September 19, 2002

• Special Report: Penn research brings knowledge to the world
  A look into the growth and workings of Penn's half-billion-dollar research enterprise.
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• How Penn became a giant in advancing knowledge
• Desert's past discovered
• Research gets its own Web site

• Penn calls up Marine as EVP
• Celebration of 150 years at SEAS
• A simple test offers hope
• School named for great alum
• One of a cast of hundreds

• Research: Some folks like it hot, while some do not
• Staff Q&A: The Writers House's Tom Devaney makes art while he sleeps. Thus, a book is born.

• Ask Benny: Time to sort out all those PennTerms
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$1.5 million for teaching collaborative

BY TRINH TRAN

For new Philadelphia teachers, lessons in teaching will begin even before they step inside a classroom. A recent $1.5 million grant from IBM to the Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia School District and Pennsylvania Department of Education, will help new elementary school teachers refine their skills via a virtual community made up of seasoned teachers and Penn faculty.

The initiative will create an online collaborative called the Penn Beginning Teachers Network. Through IBM’s Learning Village software, new teachers will be able to log on and get tips on how to polish their instruction skills.

Nancy Streim, associate dean of GSE, said annotated videos of effective teaching practices will allow teachers a chance to critique different methods. She said interfacing with a computer allows more voices to be heard. “You can involve people from a wider geographic area who don’t have the time and who can’t get to places [where classes are being taught].” Virtual communities can also be friendlier places for dialogue. “You can stop and think about it and there’s no time pressure,” said Streim.

Part of the grant, which is a pilot program for West Philadelphia schools, would give participating teachers access to computers.

Special library

The Wharton School’s Lippincott Library recently walked away with a Center of Excellence Award from the Business and Finance Division of the Special Libraries Association. The award recognizes customer-driven quality and leadership in the gathering, analysis and dissemination of information within the business community. Lippincott received high marks in three categories—service, management and technology.

Penn scientists honored

Joshi

Aravind Joshi, a cognitive scientist at Penn, has received the David E. Rumelhart Prize for his contributions to the study of human cognition. The Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer and Cognitive Science is noted for his work in the formal and computational analysis of language. The award is funded and coordinated by the Glushko-Samuelson Foundation and the Cognitive Science Society.

Madeleine Joullié, a synthetic organic chemist, is the winner of the 2002 Arthur C. Cope Senior Scholar Award, which is given by the American Chemical Society. Joullie is recognized for designing and constructing compounds that are useful in fields ranging from medicine to forensics. A self-described pragmatic chemist, she combines scientific approaches to understand how drugs work and how to improve them.