The School of Engineering and Applied Science announced the launch of a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Artificial Intelligence (AI) degree, the first undergraduate major of its kind among Ivy League universities and one of the very first AI undergraduate engineering programs in the U.S. “Inventive at its core, Penn excels at the cutting edge,” said Interim President J. Larry Jameson. “Data, including AI, is a critical area of focus for our strategic framework, In Principle and Practice, and this new degree program represents a leap forward for the Penn engineers who will lead in developing and deploying these powerful technologies in service to humanity.”
The School of Veterinary Medicine announced the launch of the mRNA Research Initiative to fast-track the development of veterinary mRNA-based vaccines and host-directed therapies. “Not only will this Initiative make a substantial contribution to mRNA scholarship, but it will also facilitate the application of the mRNA platform to the development of veterinary vaccines,” said Phillip Scott, vice dean for Research and Academic Resources.
Three winning project groups from the 2023 Projects for Progress cohort were celebrated in Houston Hall’s Hall of Flags. “This work in Philadelphia is a priority for Penn,” said Nicole Maloy, director of the Office of Social Equity and Community. “Penn is made of its people, and this is but a small cross section of the hundreds throughout the University who do this work year round.”
Omar Dajani, a professor of law, and Mira Sucharov, a professor of political science, joined together at Perry World House for “Israel and Hamas at War: How to Discuss the Difficult History of the Middle East.” It was moderated by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of Penn Carey Law. “As we try to chart a course forward, what we’ve got to come to terms with is the fact of profoundly deep and textured attachment on both sides, which shouldn’t wipe away the asymmetries that we will talk about, but which should inform our idea of how to construct a better society,” remarked Dajani.
Penn Today compiled resources for students, faculty, and staff for reporting inappropriate conduct. Resources range from Student Intervention Services to Restorative Practices @ Penn under the Center for Community Standards and Accountability.
Martin Claasen of the School of Arts & Sciences and Jiaoyang Huang of the Wharton School were selected to receive a 2024 Sloan Research Fellowship, which recognizes early career scientists in North America. They are among 126 Fellows chosen from more than 1,000 nominees.
The School of Arts & Sciences launched “Living the Hard Promise,” a dialogue series that encourages respectful dialogue across the Penn community on challenging issues. The inaugural event featured Sophia Rosenfeld, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and chair of the department, whose research involves the history of democracy.
“The Illuminated Body” is the latest exhibit at the Arthur Ross Gallery and features the work of Barbara Earl Thomas, who celebrates Black identity and history through a visual language of light, color, outline, shape, and form that is reminiscent of religious imagery. Included are nine large cut-paper portraits, three works of hand-blown glass, and an immersive installation of cut material. The exhibition is supported by a 2023 project grant awarded by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
FactCheck.org, launched in December 2003 by the Annenberg Public Policy Center and co-founded by Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg School for Communication, celebrates 20 years of combatting false or misleading claims. “There’s far more misinformation now in public campaign discourse of presidential candidates than there was when we founded the site,” Jamieson says. “The work of FactCheck.org is needed more than ever.”
The Pan Asian Graduate Student Association (PAGSA) rang in the Year of the Wood Dragon in Houston Hall’s Bodek Lounge, with a presentation of red envelopes containing chocolate “coins,” a lion dance by Penn Lions, an acapella K-Pop performance from PennSori, and more. “When I came to Penn, as an international student not knowing anyone, it was very important to me to find community for myself, but also help others find community and make sure it was accessible and inclusive,” says Will Chan, president of PAGSA.
Penn hosted the 2nd Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture in Public Social Science, featuring Aldon Morris of Northwestern University and Tukufu Zuberi of the School of Arts & Sciences. Du Bois spent a year at Penn, where he conducted research in Philadelphia’s Black neighborhoods for his book “The Philadelphia Negro,” published in 1899 and still considered a seminal work.
The “LOVE” statue by pop artist Robert Indiana arrived to campus in 1999. Through the years, it has become a gathering place and a photo backdrop, while also serving as a statement piece for passersby. “I think it’s a beautiful reminder to all the members of our Penn community who walk by it every day,” says University Chaplain Chaz Howard, “that beyond the brilliance of those on campus, the most important thing at the end of the day is love.”
As part of a course led by Eugénie Birch and David Gouverneur, both of the Weitzman School of Design, graduate students from the Master in City Planning program worked on a project envisioning a way forward for the reconstruction of Bucha, a small Ukrainian city among the first to confront the horrors of the Russian invasion. In January, the students presented their work to the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States and to other representatives from the State Department in Washington, D.C.
Among the exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art for Spring 2024 are: “Tomashi Jackson: Across the Universe,” elevating themes of social justice and challenging color theory through experimental paintings; “Dominique White and Alberta Whittle: Sargasso Sea,” which calls attention to transatlantic colonial legacies through sculptures, videos, and paintings; and “Entryways” by Nontsikelelo Mutiti, a large-scale vinyl artwork that blends patterns of ironwork with African hair braiding designs.
In the latest edition of the “What’s That?” series, Penn Today highlights the bronze sculpture “Hsieh-Chai,” affectionately known as “The Goat.” Located at the Penn Carey Law School, it was commissioned by late law professor Clarence Morris and symbolizes a supernatural goat-like creature that could discern the guilt or innocence of those accused of crimes in ancient China. Today, many Penn Carey Law students touch it prior to exams for good luck.
