Celebrating Penn’s 270th Commencement at a historic moment
Reflecting on the 250th anniversary of the United States, speakers invoked American traditions and provided guidance on building a meaningful life in a fast-changing world. Graduates, cheered on by family and friends, celebrated their part in Penn’s storied history.
Graduates from all 12 Schools are taking their degrees and expertise and heading out into the world as graduate students, postdocs, residents, entrepreneurs, startup execs, policy workers, and more, with the interdisciplinary groundwork of a Penn degree in tow.
Rafaella Lambrinos, a fourth-year history major, documented British food rationing during World War II and the ensuing Bengal famine of 1943 for her honors thesis.
(Image: Eric Sucar)
Rafaella Lambrinos: Sacrifice versus suffering: Examining unheard stories of the past
Fourth-year Rafaella Lambrinos traveled to London to study archival records about the Bengal famine of 1943 and British food rationing, gaining greater insight into the study of the past.
The HAVEN team with Liz Donaghue, assistant shelter director, in Jane Addams’ Bright Spaces room.
nocred
Reimagining a shelter as a supportive space for childhood
HAVEN, a winning project of the 2026 President’s Engagement Prize developed by three fourth-year undergraduates, will launch an after-school program for K-5 children at Jane Addams Place, a homeless shelter in North Philadelphia.
Nhlanhla Mavuso of Fluid Silicon at work in the Moore Building.
nocred
Nhlanhla Mavuso: Innovating computer chips to run more efficiently
Fluid Silicon, a platform from President’s Sustainability Prize winner Nhlanhla Mavuso, allows computer chips to continuously monitor their health and self-tune as their characteristics change. The technology has the potential to reduce energy usage in data centers and improve reliability in mission-critical applications.
Justin Wang (left), Janine Haros (center), and Eric Lee (right) in a clinical room at the Scheie Eye Institute, holding documents and smiling together.
nocred
Empowering unhoused patients through comprehensive eye care
Penn fourth-years Eric Lee, Janine Haros, and Justin Wang will use a President’s Engagement Prize to elevate vision health in unhoused individuals across Philadelphia through free eye screenings, tailored care coordination, and interactive patient education.
From the sixth floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library with its view of College Hall, to tucked-away areas in bloom outdoors, students spent Reading Days putting the finishing touches on their studies, notes review, and final projects before Final Exam period begins.
Margaret Zhu and the Serpent Robotics team fine-tuning their robot at Tangen Hall.
nocred
Margaret Zhu: A robotic solution for safer tree trimming
Margaret Zhu and the Serpent Robotics team have leveraged Penn resources to create a tree-cutting robot, improving safety in a dangerous industry. The President’s Innovation Prize allows Zhu to iterate and pilot the device over the next year.
