News

Charlie Kane Recipient of Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching
The Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching for Faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences seeks to recognize teaching that is intellectually rigorous and exceptionally coherent and that leads to an informed understanding of a discipline. Recipients of the Ira Abrams Memorial Award are expected to embody high standards of integrity and fairness, to have a strong commitment to learning, and to be open to new ideas. As the School of Arts and Sciences' highest teaching honor, the Abrams Award recognizes faculty who have sustained records of teaching excellence.

Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring awarded to Arjun Yodh
The Provost’s Award for Distinguished Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring was established in 2004 specifically to honor faculty who mentor Ph.D. students. This prize is intended to underscore the University’s strategic emphasis on graduate education.

Sam Dillavou receives GSNP Annual Postdoctoral Speaker Award
The annual Postdoctoral Speaker Award sponsored by the American Physical Society’s Topical Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics (GSNP) was won by Sam Dillavou, for his talk on “The Ensemble Peels the Onion: Emergent Learning Via Sequential Error Mode Reduction.” Sam’s work is part of IRG-1 on Learning Metamaterials, in the lab of Doug Durian in collaboration with Andrea Liu and Mark Miskin. Read more here.

What to know: 2024 total solar eclipse
Gary Bernstein and Bhuvnesh Jain speak with Penn Today about the significance of the coming total eclipse.
On April 8, large swathes of the United States will temporarily experience day turning into night as the moon passes in front of the sun with its shadow causing a total solar eclipse. The shadow will enter from Texas, travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, finally exiting via Maine. Read full article here.

Congratulations to the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s Student Award Winners!
Award certificates will be presented before the Department Colloquium on April 10th at 3:30pm in DRL A8.
The Elias Burstein Prize

Masao Sako: Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Innovation
Provost John L. Jackson. Jr. and Deputy Provost Beth A. Winkelstein announced the appointment of Masao Sako, the Arifa Hasan Ahmad and Nada Al Shoaibi Presidential Professor of Physics and Astronomy, as faculty co-director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, beginning April 1, 2024.

Physics & Astronomy's Daniel Gomes, Winner: Audience Choice 2024 Penn Grad Talks
On February 23, some of Penn Arts & Sciences’ top graduate students shared their insights with a packed house (and online audience) at the 2024 Penn Grad Talks. The day-long program featured students from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and the School’s professional masters’ programs, who each gave TED Talk-style presentations on their research, vying to win prizes of $500.

Second year PHD Candidate, Charlie Cummings has been named 2023-2024 Dean’s Scholar
Each spring, at the Dean's Forum, the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences recognizes nine College students for their outstanding academic achievements. Students are nominated by faculty from among those with a grade point average of 3.8 or higher.
Read more about Dean's Scholars.

Dr. Martin Claassen awarded 2024 Sloan Research Fellow
Congratulations to Dr. Martin Claassen on being awarded the Sloan Research Fellows of 2024. 126 early-career scholars represent the most promising scientific researchers working today. Their achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific leaders in the U.S. and Canada.
Pillars of Excellence Award 2024
PILLARS OF EXCELLENCE AWARD 2024