August 4, 2020 Volume 67 Issue 4

Earlier this year, Ofer Nemirovsky (EE’79, W’79), a managing director of HarbourVest Partners, LLC, a global private equity firm in Boston, donated $500,000 to the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Health-Tech program to establish the Nemirovsky Engineering and Medicine Opportunity (NEMO) Prize. The goal of the prize is to encourage collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Applied Science by supporting early-stage innovative ideas at the intersection of engineering and medicine that might not receive funding from traditional sources. 

The first recipient of this term prize, which includes an award of $80,000, is César de la Fuente, Presidential Assistant Professor in the departments of psychiatry, microbiology, and bioengineering. He proposed a paper-based COVID diagnostic system that could capture viral particles on a person’s breath, then give a result in a matter of seconds when taken to a testing site.

Similar tests for bacteria cost less than a dollar each to make. Dr. de la Fuente is aiming to make COVID tests at a similar price point and with a smaller footprint so that they could be directly integrated into face masks, providing further incentive for their regular use.

“Wearing a face mask is vital to containing the spread of COVID because, before you know you’re sick, they block your virus-carrying droplets so those droplets can’t infect others,” Dr. de la Fuente said. “What we’re proposing could eventually lead to a mask that can be infected by the virus and let you know that you’re infected, too.”

The proposed detection system would use dozens of tiny, 3D-printed electrodes seeded with fragments designed to bind to the SARS-COV-2 virus’ spike proteins. These electrodes would then be deposited on conductive paper, onto which a sample of respiratory droplets could be introduced. The electrodes’ overall resistance would go up as more viruses bound to the fragments, meaning the relative concentration of the virus could be instantaneously measured with a potentiometer.

Existing virus tests are based on assays of genetic material, which take more than 24 hours, require much more expensive equipment and reagents, and need to be conducted by trained technicians.

“With our proposal, a person could go to a testing site to see if their mask is infected, then follow-up with another kind of test if so,” Dr. de la Fuente said. He will use the NEMO Prize funds to begin developing the prototype for this paper-based coronavirus test, as well as other “blue sky” ideas for detecting pathogens, such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria. More research will also be required to further miniaturize the system so it can be integrated into face masks. Even without that advance, however, larger versions where samples were provided at dedicated testing sites would still be significantly faster and less expensive than current methods.

“The COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on the NEMO Prize,” said Glory Durham, associate director of Penn Health-Tech. “César’s proposal is an opportunity to develop a transformative technology that is sensitive and scalable. It is an excellent illustration of Penn Health-Tech’s mission to catalyze early stage innovation in medical technology across Penn.”

Mr. Nemirovsky focuses on sourcing, evaluating, and monitoring direct investments. He is also involved in HarbourVest’s business development efforts. He has been responsible for a number of HarbourVest’s direct investments, including Artisoft, AVID, AXENT, Centra, Clarus, Creo, Dendrite International, Digital Insight, eTapestry, Frame, Gilead, Insignia Solutions, Manugistics, Marcam, m-Qube, NETCOM On-Line, Progress Software, Radware, Retix, Shopzilla, SpectraLink, Ultimate Software, and UUNET. Mr. Nemirovsky’s previous experience includes four years in technical computer sales and marketing with Hewlett-Packard. 

He received a BS in electrical engineering and a BS in finance from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1986. He serves or has served on the Boards of the National Venture Capital Association, the Overseers of the School of Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania, the African Wildlife Foundation, and the Institute of Contemporary Art. Born in Israel, Mr. Nemirovsky is fluent in Hebrew.

Jessica Wachter has been named the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professorship in Quantitative Finance, effective July 2020. A member of the Wharton faculty since 2003, Dr. Wachter researches asset pricing models that incorporate rare events and behavioral finance. She serves on the board of the Western Finance Association and as an associate editor of Quantitative Economics. Before coming to Wharton, she was an assistant professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Dr. Wachter holds a PhD in business economics and an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Harvard University.

The Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professorship in Quantitative Finance was established in 2020 with a generous gift from Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs (G’79, GRW’86) and supports the appointment to Wharton’s finance department of faculty who are experts in quantitative finance (Almanac April 21, 2020).

Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of the history of education in Penn GSE’s literacy, culture, and international education division, has been named the Judy & Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education. Considered one of the foremost education historians today, Dr. Zimmerman has been listed among Education Week’s annual Top 100 “Edu-Scholars” who influence public discussion in the US for the past decade (Almanac January 28, 2020).

Using the proceeds from the Berkowitz Chair, Dr. Zimmerman is launching the Berkowitz Fellowship in History of Education beginning Fall 2021. It will help fund a fifth year of study for doctoral students who are admitted in tandem to the Graduate School of Education and the School of Arts & Sciences department of history, where Dr. Zimmerman holds a secondary appointment. Berkowitz Fellows will receive a joint PhD in education and history, the only funded joint degree between a school of education and a history department in the United States.

Dr. Zimmerman is the author of seven books about the history of education, with two more appearing in the forthcoming academic year: The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America (Johns Hopkins University Press, October 2020) and Free Speech, and Why You Should Give a Damn, co-authored with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Signe Wilkinson (City of Lights Press, February 2021). Currently, Dr. Zimmerman is researching a book about how American schools and universities have experienced and addressed health epidemics over the past two centuries.

A public intellectual and journalist, Dr. Zimmerman is the author of over 500 op-ed articles and essays; his work is regularly published in The New York Times, New York Review of Books, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and other popular newspapers and magazines. Many of his pieces connect history to our current educational circumstances or advocate for the preservation of free speech and the importance of hearing and understanding alternate viewpoints. Reflecting his commitment to the importance of diverse perspectives, Dr. Zimmerman was the recent winner of the 2019 Leadership Award from Heterodox Academy, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to viewpoint diversity in American higher education.

Dr. Zimmerman has received book and article prizes from the American Educational Research Association, the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and the History of Education Society, where he served as president 2009-2010. He is the co-editor of both the “Histories of American Education” book series at Cornell University Press and the “History and Philosophy of Education” book series at University of Chicago Press. He has received several research awards from the Spencer Foundation, one of which also supported a kickoff conference for his University of Chicago book series.

Prior to joining the faculty of Penn GSE in 2016, Dr. Zimmerman was at New York University for 20 years. He directed New York University’s History of Education Program for 15 years and received NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s highest prize for teaching. His former PhD students have gone on to hold faculty positions at Brown University, Carleton College, City University of New York, the University of Texas, and dozens of other institutions. Dr. Zimmerman is also a former Peace Corps volunteer and secondary school social studies teacher.

The Judy & Howard Berkowitz Chair was endowed in 1995 with a gift from Judy and Howard Berkowitz. This chair was donated by the Berkowitz family in order to facilitate a study of ethnic relations, cultural pluralism, and diversity as they relate to education.

July 31, 2020

When we announced our plans for the fall semester last month, we indicated that we would provide updates as new information became available regarding the pandemic and the University’s operations. Today we write to provide you with the latest information on our plans for the coming academic year. 

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our University’s planning and actions have been driven by two fundamental principles: that we do everything within our powers to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and community, and that we provide our students with the very finest educational experience possible under these extraordinary and challenging circumstances. As we began planning for the upcoming academic year, we were well aware that bringing college students together from across the country and around the world in the midst of a pandemic presented uniquely difficult challenges. This has become ever more apparent as the pandemic has continued to spread over the past month with young people becoming the fastest growing cohort.

In our message concerning the fall on June 25, we stressed that our decision was guided by the most current medical information and governmental directives, and cautioned that our plans could change depending on the progression of the pandemic. It is now evident that rather than plateauing during the summer, as many health experts expected, COVID-19 has instead gained momentum. Since our June 25 message, 1.5 million new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States, with the confirmed case count soaring from 2.4 million on June 25 to 3.9 million on July 22. This means that almost 40% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic have been reported in the last month.  

Against this backdrop and as the pandemic continues to progress, the University’s planning has evolved on several fronts:

The Majority of Instruction Will Be Online 

Undergraduate courses for the fall semester are being offered online, with a few, limited, in person offerings. For undergraduates in the Nursing School, the only in-person course work will be clinical simulations, experiences in the hospital, and clinical settings. For students in the other three undergraduate schools, a minimal number of courses will be offered in-person where it is essential to have an in-person experience in order to meet curricular and/or pedagogical requirements. Penn first-year international students can get a support letter from their academic school/department to confirm that they are attending a hybrid program in Fall 2020. If an in-person course is offered, accommodations will be provided for those studying remotely. Instructors may elect to come to campus for in-person office hours or to meet in person with students from time to time. These interactions are outside-the-classroom activities and comparable interactions will also be provided online. 

Repeated COVID-19 Testing Required 

One of the essential pillars of our reopening plan is testing for the virus. Penn will be requiring all undergraduate students who are returning to Philadelphia—regardless of whether they are living on or off-campus—to take a minimum of two COVID tests to participate as a member of the Penn community this fall.

Pre-Arrival Testing 

We are now requiring that all students residing in the United States who plan to be on campus for the fall have a negative COVID-19 test within 14 days prior to arrival on campus. As a convenience to undergraduates and families, Penn has arranged with a private third-party testing laboratory for a COVID-19 testing kit to be delivered to each domestic student at their home address. These test kits contain detailed instructions. The kits also come with a postage paid envelope for return of the test to the testing laboratory.

If you intend to return to campus this fall, you must verify the address where your test kit will be shipped. This should be the location where you will be for the two weeks prior to your coming to Philadelphia. Please provide this shipping information in Penn InTouch as soon as possible, and no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, August 2. When you receive the test, you will be given further instructions. Please follow the instructions closely. The test should be administered and returned as promptly as possible in order to ensure you receive the result prior to your departure for Philadelphia. The Announcements section in Penn InTouch will have additional details about shipping. 

Once the test results are available, they will be provided to the University and the undergraduate via an app of the distributor of the test kit. If a student tests positive from the pre-arrival test kit, they should remain in isolation at home for 14 days from their test date. They should start all classes remotely until they can travel safely to Philadelphia after completing their isolation period.

Arrival Testing for Students Living On and Off-Campus 

Upon arrival on campus, students will again be tested for COVID-19. All students who plan to live in on-campus housing, whether in college housing or Greek houses, will receive instructions prior to move-in, which will include an assigned date, time, and location to report first for an on-campus arrival test before moving into their on-campus residence. Students will be required to quarantine until they receive a negative test result. Accommodations and meals will be provided to students required to quarantine in college housing. The testing and move-in process will differ depending on the student’s assigned arrival date. In order to maintain a safe move-in process, there will be very limited exceptions for requests to adjust assigned dates and times.

Although undergraduates living in off-campus housing will not have assigned move-in dates, they will nevertheless be required to complete a COVID-19 arrival test. These students should coordinate with their roommates and landlords so that arrival in shared residences can occur over a series of days to minimize contact with others. All students, whether living on- or off-campus, are required to attest to the Student Campus Compact and to abide by all required testing, quarantine and isolation protocols and behavioral expectations. Students already in the Philadelphia area, and students not yet in Philadelphia who plan to live in off-campus housing, should register for their arrival test as early as possible. Details on registering will be provided shortly. Questions about the testing program can be sent to coronavirus@upenn.edu All student arrival testing needs to be completed no later than September 2, 2020. Failure to complete testing in a timely manner will result in restrictions to access to campus and/or academic resources. 

Additionally, for international students and students arriving from states that are designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as hotspots, public health guidance from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends quarantine for 14 days upon arrival to Philadelphia. To minimize risk of spreading COVID-19, the University will require all international students and students arriving from hotspot states to take an additional third test within five to seven days of when their first on-campus test was administered. The University will deliver meals to students in quarantine who live in college housing. Penn will do all that we can to support these students. Additional information will be provided by VPUL and the college houses. 

Both the pre-arrival and on campus arrival testing will be paid for by the University as well as the additional testing discussed above for international and students from domestic hotspot states.

Fall Semester 

Starting September 1, we will test all members of the Penn community who have symptoms or others who do not have symptoms but have been identified as close contacts in a testing center we will be opening in the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall. 

Students will also be required to participate in surveillance testing, details of which will be provided at a later date. 

Symptom Monitoring and Contact Tracing (PennOpen Pass)

Students who are coming to campus for any reason will be required to enroll in our symptom tracking program, PennOpen Pass, which we have been using successfully already for members of the Penn community. PennOpen Pass is a daily symptom checker to reduce the risk of COVID-19 to the Penn community. Daily symptom tracking is critical to reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our community as it will enable clinical staff and contact tracers to act quickly if COVID-19 is detected and to connect affected individuals to care. We are requiring anyone coming to campus with any regularity to perform daily symptom checks using PennOpen Pass before the start of each day including weekends, regardless of whether they are reporting to campus on that particular day.

If you have no symptoms and have not been in recent contact with someone who may have COVID-19, you get a Day Pass to enter Penn buildings. Otherwise, the tool will direct you to next steps. More information for students about PennOpen Pass will be forthcoming.

Complying with the Student Campus Compact

A successful fall semester is predicated on vigilance with regard to testing and contact tracing, individual decisions to act responsibly, and adherence to the Student Campus Compact by all Penn students regardless of whether they live on or off campus. We want to emphasize that there will be strict enforcement of the Student Campus Compact. If you are unable or unwilling to follow the requirements of the Compact, you should not return to Penn—whether living on- or off-campus. Failure to follow the requirements of the Compact may result in students being sent home.

Among other things, the Student Campus Compact requires students:

• To collaborate with Penn on daily wellness checks with the new PennOpen Pass mobile program (details to be distributed), monitoring for symptoms, being tested as recommended by health professionals, and tracking your contacts should you test positive, as part of your public service to protecting your fellow students and Penn community members.
• To maintain appropriate (6 feet) physical distance from others whenever possible.
• To wear a facial covering when you leave your place of residence.
• To wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds throughout each day and before and after interactions with others.
• To use alcohol-based disinfectant wipes provided throughout campus buildings to clean surfaces with which you come into contact, including but not limited to desks and seats in classrooms.
• To be up-to-date on all vaccines.
• To receive a flu shot.
• To refrain from having guests, including family members, in your campus residence.
• To refrain from allowing individuals without a green “go” screen on the PennOpen Pass mobile checker to enter campus buildings.
• To refrain from organizing, hosting, or attending events, parties, or other social gatherings off-campus that may cause safety risks to you and other members of the community.

An Evolving Dynamic

We know that any change is disruptive, and we are sensitive to the impact on family plans that can occur as the evolving dynamic of the pandemic forces the University to adapt. We are trying to do all that we can to minimize disruption while mitigating health risks and providing a meaningful educational experience. As you can imagine, there are a multitude of variables involved in bringing people back to campus. To do it successfully will require everyone involved to be vigilant to the needs of protecting our community, while also being flexible in adjusting to circumstances as the pandemic evolves and new information becomes available. 

In the face of this great challenge, we are confident in the dedication of everyone in the Penn family to work together to make this a successful and productive year. We welcome your feedback and questions and will continue to provide updated information in the weeks ahead.

—Wendell Pritchett, Provost
—Craig Carnaroli, Executive Vice President

July 31, 2020

I write today as follow up to the community message from June 25 with some important additional details relevant to graduate and professional students specifically. First, please be reminded to check out Penn’s Fall Semester Planning website for updated information and FAQs for students and related to health and safety and research resumption. As the pandemic continues to progress, we continue to put plans in place that to the best of our ability protect the health and safety of our students, and also to provide the highest level of education to all of our students. Many faculty, staff and students have been involved in putting together programs to help support our educational mission and your academic and personal success. And it is up to all of us to do our part to be vigilant regarding responsible behaviors, contact tracing and testing. Here I provide you some information related to those topics.  

While graduate and professional instruction will take place largely online this fall, we are providing requirements in person where it is essential to have an in-person experience in order to meet curricular and/or pedagogical requirements. Examples include lab requirements, clinical experiences, studio classes, etc. First-year international students can get a support letter from their academic program to confirm that they are attending a hybrid program in Fall 2020. Please see additional information on the International Student & Scholar Services website.

You should review the Student Campus Compact which applies to all Penn students in Philadelphia, regardless of whether you are living on or off campus, and will be strictly enforced. I am grateful to the many graduate student groups who have already met with colleagues in Wellness to partner with ensuring this message is shared with their constituencies. Please also note, that if you are uncomfortable with the requirements of the Compact, you should not return to campus.

Many of you are already returning to campus under your school’s Research Resumption plan or for clinical requirements, and others of you may be preparing to return for some in-person cohort activities in your academic program. If you are in either of those groups be on the look-out for communications either from the Wellness team, your program or my office about arranging time for your COVID-19 test. This will be provided free-of-charge to those approved to be on-campus.

And, as we are hearing questions from students on-campus, I wanted to remind you of several key points related to testing that can also be found in the FAQs related to the Compact. University COVID-19 testing and notification protocols have been designed to protect individual student privacy while simultaneously safeguarding the Penn community:

• Students who test positive for COVID-19 are covered by HIPAA and FERPA regulations. Campus Health will follow up with any student who tests positive to ensure the student self-isolates and gets the healthcare needed.
• Campus Health will also conduct contact tracing without identifying the student source and will advise other students who have had high-risk exposure.
• Penn’s Department of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety (EHRS) and the Center for Public Health Initiatives (CPHI) are responsible for contacting staff and faculty with high-risk exposure, again without identifying the COVID-positive student.
• Students in quarantine or isolation will receive continued care and support from Student Health Service (SHS) and CAPS clinicians as needed or requested. Please remember that you are not in trouble for being sick or exposed.
• There are additional protocols in place for students who have in-person academic requirements in clinical or field placement settings. Contact tracers will coordinate patient outreach with the school if a student in a clinical setting tests positive and has had recent patient interactions. Students in field placements will be required to report their COVID-19 status to the local health department where the field placement is located; the Philadelphia Department of Health can help coordinate this communication.

Any student with concerns about exposure to COVID-19 should contact SHS. Notification of illness and participation in contact tracing efforts is one of the top ways students can help support the health and safety of the Penn Community.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge that this is a very challenging time, especially for students, like you, who are involved in academic training, have professional concerns, are caring for family, and are navigating the many challenges facing us today. I am continuing to review and develop mechanisms of support that are responsive to this very unique moment. I will keep you updated as details become available. Be well.

—Beth A. Winkelstein, Deputy Provost 

James Buchanan, professor emeritus in cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, died July 20 in Philadelphia. He was 85.

Dr. Buchanan grew up in Jackson, Michigan. He received his undergraduate degree in veterinary medicine in 1958 and his doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1960 from Michigan State University. 

In 1960, he accepted a research and teaching position at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School and Hospital. He earned his MMS in cardiology from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine in 1967. Dr. Buchanan was a full professor at Penn Vet for more than 40 years. Dr. Buchanan was integral in establishing veterinary cardiology as the scientific discipline known today. He became an assistant professor of cardiology in 1964, and then associate professor of cardiology clinical studies four years later. In 1976, Dr. Buchanan became a full professor of clinical studies in the Vet School. He retired in 1996 and earned emeritus status.

Dr. Buchanan was part of Penn’s Comparative Cardiovascular Studies Unit, which was one of the first organized bodies to study cardiac disease in companion animals in collaboration with colleagues in the human medical community. One Health was clearly a philosophy championed by Dr. Buchanan decades before it became de rigueur in academic circles. 

Dr. Buchanan, also an accomplished cardiovascular surgeon, performed the first artificial pacemaker implantation in a client-owned dog in 1967 and was instrumental in developing surgical techniques to address various congenital cardiac defects in dogs.

Dr. Buchanan was president of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Specialty Group in Cardiology, from 1978 to 1981 and was president of the Phi Zeta National Veterinary Honor Society from 1975 to 1980. 

He won numerous awards during his career, including a Research Career Development Award from the NAM in 1968, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from MSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988, the National Veterinary Medical Data Base Publication Award in 1992, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Michigan State University in 1998.

Dr. Buchanan’s accomplishments also included development of the radiographic vertebral heart size measure that is still used today. Although he retired from academia in 1996 he spent the next 25 years continuing to mentor, teach, and serve as a role model.

Dr. Buchanan is survived by his wife, Marolyn; children, Scott (Kay), Mike (Jill), Maureen, and Dan; and grandchildren, Frankie (Melissa), Sara, and Anna Cucinotta. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Friends of Penn Vet Fund at www.vet.upenn.edu/giving

Donald Geoffrey (Don) Norris, former assistant professor of Pediatrics at CHOP, died at home with family in Audubon, Pennsylvania, on April 26 from cancer. He was 79. 

Dr. Norris was born in Pullman, Washington. He graduated from Pullman High School and Washington State University. He received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1966, and then pursued advanced medical training at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine. While stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, Dr. Norris served three years as a general medical officer in the Third Armored Division of the US Army, reaching the rank of major.

 He joined the faculty at CHOP as a lecturer in pediatrics and was promoted to assistant professor that year. He left Penn in 1981. He also held positions at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, before launching a second career in peer review and quality improvement in the field of medicine. 

Dr. Norris is survived by his wife, Sue; their son, Geoffrey; his former wife, Bonnie Hepburn; their daughters Wendy (Stuart) and Robin (Peter); granddaughters Casey and Reed; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

Arnold Porges, former clinical associate professor in the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, died May 16. He was 88.

Dr. Porges graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and then University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 1959. 

Dr. Porges joined the faculty at Penn as an assistant instructor in operative dentistry upon graduating. He went to become an instructor and then associate professor in the same department before becoming an adjunct assistant professor in restorative dentistry in 1975. He stayed in that position for nine years before becoming an assistant professor in the same department. In 1987, Dr. Porges became an assistant clinical professor of preventative and restorative science in the Dental School. From 2014 to 2016, he served as a clinical associate professor. In 2007, he received the Alumni Award of Merit from the Dental School, an award “given to those graduates who have maintained their ties with the School through their support of alumni activities, demonstrated leadership in the dental profession, and fostered and maintained the ideals that the School of Dental Medicine has stood for since its founding.”

For over five decades, Dr. Porges also had a private dental practice in Wynnewood. He served as a second lieutenant and chemical engineer in the US Air Force. 

He is survived by his wife, Eileen; children, Stefanie (Gerald Lawrence), Jennifer (Joseph Manko, Jr.), Gregory (Diana), and Marisa (Scott Moore); and grandchildren, Nicole Wolfson, Tara Wolfson, Dean Manko, Alec Manko, Max Porges, Harrison Porges, Dylan Porges, and Isaac Moore.

E. Ward Plummer, former director of LRSM and physics & astronomy professor at the University of Pennsylvania, died July 23. He was 79.

Dr. Plummer was born in Astoria, Oregon. He graduated with a BA in physics and mathematics from Lewis and Clark College in 1962 and earned his PhD in physics from Cornell in 1967. After completing a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), he remained as a staff scientist until 1973. While there, he was a central part of the team that developed single-electron spectroscopy, which enabled the first-ever glimpse into electronic energy levels of atoms at the surface of a metal. 

Dr. Plummer was a leading scientist in materials physics with a focus on electronic behaviors at surfaces and low dimensionality. He was a recognized pioneer in the observation of surface electronic structures; in the discovery of surface-supported multipole plasmon modes in metals; and in the spectroscopic interrogation of single atoms on surfaces. Much of the condensed matter physics field’s current research on critical phenomena in low-dimensional systems was inspired by Dr. Plummer’s discovery of charge-density waves at the metal/semiconductor interface.

In 1973, Dr. Plummer joined the Penn faculty as an associate professor of physics in SAS. He was promoted to full professor in 1978 and was appointed the William Smith Professor of Physics 10 years later (Almanac July 12, 1988). In 1990, Dr. Plummer was named director of Laboratory for Research on Structure of Matter (LRSM) (Almanac November 27, 1990). 

In January 1993, Dr. Plummer moved to a joint position at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory and became an adjunct professor in physics and astronomy at Penn. During his time at Penn, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship and Humboldt Senior Scientist Award. He was also editor of Chemical Physics and served on the editorial board of Physical Review B. He retired from Penn in 1998. 

He was instrumental in the conception of the Joint Institute for Advanced Materials at the University of Tennessee and served as its director until his departure in 2009 for LSU–Baton Rouge in 2009. He was named Boyd Professor of Physics in 2017 and served as special assistant to the vice president of research & economic development. 

Dr. Plummer wrote more than 400 scientific articles. Other awards and distinctions included becoming a fellow of the American Physical Society; a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and recipient of the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. Dr. Plummer participated in a number of professional societies and served on national and international committees to review existing scientific programs and identify future directions for science and technology. 

He is survived by his wife and two children. 

Photo courtesy of Eddy Perez, LSU.

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To Report A Death

Almanac appreciates being informed of the deaths of current and former faculty and staff members, students and other members of the University community. Call (215) 898-5274 or email almanac@upenn.edu

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Penn Professional Staff Assembly (PPSA) board members for their untiring efforts to bring a wide array of valuable resources to full-time staff at Penn! Despite the many challenges that our community has faced in the last few months, PPSA has continued to serve the needs of staff in collaboration with the Division of Human Resources. During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, PPSA events attracted more than 1,000 registered attendees! We are grateful to all of our board members who generously give their time to this organization, and to the countless Penn staff who attend our events—in-person and online!

As we introduce new members of our board, we are looking forward to continuing to serve you in the year ahead! 

—Nadir Sharif, PPSA Past Chair

2020-2021 Executive Committee:

Chair: Kris Forrest, Director of Finance, Penn Museum

Chair-Elect: J. Patrick Walsh, Executive Assistant, Faculty Senate

Past Chair: Nadir Sharif, College House Dean, College House and Academic Services

Members at Large (2020-2022 Term):

Dawn M. Deitch, Executive Director, Office of Government and Community Affairs

Rhina Duquela, College House Dean, College Houses and Academic Services

Amanpreet (Aman) Kaur, Community Health and Engineering Librarian, Penn Libraries

Cynthia (Cindy) Kwan, Manager, IT Operations Manager–Client Services, Perelman School of Medicine

Members at Large (2019-2021 Term): 

Anne Corcoran-Petela, Associate Director, Program Management, Wharton

Natalie Dury Green, Associate Director, Master in Law Program, Graduate and Professional Programs

Hannah Rollings-Cunningham, Perelman School of Medicine (One Year Term, 2020-2021)

Kathy Tang, Sr. Clinical Research Operations Specialist, Perelman School of Medicine (One Year Term, 2020-2021)

PPSA LISTSERV Manager: Adam Sherr, Senior Advisor, NGSS Project, Student Registration and Financial Services

PPSA Secretary: Tanya O’Neill, Associate Director of Leadership Development, Office of Organization Effectiveness, Perelman School of Medicine

PPSA Treasurer: Lauren McDonnell, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center for Quantitative Financial Research

PPSA Webmaster: Mayumi Hirtzel, Information Systems and Computing

Visit ppsa.upenn.edu to learn more about the PPSA, join our list, and to register for upcoming events!

Alison Buttenheim, the Patricia Bleznak Silverstein and the Howard A. Silverstein Term Endowed Professor in Global Women’s Health in Penn Nursing’s department of family and community health, has been appointed to The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) ad hoc  committee on Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus. The committee’s goal is to develop an overarching framework for vaccine allocation to assist policymakers in the domestic and global health communities in planning for equitable allocation of vaccines against COVID-19.

Dr. Buttenheim is a social scientist and public health researcher who is widely recognized as an expert in the field of vaccine acceptance and vaccine exemption policy. In her work in the US and in Indonesia, Laos, Peru, and South Africa, she designs and evaluates trial interventions to improve uptake of evidence-based infectious disease prevention programs.

She is also a PSOM assistant professor of health policy, a senior fellow in the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, an associate director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics, and an associate director of the National Clinician Scholars Program.

Penn Chemistry Librarian Judith Currano has been elected to the 2020 class of American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellows. The fellows program began in 2009 as a way to recognize ACS members for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and ACS.

Ms. Currano is responsible for developing the electronic and print collections in chemistry. She also teaches a half-credit graduate course in chemical information that is required for the PhD in chemistry at Penn. In 2016, she received the Special Libraries Association’s Rose L. Vormelker Award for teaching and mentoring students and professionals. She is an active member of the American Chemical Society, where she serves as the chair of the ACS Committee on Ethics, and the Special Libraries Association Chemistry Division. Ms. Currano’s research interests center around teaching chemical information, structure-based information retrieval, and the responsible conduct of research in chemistry. She currently serves as the advisor to Penn’s Women in Chemistry group and the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC).

Sophie Hochhäusl, an assistant professor for architectural history and theory in the Weitzman School, will be away for the next academic year; she has been named a 2020-2021 Princeton Mellon Fellow in Architecture, Urbanism + the Humanities. The fellowships are made possible through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Princeton Environmental Institute; the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies; the MS Chadha Center for Global India; and the Princeton African Humanities Colloquium.

In addition to their own research, each fellow will teach a course and contribute to programming related to the Initiative’s focus on Cities on the Edge: Hemispheric Comparisons and Connections. 

Dr. Hochhäusl is interested in discourse on collectivity, dissent, and difference in architecture. Her scholarly work centers on modern architecture and urban culture in Austria, Germany, and the United States with a focus on spatial histories of dissidence and resistance art, labor theory and environmental history, as well as intersectional feminism and gender studies. 

At Princeton, she is working on two book projects: The interdisciplinary history and translation project Memories of the Resistance: Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and the Architecture of Collective Dissidence, 1918-1989 and the monograph Housing Cooperative: Politics and Architecture in Vienna, 1904-1934. 

Dr. Hochhäusl received the G. Holmes Perkins Teaching Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching in May 2020 (Almanac May 5, 2020). 

Megan Matthews, assistant professor of chemistry, has been awarded a 2020 National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Avenir Awards in Genetics and Epigenetics of Substance Abuse.These awards exemplify NIDA’s commitment to supporting researchers who represent the future of addiction science. Awardees receive up to $300,000 per year for five years to support their projects. NIDA has two Avenir award programs, one for HIV/AIDS and another on the genetics and epigenetics of substance abuse.

Dr. Matthews’ PhD work led to an understanding for how iron oxygenases suppress hydroxylation to allow for halogenation and other outcomes important in natural product biosynthesis. Dr. Matthews investigated the prevalence of undiscovered protein-bound electrophiles and the (dys)functions that the unknown electrophiles impart, uncovering evidence for their involvement in cancer and diseases of the central nervous system. Her program is tracking down these and a host of other leads, which has led to new pharmacological tools for drug discovery for both new and known genetic and epigenetic drug targets.

Creating bird-friendly buildings is one of three key elements of Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Communities program. Each year, as many as one billion birds in the US collide with windows and most of these birds die from their injuries. Reflective glass and bright lights that illuminate the built environment cause these collisions. 

For nearly a decade, students and staff at the University of Pennsylvania, alongside Keith Russell, Audubon’s Program Manager for Urban Conservation, have been working together to make Penn’s campus a safer, more welcoming place for birds. In a forward-thinking approach to conservation, the University’s department of Facilities and Real Estate Services has undertaken multiple projects intended to modify various collision prone campus buildings to significantly reduce bird-window collisions on campus.

At Lauder College House, students were alarmed by the high mortality rate of birds due to collisions with windows surrounding a large courtyard at the seven-story dormitory. The students connected with Faculty Director Cam Grey, who elevated the concerns to Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES). The students and staff advocated for meaningful change that resulted in a bird-friendly film retrofit to the entire ground floor of the courtyard area this May, funded by Residential and Hospitality Services, a part of Penn's Business Services Division, with technical expertise for the project provided by Audubon. By adding a pattern of unobtrusive white dots to the windows, they made a critical change to the way birds see and interact with the building, potentially resulting in a drastic reduction in bird deaths on campus. 

Over the next several months, as fall migration gets underway, students and several members of Penn’s staff will collaborate to monitor how the mitigation efforts affect birds. They will document collision statistics including the number of strikes, types of species, location, time of day, and lighting conditions that were in effect at the time of each collision. In partnership with Audubon Pennsylvania, Penn will use this data to inform future decisions regarding the project. 

With assistance from Audubon, Penn’s work on bird-friendly buildings began in 2015 with the application of film with a collision-preventing pattern over collision-prone windows on Penn Medicine’s Johnson Pavilion and a pedestrian walkway connecting Penn Vet’s Old Quad and Hill Pavilion. Since this work was completed, only one bird collision has been recorded on these windows.

Projects like the one at Lauder College House help to set the stage for the next generation of bird-friendly design and help Penn meet its Climate and Sustainability Action Plan goals. Students are enacting meaningful change through collaboration and innovation. These models are being shared through new bird-friendly guidelines developed by FRES and a report on bird strike awareness on campus developed by Penn Sustainability’s student Eco-Reps.

This is a re-posting of a story originally authored by Audubon Pennsylvania.

Dear Penn Tennis Members:

Tennis at Penn is back! We’re very excited to share with you that we will have reopened our Hamlin Outdoor Tennis Courts on Monday, August 3 for individual outdoor court reservations. Private lessons will also be available. Our staff has worked diligently to put together a comprehensive plan to resume our services safely through a phased approach. We have detailed our implementation of Tennis-specific best practices with guidance from USTA, peer facilities, and the University of Pennsylvania protocols. As things continue to trend in a positive direction, we will begin to add more services such as junior and adult programming.

Please carefully review the information and links provided below to be fully prepared prior to your first visit:

• USTA’s Guide on Player Safety Tips
• Penn Tennis Center Member Guidelines
• Assumption of Risk Waiver: This waiver must be signed prior to your first visit.

Hours of Operation 

Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 4 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Court Reservation Process

All court reservations will be handled online through the Fusion member Portal.

Member Portal Link: https://recreationwebportal.dria.upenn.edu/

Access to the Fusion Portal requires a valid Tennis Center membership. University affiliations should utilize their PennKey and password to log in. If you are a public member, please email us at pennracquetsports@upenn.edu to receive your log in credentials.

The reservation holder is responsible for paying the full cost of court time (including guest fees) and providing the name of their hitting partner. Court costs are based on the reservation holder’s membership affiliation. Pro shop items (balls, grips, dampeners) must be purchased at the time of booking. When checking in onsite, you will receive any pre-paid Pro Shop items.

Court Reservation Guidelines

Reservations can be booked online up to three days in advance of scheduled court time. Maximum amount of court time is limited to 60 minutes.

Court reservations will be properly spaced out to ensure no reservations ever occur on an adjacent court. There will be 15 minutes in between reservations to allow for transition time between players.

Singles play only. Players are required to wear a mask on court. All players should always stay at least 6 feet apart. Maximum of 2 people per court, doubles play not allowed.

Cancellations must be provided 24 hours in advance; cancellations under 24 hours are not eligible for court time credit for future use. No walk-up court requests will be accepted; pre-payment is required.

PennOpen Pass

PennOpen Pass is a daily symptom checker to reduce the risk of COVID-19 to the Penn community. Penn students, faculty and staff will be required to enroll in PennOpen Pass prior to visiting campus. To enroll, please visit https://pennopen.med.upenn.edu/ If you have no symptoms and have not been in recent contact with someone who may have COVID-19, you will receive a Day Pass to allow you to play. Public members who cannot enroll in the PennOpen Pass system will undergo a verbal attestation at the outdoor check-in desk.

Check-in Information

When arriving on site, please follow the signs and pathway to proceed to our outdoor check-in desk, located at the beginning of the observatory deck, overlooking Courts 1 and 2. There will be no member access to the Hecht Indoor Center for restroom/locker usage or to check in for court time. Penn Park restrooms will be open and accessible. We encourage you to use the restroom prior to arriving or prior to play.

Pictured is a traffic flow map of the Hamlin Outdoor Courts. Upon arrival, you will walk in the direction of the softball field to access the courts. We will have X’s six feet apart to create a line toward our check in table (circled). After you’re checked in, please proceed down the observation desk and stairs to your assigned court. After your reservation, please exit the facility through the front gate.

We look forward to welcoming you back to Penn and our tennis courts!

—Ellah Nze, Manager, Racquet Sports

Morris Arboretum invites visitors to travel back in time for a glimpse of the Arboretum’s history with activities and games this August. Programming experiences will be self-directed adventures and print-at-home games to bring to the Arboretum for discovery in the garden.

The Compton mansion that Lydia Morris stipulated should be torn down after her death (in 1932) stood for another 36 years until 1968, when it was demolished after years of neglect. This August, Morris Arboretum will “rebuild” the mansion by painting the foundation at the top of the hill, labeling the rooms that are known and posting archival photos of the interiors. Visitors can explore what it might’ve been like to live in this architectural enormity known as the Compton mansion (Almanac September 1, 2015).

Other historic features lost over the years will be shown with archival photos where they once stood: the Tea House in the Japanese Overlook garden, the rock pond near the Katsura tree, the flower garden pergola, the Palm House next to Out on a Limb and cantilever bridge. Visitors are encouraged to take selfies in the footsteps of history, imagining how Lydia Morris might have looked perched on her bench, and see other archival photos of visitors enjoying the garden long ago.

Games from different eras will be re-created for today’s visitors such as limbo, hopscotch, the floor is lava, and pitching pennies, and will take place at the end of the Oak Allée. A downloadable version of Bingo in the form of “I Spy” will be available on the website to bring to the garden.

August is a wonderful time to visit the Morris Arboretum to enjoy the cooling power of trees, visit old favorites like Out on a Limb, the Rose Garden, the Pennock Flower Walk in its summer glory, and go exploring to discover something new in the 92-acre garden.

Please note new safety measures. Advance tickets are required for all visitors. See http://morrisarboretum.org

Children’s Activities

        Kids Corner; call-in radio show for kids hosted by Kathy O’Connell; Monday-Thursday, 7-8 p.m.; info: http://kidscorner.org (WXPN).

Fitness and Learning

8/5    Admissions Webinar for High School Students; virtual event; noon; register: https://tinyurl.com/nursing-hs-webinar (Nursing).

        Webinar: Reimagining Legal Operations: Reimagining the Future of the Profession; several panelists explore effects of COVID-19 on law; 3 p.m.; virtual event; register: https://tinyurl.com/penn-law-future (Penn Law). 

8/6   Exploring Your Identity Workshop; interactive workshop with LGBT Center; virtual event; 1-3 p.m.; register: https://tinyurl.com/gse-exploring-identity (GSE). 

8/11  Morning Coffee Break with Katherine Blanchard; virtual event; 10 a.m.; register: https://www.penn.museum/calendar/451/morning-coffee-break (Museum).

Talks

8/5    Mind the Gap: Conversations About Life and Landscape Architecture; Signe Nielsen, MNLA; Zoom meeting; 6 p.m.; register: https://tinyurl.com/mind-the-gap (Landscape Architecture). 

8/6    Philadelphia Bar Association Public Interest Brown Bag Series: Case Study in Advocacy; Philadelphia Bar Association Law School Outreach Committee; Zoom meeting; noon; register: https://tinyurl.com/8-6-bar-event (Penn Law).

         Management of Failed Full Arch Implant Cases; Costa Nicolopoulos, SameDay Dental Implants Clinic, Dubai; BlueJeans meeting; 6 p.m.; register: https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/register/jxajcsex (Dental).

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AT PENN Deadlines 

The Summer AT PENN calendar is online. The deadline to submit virtual events to be featured in an issue Update is the Monday of the prior week.

University of Pennsylvania Police Department Crime Report

Below are the Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Society and Crimes Against Property from the campus report for July 20-26, 2020. View prior weeks' reports. —Ed.

This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety and includes all criminal incidents reported and made known to the University Police Department for the dates of July 20-26, 2020. The University Police actively patrol from Market St to Baltimore and from the Schuylkill River to 43rd St in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police. In this effort to provide you with a thorough and accurate report on public safety concerns, we hope that your increased awareness will lessen the opportunity for crime. For any concerns or suggestions regarding this report, please call the Division of Public Safety at (215) 898-4482.

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 7 incidents (4 assaults, 1 domestic assault, 1 rape, 1 robbery) were reported for July 20-26, 2020 by the 18th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

Almanac will publish again on Tuesday, August 11 and weekly throughout August. For the complete publication schedule and deadlines, visit https://almanac.upenn.edu/publication-schedule-deadlines

Like the last few months’ issues, this edition of Almanac is digital-only. Please distribute to your colleagues and encourage them to subscribe to receive the E-Almanac by visiting https://almanac.upenn.edu/express-almanac The email will include links to the newly posted material. 

No issues were printed to distribute across campus because of COVID-19. Almanac is distributed electronically each Tuesday.