Garrett Meccariello and Tobias Nasgarde, who will complete Penn’s inaugural Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS) program this August, found a practical way to apply the skills they’ve learned in the program.

“We’ve all been on websites where you have a one-click purchase. You don’t have time to think, ‘Do I need this?’” says Nasgarde. “Research has shown that when you’re in a cashless environment you spend a larger amount and you buy a larger number of items.”

Reto Gieré, a professor and advisory board member for the Master of Environmental Studies and Master of Science in Applied Geosciences programs, is working with collaborators across the world to identify an overlooked but significant factor in traffic-related air pollution: Tiny bits of tires, brake pads and road materials that become suspended in the air when vehicles pass over.

The core of a graduate program in science is taking on a research project of your own, and if you’re trying to decide whether to apply to graduate school in the chemical sciences, the most important question to ask yourself is whether you enjoy scientific research and problem solving. Dr. Ana-Rita Mayol, Associate Director of the Master of Chemical Sciences program, says that without some research experience and a high grade point average, getting into a competitive PhD program is challenging.

Michael DiBerardinis, who has served as Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor James Kenney since January 2016, will be joining the School of Arts and Sciences in January 2019 as a Professor of Practice at the Fels Institute of Government.

Across the University’s campus, from the Penn Student Garden in the west to the Penn Park Orchard in the east, and many places in between, edible plants dot the landscape. Facilities and Real Estate Services staff, charged with designing and managing the campus grounds, are working to augment and increase awareness of these spaces, which benefit the community on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods in a variety of ways, from promoting good nutrition to encouraging sustainability and wellness.

Students in Penn’s Pre-Health Programs travel to China for hospital observation and cultural immersion

In 2018, Pennovation Works established a significant new partnership with Johnson & Johnson, welcomed a slew of innovative new member companies, and hosted 71 programs. Included in that list is the Penn LPS Coding Boot Camp, offered in collaboration with Trilogy Education Services. In addition to technical training, participants in the Boot Camp receive career planning assistance, networking opportunities and hands-on learning activities with employers.

As featured by West Virginia Public Broadcasting, students in the Master of Environmental Studies introductory course, taught by the School of Arts and Sciences’ Yvette Bordeaux, traveled to West Virginia’s Elkhorn Water Plant to get an in-person look at the challenges involved in managing small water systems. “There are a lot of people doing some very hard work and some very good work,” MES student Karl Russek said, “but the existing tool kit is not built to handle some of these problems.”

At the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, located in West Philadelphia near the Penn campus, leaders at the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP) realized the importance of involving veterans in providing advice to CHERP investigators. Dr. Kimberly “Max” Brown, the Co-Director of Research Development and Veteran Engagement at CHERP, reached out to Dr. Dana Kaminstein for assistance.

In December, Chelsea Melvin (Master of Liberal Arts ‘18) became the first graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program to be inducted into the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs (AGLSP) National Honor Society. The AGLSP National Honor Society is open to liberal studies graduates who have met the criteria set by the member institution and the AGLSP Honor Society, which include community leadership in addition to outstanding academic achievement.