Fitness & Learning

4          Personal Statement Workshop: Writing About Your Research; learn how to accentuate your research experiences in your personal statement for graduate school and fellowship applications; 10 a.m.; room G08, College Hall (Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships).

            Introduction to the Federalist Society; Missouri Solicitor General Louis Capozzi, a Penn Carey School alumnus and former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, will provide an introduction to the Federalist Society, both at Penn and nationally; noon; location TBA; register: https://tinyurl.com/fed-intro-sept-4 (Federalist Society).

            Meet and Greet the Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellows in Asian American Studies; meet Elaine Andres and Khoi Nguyen, who will teach new courses during fall 2025 and spring 2026; 4 p.m.; room 473, McNeil Building; register: https://tinyurl.com/panda-express-fellows-sept-4 (Asian American Studies).

8          Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Center Open House; learn about a Penn cultural house that provides a welcoming space and invaluable resources for LGBTQ students; 5-7 p.m.; LGBT Center (LGBT Center).

9          Title IX Q&A Hour with the Office of General Counsel; if you have questions about Penn's Title IX policy or are concerned about how the Department of Education's investigation affects you and your communities, get answers from the Office of General Counsel; 11 a.m.; Goodhand Room, LGBT Center (Office of General Counsel, Penn Women’s Center, LGBT Center, Penn Violence Prevention Program).

Penn Libraries

Info: https://www.library.upenn.edu/events.

2          Canvas 101 for Faculty and Staff; will introduce basic Canvas functions that will allow participants set profile and notifications; navigate the Canvas interface; create content for a Canvas site; and post files, images, and videos; noon; online webinar.

            PitchBook Crash Course; an introduction to PitchBook, a financial platform that covers public and private companies, from competitors and cap tables to financials and financing history; noon; room 244, Van Pelt Library.

3          Fisher Fine Arts Library Staff Recs Book Fair; browse a selection of staff-recommended reads from the Fisher Fine Arts Library, meet a librarian who can help you with your research, and pick up a letterpress-printed bookmark; 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; basement, Meyerson Hall.

            Bloomberg 101; learn the basics of Bloomberg, a definitive source of information for security pricing, indicative and fundamental data, customized analytics and business news; 3:30 p.m.; room 244, Van Pelt Library.

5          Open Studio Session: Printing and Movable Type in the Revolutionary Era; drop-in open studio where you can experience letterpress printing for yourself; noon; Common Press, Fisher Fine Arts Library.

            Rag Collection at Common Press Open Studio Sessions; donate cotton and linen fabric to be processed and made into sheets of paper; community-wide rag collection mimics the papermaking process in 1770s; noon; Common Press, Fisher Fine Arts Library.

8          Canvas Assignment & Quiz Basics; will focus on using assignments and quizzes in Canvas; topics covered include creating assignments with various submission types, creating quizzes with multiple question types, configuring quiz and assignment settings, and using assignment groups; noon; online webinar.

9          Business Research Strategies; an overview of essential resources and self-help tools from Lippincott Library to support your academic, career and entrepreneurial goals; noon; room 242, Van Pelt Library.

            Introduction to QGIS; learn how to create, edit, and manage geospatial data using QGIS, a free and open-source GIS software; 4 p.m.; online webinar.

Readings & Signings

Kelly Writers House

In-person events at Arts Café, Kelly Writers House. Info: https://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0925.php.

9          Two Truths and a Lie; icebreaker night open to the entire Penn community; 6 p.m.

Talks

2          Harnessing Living Bacteria, Fungi, and Plants as Functional Materials; Meredith Silberstein, Cornell University; 10:15 a.m.; room 101, Levine Hall (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics).

3          Best of Both Worlds: Integrating AI/ML Tools with Principled Searches for Gravitational Waves; Digvijay Wadekar, Johns Hopkins University; 3:30 p.m.; room 4E19, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Water–Hydrophobe Interfaces: From Debunking Myths to Boosting Global Food–Water–Climate Resilience; Himanshu Mishra, KAUST; 3:30 p.m.; room 101, Levine Hall (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering).

            Microphones as Oratorial Infrastructure; Kama Maclean, University of Heidelberg; 4:30 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (South Asia Studies).

            Architecture For Sharing; Takaharu Tezuka, architect; 6:30 p.m.; Plaza Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

4          The Poles are Warming Faster: Why This Matters for All (Biological Systems); Leigh Stearns, Earth & environmental sciences; noon; room 109, Leidy Laboratory, and Zoom webinar; join: https://tinyurl.com/biology-zoom-fall-2025 (Biology).

            Positive Random Walks and Positive-Semidefinite Random Matrices; Joel A. Tropp, California Institute of Technology; noon; room 414, Amy Gutmann Hall, and Zoom webinar; register: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/98220304722 (IDEAS Center, Wharton Statistics & Data Science, PennAI).

            Haters Gonna Hate? Free Speech and Sanctioning Hate Speech in Europe; Anna Demenko, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań; 5:15 p.m.; room 201, Fisher-Bennett Hall (Russian & East European Studies).

9          Crazy Epic Courage: How a “Nobody” Challenged Brutal Dictators and Moved a Nation; Evan Mawarire, Zimbabwean human rights activist; noon; Perry World House (Perry World House).

This is an update to the September AT PENN calendar, which is available online now. The deadline to submit events for Almanac’s October AT PENN calendar is Monday, October 16. Submit events for AT PENN calendars or weekly updates at almanac@upenn.edu.