Four teams were awarded the President’s Engagement, Innovation, and Sustainability Prize, including eight fourth-year students. “This year’s recipients of the President’s Prizes and their Prize-winning projects exemplify Penn’s values and strategic priorities and the highest ideals of higher education,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “PIXEL, Nourish to Flourish, Sync Labs, and Nirby are interdisciplinary and innovative in their approach—engaging in West Philadelphia to inspire creativity and to introduce nutritional programs improving health and addressing hunger; innovating to enhance eldercare through AI; and embracing a sustainable approach to farmland soil management. On behalf of the University, I congratulate this year’s winners.”
The 12 winning teams of the inaugural Draw Down the Lightning grants were celebrated by Penn leadership at a reception. The grants launched in the fall to advance the inventive and engaged spirit of In Principle and Practice. Winners were selected among 230 proposals and consisted of faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, and staff from eight schools and 10 academic and administrative centers.
Mark Trodden, associate dean for the natural sciences and a professor of physics, was named dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Thomas S. Gates Jr. Professor, effective June 1. “His experience, judgment, and vision made him the clear and compelling choice to lead the School into its next era,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “He brings a deep understanding of the School’s distinctive landscape, a respect for its wide-ranging strengths, and a forward-looking vision for its continued excellence.”
Research at Penn highlights some of the groundbreaking and innovative research happening across the University’s 12 schools. Featuring original and repurposed stories from Penn Today, the Research at Penn website and print publication are produced by the Office of University Communications.
The Penn community celebrated the launch of the Penn AI Initiative with a panel discussing AI research at Penn, featuring members of the Penn AI Council and Senior Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell. In remarks, Bhuvnesh Jain, the Annenberg Professor of Physics and Astronomy, marveled at AI’s connective quality, noting that today’s students are “just fluidly moving across campus” in a way earlier generations of scholars might not have.
Since launching four months ago, the Office of Religious and Ethnic Interests (Title VI) has focused on combatting discrimination in all forms while leading educational efforts about dialogue and adaptive leadership. This spring, they held a workshop with Penn leadership, engaged with students at Amy Gutmann College House, and hosted a panel event at Perry World House. “A big part of what we’re about is education,” says co-director Majid Alsayegh.
The Penn Advanced Research Computing Center (PARCC) will soft launch in May as a platform that doubles the University’s computing capacity and will be available to faculty across campus. “PARCC will enable our scholars to make transformative advances that will define the future of their disciplines—from health care to climate change, business to social media, and most importantly, to contribute to the advancement of interdisciplinary knowledge and education of our students,” says Senior Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell.
The Division of Human Resources hosted its 26th Models of Excellence ceremony, honoring 52 staff honorees. “These staff members have earned their place in the spotlight alongside the University’s world-renowned faculty, students, and alumni,” said Vice President of Human Resources Felicia A. Washington. “The honorees not only make research, education, and service possible every day—they show us the power of our principles and the results of our best practices.”
The restoration of Dinan Hall was celebrated at a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The renovations reshaped the building, with restored spaces; new designs, layouts, and lighting; wall and floor treatments; open workspaces, huddle rooms, and student lounges; open workspaces, huddle rooms, and student lounges; and updated, state-of-the-art technology. The renovations are thanks to a gift from Trustee, Wharton Board of Advisors member, and alumnus Jamie Dinan.
The 129th Penn Relays welcomed nearly 20,000 athletes of all levels, with Penn track and field athletes notching a number of noteworthy performances. Kampton Kam became the first male Quaker in Relays history to win the high jump, clearing 2.20 meters. Five Quakers finished in the Top 20 on Thursday, with a host of Quakers making Top 5 showings on Friday.
Sync Labs, created by Melanie Herbert, uses AI and privacy-focused edge computing to transform senior care and support caregivers. Sync Labs received the 2025 President’s Innovation Prize, joined by Nami Lindquist, and Alexandra Popescu. “Caregivers need our support in meeting the growing number of seniors so they can always give the best, most personalized care,” says Herbert.
Piotr Lazarek, a fourth-year in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Wharton School, won the 2025 President’s Sustainability Prize for Nirby. Nirby is a real-time farmland management platform that aims to reduce farmers’ fertilizer application. “By understanding why low-productivity areas perform poorly and why high-productivity areas thrive, we can provide farmers with actionable insights,” Lazarek says.
Nourish to Flourish, a 2025 President’s Engagement Prize-winning project developed by Inaya Zaman, Rashmi Acharya, and Imani Nkrumah, will partner with several community groups to address hunger and nutrition inequalities in West Philadelphia, using behavioral economics-based interventions. Says mentor Heather Klusaritz of the Perelman School of Medicine: “They’re changing how we engage school-age kids with food, changing the cultures of schools and school cafeterias; that is no small undertaking.”
At a Perry World House event titled “Common Sense Diplomacy,” Penn President Emerita Amy Gutmann spoke in conversation with former U.S. ambassador to Canada David L. Cohen, a Penn Carey Law alumnus, former Comcast executive, and former chair of Penn’s Board of Trustees. The conversation was moderated by Andrea Mitchell, a Penn alumna and trustee emerita.
Penn’s Jewish Studies Program hosted a convening to understand the role of suffering in Jewish narratives over time. “The Scales of Suffering: Neo-Lachrymosity and the Writing of Jewish History” gathered historians and scholars of literature and religious studies from around the world.
Dennis E. Discher, Michael Jones-Correa, Cherie R. Kagan, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Susan R. Weiss were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary society and independent research center founded in 1780. They are among 250 new members joining this year.
Marcia Chatelain and Matthew Levendusky are among 198 chosen for the Guggenheim’s 100th class of Fellows. They were selected among 3,500 applicants; the award supports a project lasting six to 12 months.
Penn researchers have found cost-effective ways to make a cup of pour-over coffee using fewer beans, which also provides insights into similar systems such as waterfalls and surface erosion. “This kind of fluid behavior helps us understand how water erodes rock under waterfalls or behind dams,” says Margot Young, a graduate researcher in the Arnold Mathijssen Lab. Wastewater treatment and filtration systems involve similar dynamics, Mathijssen adds.
Brigitte Weinsteiger, the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and director of the Penn Libraries, discussed the future of the Libraries and its focus on the essential role of libraries in lifelong learning and democratizing knowledge. “We are really reflecting on the fact that when our students leave Penn, their careers will be constantly evolving in a dynamic world,” she says. “Rather than just helping them learn the skills for their first job, we’re actually building within them the skills for how you continue learning throughout your lifetime. It’s why we call the strategic plan Knowledge for Life.”
