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Awards and accolades for Penn faculty and recent graduate
Facade of a Penn Law building on campus.

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Awards and accolades for Penn faculty and recent graduate

Members of Penn faculty and a Class of 2026 graduate in Penn Carey Law, Penn Nursing, the Weitzman School, and the Wharton School received awards and honors in their fields.

Penn Today Staff

2 min. read

Paving the way for safer roads
Drone shot of Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard.

(Image: Julio Cortez via AP Images)

Paving the way for safer roads

An interdisciplinary team of Penn engineers and urban planners has taken an innovative approach to creating a drivable digital twin of Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard, a significant public health threat to the tens of thousands of people who use it each day.

2 min. read

Conservation of Covenant: Maintaining a campus landmark
A side view of Covenant, newly restored with its bright red sheen on a sunny, clear day surrounded by trees.

Covenant restored to the vibrant red hue it had upon installment on campus in 1975.

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Conservation of Covenant: Maintaining a campus landmark

This summer, Penn’s largest piece of public art, Covenant, has undergone the final stretch of a two-part maintenance project that involved restoring its bright red surface.

2 min. read

When design meets engineering, students solve the right problems
Sarah Rottenberg lecturing.

For Sarah Rottenberg is the executive director of the Integrated Product Design Program at Penn Engineering and adjunct assistant professor at the Weitzman School of Design.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering)

When design meets engineering, students solve the right problems

In Sarah Rottenberg’s studio course, engineering and design students are taught to rethink the earliest stage of design: understanding the problem itself.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Buildings that cool like African elephants
A tabletop display of off-white tiles in the foreground. Dorit Aviv and Shu Yang are standing behind it.

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Buildings that cool like African elephants

Inspired by the cracked, water-trapping skin of elephants, Penn researchers have developed a low-cost cement tile that cools buildings by capturing and slowly evaporating water—turning a structural flaw into a climate solution.

3 min. read

Soaking up the sun
Soaking up the sun

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Soaking up the sun

A roundup of stories from Penn Today on solar innovation and protection.

Penn Today Staff

2 min. read

Recreating the Declaration using 250-year-old techniques
adding ink to letterpress

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Recreating the Declaration using 250-year-old techniques

From papermaking to typesetting, Penn’s Common Press has been working to print the Declaration of Independence using the same methods as in 1776. Members of the public can sign up through December to print their own copies.

4 min. read