Films

16        The Prison in Twelve Landscapes; weaves a portrait of a culture where jail time is part of daily life through a series of vignettes; features Q&A with co-director Brett Story; 11:30 a.m.; Widener Auditorium, Penn Museum (Cinema & Media Studies).

            Union; documentary about a group of Amazon workers who embark on an unprecedented campaign to unionize their warehouse in Staten Island, New York; features Q&A with co-director Brett Story; 5:30 p.m.; Rainey Auditorium, Penn Museum (Cinema & Media Studies).

19        Penn Wind Ensemble Film Screening: Interstellar; Penn Wind Ensemble hosts a screening of a movie whose score makes up part of its fall concert; stay after the movie to listen to the ensemble perform a medley of music from the film; 3 p.m.; Café 58, Irvine Auditorium (Music Department).

Fitness & Learning

15        Ethics in Biological Anthropology; as ethical concerns surrounding the collection and use of human remains gain increasing attention, institutions are confronting their complex and often controversial histories; this workshop allows K-12 educators to explore how to incorporate these debates into their curricula; 4:30 p.m.; Penn Museum; registration: $10; register: https://www.penn.museum/calendar/867/teacher-talks (Penn Museum).

17        The Richards Transportation Initiative at Penn Launch Event; celebrate the official launch of the Richards Transportation Initiative at Penn (R-TRIP)—a new, Penn-wide center that connects academic research with the practical challenges facing transportation systems across the country; 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Widener Auditorium, Penn Museum; register: https://tinyurl.com/r-trip-launch-oct-17 (Richards Transportation Initiative). Networking happy hour: October 16, 4:30 p.m.; Kleinman Energy Forum, Fisher Fine Arts Library.

20        Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Open House; freshman engineering students are welcome to learn more about the MSE major; 5:30-7:30 p.m.; reading room, first floor, Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter; register: https://events.seas.upenn.edu/event/mse-undergraduate-open-house/ (MSE).

Religious Studies

Various locations. Info: https://rels.sas.upenn.edu/events.

16        Job Market & CV Workshop; 3:30 p.m.; room 204, Cohen Hall.

            Profs & Pours (Undergraduate Event); 5:30 p.m.; religious studies lounge, second floor, Cohen Hall.

School of Social Policy & Practice

Unless noted, online webinars. Info: https://sp2.upenn.edu/.

16        Master of Social Work (MSW) Online Information Session; 11 a.m.

18        PhD in Social Welfare On-Campus Information Session; 1 p.m.; room 309/310, Castor Building.

Readings & Signings

15        Dalit Studies, Volume Two: Dalit Journeys for Dignity—Religion, Freedom, and Caste; Ramnarayan S Rawat, University of Delaware; K. Satyanarayana, English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad; 4:30 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (South Asia Center).

Penn Bookstore

In-person events in second-floor conference room, Penn Bookstore. Info: https://www.business-services.upenn.edu/bookstore-events.

21        Toward a More Perfect Rebellion; Josslyn Luckett, New York University; 5:30 p.m.

Talks

15        Contemporary Cinematic Solidarities: Organizational Experiments and Film Cultural Flows; Sima Kokotović, Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication; noon; room 330, Fisher-Bennett Hall (Cinema & Media Studies).

            An Ear for Freedom; Jorden E. Sanders, Rutgers University-New Brunswick; noon; room 105, McNeil Center; and Zoom webinar; info: https://www.mceas.org/events/2025/10/15/ear-freedom (McNeil Center for Early American Studies).

            Intersections of AI, Photonics, and Scientific Discovery; Marin Soljacic, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 3:30 p.m.; room A8, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

16        Special Briefing: Strategies for Closing the U.S. Infrastructure Gap; 11 a.m.; panel of speakers; register: https://penniur.upenn.edu/events/special-briefing-rebuilding-america-states-infrastructure-maintenance-gap (PennIUR).

            Automated Vehicle Locators and Tracking Police Patrol Activity: Prospects and Challenges of a Novel Police Technology; Eric Piza, Northeastern University; noon; room 403, McNeil Building (Criminology).

            Measuring the Immeasurable: Tracking Informal Work and Output in Modern India; Pramit Bhattacharya, Data for India; noon; suite 230, PCPSE (Center for the Advanced Study of India).

            Reckoning with Fossil Fuel in Philadelphia; Jared Farmer, history; noon; Research Data & Digital Scholarship Exchange, first floor, Van Pelt Library (Climate Week at Penn; Penn Libraries).

            Hot Dogs Need Head Dunks: An Effective Cooling Method from the Penn Vet Working Dog Center; panel of speakers from the Penn Working Dog Center; 1 p.m.; Climate Week Tent, College Green (Penn Vet; Climate Week at Penn).

            Communication is a Climate Solution: How Taylor Swift Can Level Up Your Storytelling; Joseph Romm, Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media; 4 p.m.; room 109, Annenberg School; register: https://tinyurl.com/romm-talk-oct-16 (Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media).

            Homer as the Muse: Poems in Conversation with Classical Literature; A.E. Stallings, Oxford University; 4:45 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (Classical Studies).

            Re-arming Europe: The Emergence of European Strategic Autonomy? Robert Hamilton, Delphi Global Research Center; 5:15 p.m.; room 201, Fisher-Bennett Hall (Russian & East European Studies).

17        Complex Polymer Design in the Age of AI: Why, What, and How? Michael A. Webb, Princeton University; 2 p.m.; room 534, 3401 Walnut Street (Penn Institute for Computational Science).

20        Religion; Emily Ng, Lauren Ristvet, and Alissa Jordan, anthropology; noon; room 345, Penn Museum (anthropology). 

            This Bridge Called My Back and the Shape of Dialectics to Come; Francisco Robles, University of Notre Dame; 5:30 p.m.; room 135, Fisher-Bennett Hall (English).

21        All Consuming: Germans, Jews and the Meaning of Meat; John Efron, University of California, Berkeley; 5:15 p.m.; Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Van Pelt Library; register: https://tinyurl.com/efron-talk-oct-21 (Jewish Studies).

            Relevant Music—Is There Such a Thing? Reiko Füting, composer; 5:15 p.m.; room 101, Lerner Center (Music).

Center for Latin American & Latinx Studies

Various locations. Info: https://clals.sas.upenn.edu/events.

15        Testimonies of Central Asian Refugees in the USA; Jengishbek Karagulov, Kyrgyz asylee and activist; 3 p.m.; room 473, McNeil Building.

Chemistry

Unless noted, in-person events at Carolyn Hoff Lynch Lecture Hall, 1973 Chemistry Building. Info: https://www.chem.upenn.edu/events.

15        Machine Learning Strategies for Natural Product Discovery and Biosynthesis; Alison Walker, Vanderbilt University; noon.

Economics

In-person events in various locations. Info: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/events.

15        Bailout Expectations, Default Risk and the Dynamics of Bank Credit Spreads; Luigi Falasconi, economics; 4 p.m.; room 200, PCPSE.

21        Misspecification Averse Preferences; Alfonso Maselli, economics; 4 p.m.; room 203, PCPSE.

Mathematics

In-person events. Info: https://www.math.upenn.edu/.

15        Automated Reasoning and Symbolic AI; Jeremy Avigad, Carnegie Mellon University; room A1, DRL.

16        Machine Learning and Neural AI; Jeremy Avigad, Carnegie Mellon University; 3:30 p.m.; room A1, DRL.

This is an update to the October AT PENN calendar, which is online now. To submit events for a future AT PENN calendar or weekly update, email almanac@upenn.edu.