Class of 2026 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prize winners announced The recipients of the 2026 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prizes: (Top left) Connie Ni, Darlene Leohansson, and Chloe Chang. (Top right) Justin Wang, Janine Haros, and Eric Lee. (Bottom left) Margaret Zhu; (bottom right) Nhlanhla Mavuso.nocred Class of 2026 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prize winners announced Four prize-winning teams will design and implement post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference here in Philadelphia and beyond. 4 min. read
Gravity follows Newton and Einstein’s rules, even at cosmic scales The cosmic microwave background, the faint afterglow of the Big Bang that fills all of space, passes through massive galaxy clusters whose motion slightly alters the light, allowing scientists to measure how fast the clusters are moving toward one another and test how strongly gravity pulls across the largest distances in the universe.(Image: Courtesy of Lucy Reading/Simons Foundation) Gravity follows Newton and Einstein’s rules, even at cosmic scales By tracking galaxy clusters hundreds of millions of light-years apart, Penn physicist Patricio Gallardo and collaborators find that the laws of gravity written by Newton and Einstein still hold, leaving little doubt that invisible dark matter exists. 3 min. read
Damon Centola named 2026 Guggenheim Fellow As director of the Network Dynamics Group and a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Centola’s research centers on social networks and behavior change.(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication) Damon Centola named 2026 Guggenheim Fellow The Elihu Katz Professor of Communication, Sociology and Engineering, he is among the 223 people chosen for the Guggenheim’s 101st class of Fellows. 1 min. read
The Artemis II mission: Reflections on an ever-evolving relationship with space exploration Image: NASA via AP Images The Artemis II mission: Reflections on an ever-evolving relationship with space exploration Penn Today spoke with three Penn experts about the Artemis II crew’s use of social media during the mission, how space images are more than just pretty pictures, and why space continues to fascinate. 3 min. read
Penn’s inaugural SAS Commons explores democracy and knowledge Penn’s inaugural SAS Commons explores democracy and knowledge History professor Sophia Rosenfeld discusses Democracy and Knowledge, the inaugural theme for the School of Arts & Sciences new two-year program SAS Horizons.
Debating ethics on the national stage Debating ethics on the national stage Six Penn undergrads participated in the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Competition with four rounds, including one on the environmental and energy costs, in March, placing among the top 25 teams.
Exploring the history of North American pastels Megan Baker is a Barra Foundation Fellow in Art and Material Culture at Penn’s McNeil Center.(Image: Courtesy of McNeil Center for Early American Studies) Exploring the history of North American pastels McNeil Center Fellow Megan Baker’s dissertation research explores how the fine art medium tells a larger story of material transit across the Atlantic during a time of mounting political discord. 2 min. read
Penn fourth-year awarded Davis Projects for Peace grant Class of 2026 student Hemza Tarawneh has been chosen for a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace grant to help refugees in Jordan find protection from the heat and sun.nocred Penn fourth-year awarded Davis Projects for Peace grant The College of Arts & Sciences student will lead an effort aiding women and children in two Jordanian refugee camps. 1 min. read
Caitlyn Chen’s path to becoming a physician-scientist nocred Caitlyn Chen’s path to becoming a physician-scientist The fourth-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, who will pursue medical school after graduation, spent her time at Penn applying deep knowledge of the natural sciences to research more affordable microsensors for medical devices. 3 min. reada
New faculty explore how individual minds influence group behavior Linguist Marlyse Baptista, neuroscientist Nacho Sanguinetti, and humanities scholar Fritz Breithaupt were all hired through MindCORE under the theme of “interconnected minds,” focusing on how individual minds influence group behavior and vice versa.nocred New faculty explore how individual minds influence group behavior Linguist Marlyse Baptista, neuroscientist Nacho Sanguinetti, and humanities scholar Fritz Breithaupt are part of MindCORE’s Interconnected Minds cluster hire. 3 min. read