AROUND CAMPUS


Photo by Addison Geary

The Manhattan-based Cassatt String Quartet is beginning its second of two years as artists-in-residence at Penn this fall. While on campus, the group is offering workshops and master classes as well as performing. Here, they rehearse before a concert last April in the Amado Recital Hall in Irvine Auditorium. Left to right: Muneko Otani (violin), Jennifer Leshower (violin), Popoff, Caroline Stinson (cello).


GRANTS

$14 Million Grant Sparks Bioengineering Initiative

A $14 million “Leadership-Development Award” from the Whitaker Foundation is being leveraged by Penn’s Department of Bioengineering in a big way. Not only will the grant lead to new facilities for the department as well as seven new faculty members and additional funds for graduate-student support; it will be matched by $42.8 million in University funds, making for a total initiative of $56.8 million.
    Bioengineering is one of the cornerstones of Penn’s Agenda for Excellence. According to Dr. Eduardo D. Glandt GCh’75 Gr’77, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Penn’s “strong belief in and commitment to the important role of engineering and technology on its campus is reflected in this extraordinarily generous investment in this initiative.”
    One of the grant’s major objectives is to use the insights and techniques of modern molecular medicine and cell biology to prevent and treat diseases through such technologies as genomics, proteomics, and cell and tissue engineering, said Dr. Daniel Hammer, GCh’84 Gr’87, professor and chair of bioengineering. “Engineering will play an increasing role in the development of these concepts from fundamental biology to clinical treatment.”
    The mission of the Arlington, Va.-based Whitaker Foundation is to promote better human health through advancements in medicine and rehabilitation


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APPOINTMENTS Rubenstein Prescribed for Med School and Health System “This is a job made in heaven for me,” said Dr. Arthur Rubenstein, the newly appointed dean of the School of Medicine and the University’s executive vice president for the Health System. Continued...


Illustration by Phung Huynh

AROUND CAMPUS Just a Minute: the Academic Essence Stem-cell research is not a topic that easily lends itself to distillation or sound-bites, as Dr. Robert Barchi Gr’72 M’72 GM’73, the provost and professor of neurology, readily acknowledged. But on a sweltering summer’s afternoon, he stepped up to a podium at 37th and Locust Walk and delivered a highly condensed lecture on the subject to 50-some listeners, drawn by a combination of subject matter, speaker, free calzones, and some classical guitar. (Actually, the warning-level heat probably drove down the attendance somewhat, since usually between 100 and 200 people attend.) Continued...

GIFTS Mack the Cutting Edge A $10 million gift from William L. Mack W’61 has led to the creation of a new center at the Wharton School: the William and Phyllis Mack Center for Tech-nological Innovation. Continued...


Illustration by Tifenn Python

RESEARCH Shelter from the Storm “The fact of homelessness among mentally ill people is compelling enough,” Dr. Dennis Culhane was saying. “The fact that we can demonstrate the cost-neutrality of housing them makes it even more compelling—even for fiscal conservatives—to take action.” Continued...

DEPARTURES Schwartz Leaves SSW Dr. Ira M. Schwartz, dean of the School of Social Work since 1993, is crossing the Schuylkill River to become provost at Temple University. Continued...

BRICKS AND MORTAR A Campus With a Plan “The thing that people don’t understand about the landscape and the larger structure of a university is [that] that’s what everyone has in common and that’s the one thing everyone shares,” says Laurie Olin, Practice Professor of Landscape Architecture in the Graduate School of Fine Arts. “The landscape is not just a bunch of bushes and trees; it’s actually the structure of the public space and the commons of everyone at the great universities—and that’s where Penn is headed.” Continued...

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