Sara Bachman and Patrick Harker, co-chairs of Penn Forward’s Access, Affordability, and Value working group, discussed the charge of their group, their personal relationships with access and affordability, and their ask of the Penn community as the initiative continues. “We’re laying out the broad outlines of what we’re trying to accomplish and where we’re trying to go with these initiatives, but those initiatives will evolve,” says Harker. “Input from the community will continue to be important.”
The University released its FY25 Progress Report for its Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 4.0, highlighting achievements such as emissions reductions equal to the electricity use of more than 1,200 U.S. homes, an increase in Penn’s landfill diversion rate, and 19 new academic hires with climate or sustainability expertise.
viTToria Biotherapeutics, founded in 2021 by Penn’s Marco Ruella and colleagues, won the Startup of the Year Award at the Penn Center for Innovation’s 10th annual Celebration of Innovation. Ruella and colleagues used genetic engineering—including CRISPR gene-editing technologies—to formulate a CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy that they hope will be more potent than current CAR T products.
Adelaide Lyall, a graduate student in the School of Social Policy & Practice, and Norah Rami, a fourth-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, are among 43 Marshall Scholars for 2026. The scholarship, established by the British government, funds as much as three years of study for a graduate degree in any field at an institution in the United Kingdom.
Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Announced that the Institute of Contemporary Art and WXPN have received creative project grants, part of $8.6 million in awards issued to Philadelphia-area cultural institutions and artists. The ICA will develop the first museum survey of artist Allison Janae Hamilton; WXPN will create the project “Declarations of Independents: Philly Anthems,” featuring musicians from Philadelphia who will share their perspectives on America’s founding document. Sosena Solomon, a lecturer in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, received one of 12 arts fellowships.
In a Q&A, fourth-year wide receiver Jared Richardson, a health and societies major in the College of Arts & Sciences, discussed his career. He will graduate fourth all-time in school history in receptions, third all-time in receiving yards, and tied for second in touchdowns.
In a video produced by Penn Today, students in the Performance, Analysis, History class explore and perform on piano the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, regarded among history’s greatest composers. Taught by Jamuna Samuel and Yu Xi Wang, the class contextualizes and demystifies Bach through a historical and geographical lens.
Konrad Kording, a computer scientist, and Ioana Marinescu, an economist, created an interactive model that incorporates assumptions from both their fields to predict how AI will affect wages, jobs, and the overall economy. They use the model to simulate different scenarios and have found that the effects of automation on wages depends on different assumptions and parameters. Image: Eric Sucar (left) and Carson Easterly (right)
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton, alongside collaborators, published a new paper in The Paris Journal on AI & Digital Ethics that presents a framework for incorporating joy in the design and deployment of AI models. “A joy-centered approach to AI challenges researchers and engineers to design models that recognize human strengths, elevate resilience, and foster thriving digital environments.”
English professors Michael Gamer and Barri Joyce Gold spoke about their approach to teaching Jane Austen’s novels, why her work remains popular, and the key role of dialogue in her novels.
At the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, aka COP30, Bill Burke-White and Ken Kulak of Penn Carey Law combined their classes to provide on-the-ground perspective for students. “It is such an important yearly checkpoint for the international climate community, and to see it was really exciting,” says third-year law student Molly Reed.
As part of the Politics of Well-Being speaker series, associate professors Amy Castro and Ioana Marinescu of the School of Social Policy & Practice discussed universal basic income and guaranteed income programs. They noted the need to understand the impacts of these programs as artificial intelligence and automation bring profound labor shifts. (Image: Carson Easterly/School of Social Policy & Practice)
