The University of Pennsylvania recently highlighted a range of new developments, including a book exploring the campus landscape, insights into adolescent sleep biology, and research on AI's role in public health.
A new book, "Penn’s Sylvania: The Campus as Landscape," offers a fresh perspective on university campuses, blending history, design, and environmental insights. Co-editor Fritz Steiner, dean of the Weitzman School of Design, said the volume "seeks to highlight the significance and impact of the university campus as an idea and a place of meaning across history, the arts and sciences, education, and applied practice."
In health news, Penn Medicine experts addressed the science behind later school start times, noting that adolescent biology makes early starts challenging. Sleep medicine professor Indira Gurubhagavatula explained, "This is not simply a matter of teenagers making better choices at bedtime... Personal habits are important, but they are not a fix for a problem that is fundamentally driven by internal biological wiring."
Further research from Penn explored the effectiveness of AI chatbots in public health, specifically regarding vaccine hesitancy. A study found that while AI could encourage HPV immunization, standard written materials yielded similar results. Senior author Sharath Chandra Guntuku cautioned, "AI chatbots are promising, but they should not be assumed to outperform existing tools simply because they are newer or more interactive."
Other notable research includes religious scholar Vaughn A. Booker's work on African American religious history and diversity of belief, aiming to show that "things are a little more complex." Additionally, Gad Allon of the Wharton School commented on Waymo's impact on ride-hailing, predicting initial effects on human drivers would be "utilization, longer waits between rides, fewer trips per hour, and possibly more unpaid repositioning."