Penn Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty

The aim of the Association is to initiate and coordinate activities that encourage retired faculty members to maintain connections among themselves and with the intellectual and social life of the University. Such activities include organizing lectures, discussion groups, and social functions that provide fellowship and interaction among members and with the scholarly community on campus; familiarizing members, especially those planning retirement, with issues relating to retirement benefits and retired life; and promoting opportunities for members to render service to the University and its surrounding community.

April 25, 2013

Vijay Kumar - "Flying Robots"

Dr. Vijay Kumar, UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, https://alliance.seas.upenn.edu/~kumar/wiki/uploads/Main/bio.txt, is a world-renowned pioneer in the development of multi-robot systems and micro aerial vehicles. Dr. Kumar headed Penn's prestigious General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception lab (GRASP) from 1998-2004. He is responsible for bringing cutting-edge, sophisticated "flying robots" to the attention of the public, including the President of the United States, whom he serves as Assistant Director for Robotics and Cyber Physical Systems in the Office of Science and Technology Policy while on sabbatical during the 2012-2013 academic year. "He stands on the heights of Mount Olympus, providing the model we could only aspire to someday," remarked Chris Anderson, Chairman of 3D Robotics. Professor Kumar's talk, Flying Robots, will look at issues raised in his popular YouTube piece, "Robots that fly and...cooperate." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ErEBkj_3PY

The program will begin at 4 pm, Thursday, April 25, 2013 in the School of Engineering's Skirkanich Hall.

Please join us. A reception will follow.

The PASEF Annual Retirement Planning Session will be held on Monday, April 29, 2013 in the Hourglass Room at the University Club from 12:00 to 1:30 PM. Three retired faculty members will discuss their retirement decision processes and representatives from University Human Resources and Medical School Faculty Affairs will respond to questions. Attendance is limited to 40 guests and lunch will be provided. Please send a message of your desire to attend to the PASEF Office by Monday, April 22, 2013 (emeritus@pobox.upenn.edu or 215-746-5972).

IMPORTANT: CHANGE OF DATE

May 9, 2013

Jeffrey Tigay - "Loose Constructionism: Its Forerunners in Biblical Interpretation, or: 'You are telling Scripture: Be quiet while I interpret.'"

Literalism vs. non-literalism, fundamentalist vs. liberal interpretation, strict construction vs. loose construction – these are well-known issues that arise in interpreting and applying any text, and they arise with particular force when a text is considered authoritative or revealed. One of the first such texts was the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, within Judaism. Not long after its canonization it was subjected to a very free interpretation that often does violence to the text, but that, in its own way, constitutes an early counterpart to the loose constructionism of today. Jeff will present some examples of such interpretations along with criticisms by its opponents and justifications from its advocates.

Jeffrey H. Tigay is Emeritus Ellis Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and Literatures in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jtigay .

The luncheon will begin at 12pm on Thursday, May 9, 2013 in the Hourglass Room of the University Club. Cost and University Club details.

ASEF Luncheon, May 8, 2013

Vivian Cheung, "Individual Variation in Human Gene Expression"

Founded by Henry Francis du Pont, Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) is the premier museum of American decorative arts, reflecting both early America and the du Pont family’s life here. Its 60-acre naturalistic garden is among the country’s best, and its research library serves scholars from around the world. We invite you to visit and explore this place of beauty, history, and learning.

ASEF End-of-the-Academic-Year-Reception, June 18, 2013, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Alan Myers - "The Moon Tilt Illusion"

Professor Myers' research is focused on "adsorption thermodynamics" and if you are curious what that is, google it.

Since arriving at Penn from U.C. Berkeley in 1963, Myers published 150 papers and 3 books, one of which (with co-author Seider) was "Introduction to Chemical Engineering and Computer Calculations", Prentice-Hall (1976). His career included sabbatical leaves at the University of Graz, the Institute of Physical Chemistry in Moscow, and the University of Tokyo. Myers received the S. Reid Warren teaching award in 1983 and had the unusual experience of having his daughters (Andrea and Sonia) as chemical engineering students at Penn.

Dr. Myers received a Founder's Award from the International Adsorption Society in 2010 in Osaka, Japan. His hobbies include long-distance running but recently the ravages of aging have transformed running into walking.

Louis Girifalco - "A Flawed Idol"

Louis A. Girifalco is Professor Emeritus of Material Sciences and Engineering for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Along with his thoughtful submission to the PASEF Essay and Story catalog, Dr. Girifalco includes this brief biosketch:

I never decided to be a scientist; it just happened. It started with a chemistry set at the age of twelve which evolved into a basement laboratory where I played at electrolysis and synthesized organic compounds. By a series of improbable lucky events, I wound up at Penn in the Materials Science Department. My career focused on solid state theory, although it was sometimes slowed down by various administrative responsibilities.

In addition to about 100 papers, I have written eight books, four of which are in materials science. A fifth is a mathematical study of technological change and a sixth is a presentation of gravitation for the proverbial "intelligent layman."

My two latest efforts two self-published Kindle ebooks. One is an analysis of casino craps entitled Sixes Are Good at this Table which can be found at Amazon under the pen name of Cardano. How could I not use that pen name for a book on gambling? Just look at his life!

The other Kindle ebook is a collection of essays called Deep and Shallow, which consists of some thoughts I had over the years. The essay, A Flawed Idol is taken from that book. My grandson set up a blog for anyone who wants to see more examples. The blog is at the website louisagirifalco.com. If you think the essay here is interesting, take a look at some of the others.

We hope you enjoy Dr. Girifalco's essay and feel welcome to submit your own to emeritus@pobox.upenn.edu.

Adrian Morrison - "Rocky"

Adrian R. Morrison, Jr. is Professor Emeritus of Behavioral Neuroscience in the School of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Animal Biology.

During nearly four decades of research in Penn's Laboratory for the Study of the Brain in Sleep, Dr. Morrison has explored the nature of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in cats. Dr. Morrison has authored or co-authored more than 150 journal articles and seven books, including 2009's analysis of the animal rights controversy, An Odyssey with Animals.

For addition to the PASEF featured essay & stories, Dr. Morrison submits Rocky, an excerpt from his aforementioned book.

Daniel Perlmutter - "What's in a Name?"

Daniel D. Perlmutter is Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department and as University Ombudsman at Penn. His contributions were recognized by a Lindbach Award for excellence in teaching, a Guggenheim Foundation Award for research, two Fulbright Fellowships, and the Lectureship Award of the American Association for Engineering Education. His research focused on the dynamics and control of chemical reaction systems. Perlmutter has published over 100 papers and three books of which the most recent (with Robert Rothstein) is The Challenge of Climate Change: Which Way Now, Wiley, 2011.

Professor Perlmutter's contribution is the first venture of the PASEF "Essays and Stories" series into satire.

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