A call to service In the context of his experiences as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and a U.S. senator, John S. McCain spoke about living an honorable life. A wet and wonderful Commencement Student spotlight: Gates scholarship opens doors to study abroad for two grads Staff Q&A: By day, Phyllis Pompa sells Penn to prospective students. On Alumni Weekend, she sells Penn spirit to whoever shows up. Research: Were blind, but now dogs see Mayor Street asks grads to stick around Show biz and the law Health System CEO for real Snapshot: Fine Arts gets a state-of-the-art home For What It's Worth: Late nights and jelly beans Eldercare, childcare, your cares, Penn cares Event Listings Editor's Pick Readers' Best News Briefs Bookquick Quoted Recently Awards & Honors Campus Buzz

May 31, 2001 NEWS BRIEFS Scan those grads Undergraduates with UPC codes — what a concept. No, the School of Engineering and Applied Science is not treating its students like numbers. Instead, it used technology to let its bachelor’s and master’s degree recipients get personal in a big way at the school’s degree ceremony in Franklin Field May 21. As each recipient walked on to the stage to receive a diploma, a device read a personalized bar code that displayed the student’s name, home town and personal comments on the 25- by 65-foot Jumbotron screens on either side of the stage. The device, a distant cousin of the supermarket checkout scanner, was developed by David Badler (EAS’02). Penn has applied for a patent on the technology. Some of the student comments displayed included “Querida familia: Gracias para todo” and “I am no longer a Towne potato. Thanks!” Happy 250th The nation’s oldest hospital turned 250 May 11. On that date in 1751, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond received a charter from the state to establish Pennsylvania Hospital as an institution to care for Philadelphia’s “sick-poor” and “lunaticks.” Franklin’s hospital, now part of the health system affiliated with his university, celebrated the event with an all-day party May 12 on the grounds of its Eighth and Pine facility. Tour guides in period costumes led visitors through Pennsylvania Hospital’s historic 18th-century buildings (no longer used for patient care), medical staff delivered talks on diabetes and cosmetic surgery, and children and adults enjoyed a variety of activities like the teddy-bear clinic and the garden fair. Those who missed the party can take a virtual tour at http://www.med.upenn.edu/pahosp/about_pahosp/history/index.html. Oops! Freida Outlaw’s correct title is associate professor of nursing (“Quoted Recently,” Current, May 17).