American Science’s Promoter-in-Chief

The great-grandson of a famous founder (of the nation and this University) and “boyhood’s friend” of the president of the Confederacy, educational reformer and onetime Penn professor Alexander Dallas Bache made his own reputation by championing the professionalization of American science in the mid-1800s.

Mann in the Middle

Michael E. Mann has been a central figure in the battle for the environment since the “hockey stick” graph made him a target for climate change deniers 25 years ago. Now on Penn’s faculty and heading the Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media, he’s fending off a new generation of “inactivists” comprised of climate change deflectors on the right and doomists on the left to get out the message that it’s still within our power to save the planet.

Sea Stewards

In a pair of new books, on coral reefs and sperm whales, two impassioned ocean lovers offer contrasting visions of how to safeguard its splendors.

The New Climate Advocates

From mayors and MBAs to lawyers and landscape architects, the face of climate change activism is changing. At Penn, a mix of pragmatic thinking and visionary ambition has sparked a sense that what is urgent might also be achievable.

Good By Design

Despite all evidence to the contrary, “the world is getting better,” argues physician and sociologist Nicholas Christakis. It’s in our genes.

Unconditional Pavlov

Daniel Todes spent 25 years researching and writing his epochal biography of Ivan Pavlov. The result is a science historian’s answer to Tolstoy, Turgenev, and Dr. Zhivago.

Untangling Alzheimer’s

A remarkable collection of Penn scientists, led by Virginia Lee and John Trojanowski, is attacking the merciless affliction known as Alzheimer’s, along with other neurodegenerative diseases. But the clock is ticking.