Busting Ghosts
By most conventional measures William Watson G’86 Gr’90 is a pretty rational guy. Also a pretty smart one.
Nov|Dec 2010
Volume 109, No. 2
The Past, Present
From the Editor: Nov|Dec 2010
Bones Beneath the Tracks
In the summer of 1832, 57 Irish laborers died suddenly while building the first railroad in Pennsylvania. Alumnus Bill Watson and a host of other Penn people have been trying to find out what really happened. And they’re getting close.
Doing the Time Warp with Wax
The scene, Mangoes restaurant in Allentown; the time, Friday evening, October 29. The occasion was a Beaufest, honoring the late Beau Jones, the bassist for Wax who died this past September.
Spreading Hope and Music
Through music and a grassroots organization for girls,
ethnomusicology grad student Jennifer Kyker is making things happen in Zimbabwe.
On Hearths, Ancient and Modern
In which the author takes a break from the rigors of her own ethnographic research in France’s Dordogne region to visit with eminent Penn archaeologist Harold Dibble as he plumbs the mysteries of early human and Neandertal behavior—and plots his next gourmet meal.
More Light
“I think that what is changing about my writing is my willingness to go darker so that I can come out with more light,” says memoirist and fiction writer Beth Kephart C’82. In her new novel, set in Philadelphia during the Centennial, a young woman contemplates suicide following the accidental death of her twin.
Penn Partners
From College Hall | Connection and collaboration build strong communities.
Letters
Nov|Dec 2010
Jailbreak
“I thought back to my college biology class, but nothing came to mind.”
Lesson Plan
“I sell love.”
The Wounded Wore Aftershave
One day in a doctor’s life at the 399th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq.
Train Hoping
What will it take for the US to build a high-speed rail system?
Making History, Ahead of Schedule: Campaign Passes 80 Percent Mark
Making History campaign reaches $2.85 billion.
New Med School Dean
Northwestern’s J. Larry Jameson named new medical dean and EVP.
Thouron Award Celebrates 50 Years
Thouron program marks 50 years.
Presidential Bioethics Commission Comes to Penn
Synthetic life “not a novel thing” says Bioethics Commission witness.
“Explore Broadly, Focus Intently”
Convocation: Passion and purpose drew Penn to Class of 2014.
Wharton Hosts Silicon Valley’s “Supernova” Conference
Silicon Valley moves east for Supernova conference.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Ei-ichi Negishi Gr’63 shares Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Some Vinegar and a Cellphone, Stat!
Screening for cancer with vinegar and a cellphone camera.
Penn Guardian Is Watching You
Penn Guardian offers GPS location in emergencies.
Golf Instructor, Grandfather, President
A grandson’s memories of Eisenhower in retirement.