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.

PASEF Noontime Luncheon Lectures

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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