University of Pennsylvania

09/21/2026

At a recent ceremony, the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy () conferred the 2026 Carnot Prize to John Kerry, former U.S. senator, secretary of state, and presidential climate envoy.

“Over his impressive career, Secretary Kerry has worked tirelessly to address the joint challenges of the climate crisis and the energy transition,” said Sanya Carley, faculty director of the Kleinman Center and vice provost for climate.

Read More: https://bit.ly/46Upved

09/20/2026

The Penn Lifesaver Initiative provides students, faculty, and staff with free, interactive trainings in emergency response skills—from hands-only CPR and bleeding control to choking response and naloxone (Narcan) administration—helping prepare the Penn community to act when seconds matter.

Read More: https://bit.ly/4cOneEH

Tags: Penn MERT, Penn Medicine

09/18/2026

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years, aiming to cool inflation driven by rising energy prices. Most Americans will feel it in their loan and credit card rates, but few know how the decision gets made or why.

In this story from the Penn Today archives, former Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown, both Wharton professors, unpack the central bank’s origins, its unusual structure, and the quiet ways it shapes the economy. https://bit.ly/3PfPx6n

Tag: The Wharton School

Former Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown, both Wharton professors, unpack the central bank's origins, its unusual structure, and the quiet ways it shapes the economy.

09/17/2026

Flags filled Locust Walk earlier this week as La Casa Latina UPenn kicked off Latinx Heritage Month. 🇲🇽🇵🇷🇨🇺🇩🇴🇨🇴🇧🇷

The annual Procession of Flags brought the Penn community together with The University of Pennsylvania Band leading the way. An open house with Casa Latina and other student organizations followed the gathering.

09/17/2026

Penn’s founder played a critical role in Philadelphia’s pivotal summer of 1787, helping forge compromise and agreements where none had existed, a panel of scholars observed at a Perry World House forum marking Constitution Day. “Fighting made our nation literally feasible; compromise made it functional,” said President J. Larry Jameson in his opening remarks.

Read More: https://bit.ly/4dkPHC4

09/16/2026

College drop-off may seem like a thoroughly modern rite of passage, with its move-in carts and long goodbyes, but neuroscientist Michael Platt considers it one of the oldest moves in the primate playbook.

Platt and molecular anthropologist Theodore Schurr explain the reasons and impacts of youth leaving the groups they’re born into and how the college years might keep a brain young. https://bit.ly/4diPrUa

Tag: Penn Arts & Sciences

Neuroscientist Michael Platt and molecular anthropologist Theodore Schurr trace the evolutionary roots of moving away from home--and what campuses full of newcomers mean for genes and brains.

09/15/2026

It’s !

Today on Locust Walk, volunteers from Penn Leads the Vote and Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs encouraged students and passersby to register to vote ahead of Pennsylvania’s October 19 deadline.

As Penn marks Constitution Week, President Jameson joined student volunteers outside Perry World House before a planned conversation about Benjamin Franklin, the Founders, the drafting of the Constitution, and Philadelphia’s central role in American history.

09/15/2026

From blasting through the sky to experiencing zero gravity, space has attracted attention for decades, including on the silver screen. “But one thing that doesn’t often get covered in sci-fi films is how little sleep astronauts are actually getting,” says sleep expert Mathias Basner, who has spent two decades studying how humans withstand extreme environments. In conversation with Penn Today, Basner explains the human toll of spaceflight.

Read More: https://bit.ly/4xrdnw0

Tags: Penn Medicine and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

09/14/2026

A new partnership between Penn and Community College of Philadelphia is expanding economic opportunity for West Philadelphia entrepreneurs. Led by faculty and industry experts, the Penn-CCP Entrepreneurship Academy is designed to help emerging and established business owners strengthen operations, expand networks, and scale their businesses.

The Penn-CCP Entrepreneurship Academy is a no-cost, 10-session learning experience for West Philly business owners.

09/12/2026

A transformational gift from Stanley C. Middleman will establish the Middleman Center at 3600 Civic Center Boulevard in Philadelphia and create the Middleman Fund at Penn Medicine, a new source of funding to advance the institution’s most promising scientific discoveries.

“This gift will help sustain that progress at the cutting edge of medicine, build on emerging findings, and create new paths for exploration across a broad range of diseases and disciplines,” says Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO, University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Read More: https://bit.ly/4AcQ8sb