On Sunday, May 13, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends and faculty to celebrate the graduating Class of 2018. The ceremony took place in the Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and honored 306 students graduating from undergraduate and graduate programs.

Chloe Cerwinka, the University of Pennsylvania’s landscape planner and a student in the Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program, is leading a series of bird surveys on campus, acquiring a robust dataset she intends to use as the basis of her master’s capstone.

The Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) aims to empower enlisted personnel to succeed in an undergraduate program at a top-tier institution. In a one-week academic “boot camp,” active-duty service members and veterans lived and dined at Penn while learning about campus life, the admissions process, financial aid, and maximizing their educational benefits.

Philadelphia’s rich history and forward momentum make it ripe for scientific inquiry. Penn researchers and students look to the city to study everything from disease interventions to the psychological ramifications of vacant lots, in an effort to better understand human health, mental health, and the environment.

On Saturday, July 21, 45 students received their certificates of completion from the first Coding Boot Camp offered by Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS). Located in the Pennovation Center, the graduation ceremony was presented by Vice Dean Nora E.

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.