths in healthcare. @upenn.edu
Physicists Justin Khoury and Bhuvnesh Jain discuss a cosmological breakthrough that, if proven true, could alter our understanding of dark energy, its link to dark matter—even Einstein’s theory of gravity.
Upending What We Know about Dark Energy
Physicists Justin Khoury and Bhuvnesh Jain discuss a cosmological breakthrough that, if proven true, could alter our understanding of dark energy, its link to dark matter, and even Einstein’s theory…
buff.ly
February 6, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Physicists Justin Khoury and Bhuvnesh Jain discuss a cosmological breakthrough that, if proven true, could alter our understanding of dark energy, its link to dark matter—even Einstein’s theory of gravity.
Alyssa Smith, a Consortium Fellow at the McNeil Center, researches early modern literature in the Black Atlantic world at Penn. buff.ly/p39y4sj
MCEAS Fellow Profile: Alyssa Smith
Alyssa Smith is an MCEAS Consortium Fellow at the McNeil Center and a PhD candidate in English at the University of Iowa. Her dissertation, "America's Requiem: Remembering the Renaissance Through the…
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February 5, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Alyssa Smith, a Consortium Fellow at the McNeil Center, researches early modern literature in the Black Atlantic world at Penn. buff.ly/p39y4sj
In front of a packed crowd, four Penn Arts & Sciences experts—from political science, history, and economics—discussed unfolding current events. They also touched on how we got here and what it means going forward.
Perspectives and Insight on Venezuela
In front of a packed crowd, four Penn Arts & Sciences experts—from political science, history, and economics—discussed unfolding current events. They also touched on how we got here and what it means…
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February 3, 2026 at 5:01 PM
In front of a packed crowd, four Penn Arts & Sciences experts—from political science, history, and economics—discussed unfolding current events. They also touched on how we got here and what it means going forward.
Adam Smith, Penn Museum Curator of Asian Art, is quoted in National Geographic about the origins of the Chinese zodiac calendar. @upenn.edu
What is the Chinese zodiac? How the ancient calendar shaped life for centuries
Long before Western astrology, the Chinese zodiac helped organize years, beliefs, and social life. Here’s how the system of 12 animals evolved over the centuries.
www.nationalgeographic.com
February 2, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Adam Smith, Penn Museum Curator of Asian Art, is quoted in National Geographic about the origins of the Chinese zodiac calendar. @upenn.edu
On @whyy.org, Prof. Justin McDaniel of Religious Studies discusses his two courses, Living Deliberately and Existential Despair, in which students unplug from modern technology and how struggle, effort and inconvenience can lead to a happier, more fulfilling existence (starts at 36min) @upenn.edu
"Friction-maxxing:" the case against convenience - WHYY
Can struggle, effort and inconvenience lead to a happier, more fulfilling life? And in a world where technology seems unavoidable, is it even possible to fight the current?
whyy.org
January 31, 2026 at 7:55 PM
On @whyy.org, Prof. Justin McDaniel of Religious Studies discusses his two courses, Living Deliberately and Existential Despair, in which students unplug from modern technology and how struggle, effort and inconvenience can lead to a happier, more fulfilling existence (starts at 36min) @upenn.edu
Prof. Nikil Anand of Anthropology is quoted in @theguardian.com about Mumbai’s new motorway which he says is “a 20th-century response to a 21st-century problem." He adds that “more roads and cars benefit only a few, unlike public transport." @upenn.edu
‘Exclusively for the elite’: why Mumbai’s new motorway is a symbol of the divide between rich and poor
With 64% of the city’s residents relying on buses and trains so overloaded that up to 10 passengers die a day, anger is rising over a taxpayer-funded road most will never use
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Prof. Nikil Anand of Anthropology is quoted in @theguardian.com about Mumbai’s new motorway which he says is “a 20th-century response to a 21st-century problem." He adds that “more roads and cars benefit only a few, unlike public transport." @upenn.edu
Reposted by Penn Arts & Sciences
In 1776, an anonymous pamphlet published in Philadelphia had an outsize effect on American independence. 250 years after Thomas Paine first released Common Sense, Emma Hart, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Duncan Watts discuss its continued influence. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu
Seven things to know about ‘Common Sense’ | Penn Today
Penn experts share insights into Thomas Paine’s influential written work, 250 years after its publication.
penntoday.upenn.edu
January 30, 2026 at 5:15 PM
In 1776, an anonymous pamphlet published in Philadelphia had an outsize effect on American independence. 250 years after Thomas Paine first released Common Sense, Emma Hart, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Duncan Watts discuss its continued influence. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu
Profs. Sophia Rosenfeld, Emma Hart, and Duncan Watts, shared insights into Thomas Paine’s influential written work, "Common Sense", 250 years after its publication at a recent panel discussion. @upenn.edu
Seven things to know about ‘Common Sense’ | Penn Today
Penn experts share insights into Thomas Paine’s influential written work, 250 years after its publication.
penntoday.upenn.edu
January 30, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Profs. Sophia Rosenfeld, Emma Hart, and Duncan Watts, shared insights into Thomas Paine’s influential written work, "Common Sense", 250 years after its publication at a recent panel discussion. @upenn.edu
Reposted by Penn Arts & Sciences
Penn has been recognized for its commitment to local engagement with the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
Read More: https://bit.ly/4qSrMyO
Read More: https://bit.ly/4qSrMyO
January 30, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Penn has been recognized for its commitment to local engagement with the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
Read More: https://bit.ly/4qSrMyO
Read More: https://bit.ly/4qSrMyO
Penn biologists "reveal how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments."
How plants ‘hedge their bets’ for better reproductive success | Penn Today
Penn biologists reveal how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments.
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January 29, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Penn biologists "reveal how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments."
Penn’s Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award recipient and award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee spoke with professor Heather A. Williams, about the Civil Rights Movement, filmmaking, and more.
5 things: A conversation with Spike Lee | Penn Today
Penn’s Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award recipient and award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee spoke with professor Heather A. Williams, about the Civil Rights Movement, filmmaking, and more.
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January 28, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Penn’s Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award recipient and award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee spoke with professor Heather A. Williams, about the Civil Rights Movement, filmmaking, and more.
Carly Oniki, C'26, discusses the multiyear success of the gymnastics team, her love of the sport, her favorite place on campus, some off-the-mat activities, and why Penn was her dream school. @upenn.edu
A balancing act with Carly Oniki | Penn Today
The fourth-year gymnast discusses the multiyear success of the gymnastics team, her love of the sport, her favorite place on campus, some off-the-mat activities, and why Penn was her dream school.
penntoday.upenn.edu
January 28, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Carly Oniki, C'26, discusses the multiyear success of the gymnastics team, her love of the sport, her favorite place on campus, some off-the-mat activities, and why Penn was her dream school. @upenn.edu
PIK Prof. Shelley Berger of Biology and Prof. Esra Sahingur of Penn Dental explain senescence, the process of cellular aging, and discuss the complexities of developing anti-aging therapies that target these cells. @upenn.edu
Can aging be treated at the cellular level? | Penn Today
Penn researchers Shelley Berger and Esra Sahingur explain senescence, the process of cellular aging, and discuss the complexities of developing anti-aging therapies that target these cells.
penntoday.upenn.edu
January 24, 2026 at 7:18 PM
PIK Prof. Shelley Berger of Biology and Prof. Esra Sahingur of Penn Dental explain senescence, the process of cellular aging, and discuss the complexities of developing anti-aging therapies that target these cells. @upenn.edu
Prof. Kimberly Bowes of Classical Studies discusses her new book, "Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent," on the Marginal Babble podcast. The book explores the complexities of the ancient Roman economy based on new archaeological and textual evidence. @upenn.edu
The Economy of the Roman Empire | Marginal Babble Ep.25 with Professor Kimberley Bowes
YouTube video by Marginal Babble
www.youtube.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Prof. Kimberly Bowes of Classical Studies discusses her new book, "Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent," on the Marginal Babble podcast. The book explores the complexities of the ancient Roman economy based on new archaeological and textual evidence. @upenn.edu