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Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world
Examples of cross sections of Egyptian blue samples.

Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world

Penn researchers Vanessa Workman and Alexis North are studying one of the largest collections of Egyptian blue objects ever found in the ancient Near East, shedding new light on how the world’s first synthetic pigment may have traveled far beyond Egypt.

4 min. read

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The performing arts at Penn: Process, practice, and purpose
A student holding a composition sheet of music notes during while practicing their group performance.

A student holding a composition sheet filled with music notes while practicing their group performance.

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  • Photo Essay

    • The performing arts at Penn: Process, practice, and purpose

    In the vivid tapestry of performing arts groups at Penn, students prepare for their performances while simultaneously enriching their college experience.

    2 min. read

    In school and in practice, mass timber gains ground

    In school and in practice, mass timber gains ground

    Penn architects and students are designing with mass timber to highlight its expressive potential and sustainability for construction in cities around the world.

    Ani Liu: Motherhood, microplastics, and her multimedia works on display
    Ani Liu standing at a table speaking to students.

    Ani Liu is the Carrafiell Assistant Professor (Emerging Design) at the Weitzman School.

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    Ani Liu: Motherhood, microplastics, and her multimedia works on display

    Weitzman professor of fine arts Ani Liu explores the physiological and emotional transformations in motherhood through her multimedia artworks while teaching students how to conduct fine arts research.

    From the Weitzman School of Design

    2 min. read

    Turning peels into pavers: How Penn designers turn food scraps into biodegradable building materials
    Two students working with biodegradable food waste specimens.

    At the DumoLab, research associate Yasaman Amirzehni is working to develop a biocomposite suitable for indoor and outdoor cladding applications, which could eventually serve as true structural components like load-bearing columns.

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    Turning peels into pavers: How Penn designers turn food scraps into biodegradable building materials

    The Weitzman School’s Laia Mogas-Soldevila and Yasaman Amirzehni transform unavoidable food waste—like fruit peels and eggshells, which account for 14.8% of post-consumer restaurant food waste—into durable, biodegradable building materials in collaboration with Penn Dining.

    4 min. read

    The art of retelling ancient stories: A Q&A with Steven Weitzman
    Steven Weitzman standing upright and smiling, facing forward, in the Library at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, next to a wall with books on display

    Steven Weitzman is the Ella Darivoff Director of the Katz Center of Advanced Judaic Studies.

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  • Q&A

    • The art of retelling ancient stories: A Q&A with Steven Weitzman

    In his new book, the Penn professor and scholar of religion examines how the biblical story of the 10 plagues has been reshaped by people across time and culture to make sense of their experiences and find meaning in disasters.

    3 min. read

    Announcing the Sachs Program 2026 Student Grant Awards

    Announcing the Sachs Program 2026 Student Grant Awards

    The 17 projects awarded incorporate film, visual arts, poetry, performance, and storytelling, with eight projects addressing the complexities of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the nation’s ongoing struggle to realize its founding principles.

    Music, friendship, and a podcast on the side
    Emily Wilson, Kevin Platt, and Paul St. Amour seated with microphones at Kelly Writers House.

    Emily Wilson, Kevin Platt, and Paul St. Amour recording an episode of SideGig at Kelly Writers House.

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    Music, friendship, and a podcast on the side

    Through their new project, SideGig, School of Arts & Sciences faculty Paul Saint-Amour and Kevin Platt explore songs and sound. Plus, it gives the pals a chance to hang out.

    From Omnia

    2 min. read

    Who, What, Why: Alicia Meyer on the wonders of the Kislak Center
    Alicia Meyer talks to students in Technology and Society course.

    In February 2025, Alicia Meyer showed students in Elly Truitt’s Technology & Society course a rare 19th-century book of hours woven from silk on a Jacquard loom, an Egyptian clay tablet from 400 BCE, an astronomical rotula used to predict the movement of heavenly bodies, posters from Central America made on sugarcane paper, and more.

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  • Who, What, Why

    • Who, What, Why: Alicia Meyer on the wonders of the Kislak Center

    As curator of research services, Meyer wants students from every discipline to visit the Kislak Center and to find new insights from old materials.

    2 min. read