Category Archives: Events

April 10, 2012 · 9:20 am

RoboCup – Soccer Not Cyborg

Author: Lisa Marie Patzer

During a recent Penn Alumni event, I had the opportunity to see Dr. Dan Lee and three Penn engineering students demonstrate RoboCup.  One of Penn’s RoboCup teams, the UPennalizers, describes RoboCup as “an international robotics competition that draws teams from all over the world to build and program robots that play soccer. The overarching aim of the competition is to have, by the mid 21st Century, a team of eleven autonomous robots that will beat the human soccer world champions.”  Dr. Lee and the students demonstrated how the robots work using two of the Penn RoboCup players.

RoboCup Team Players

Through the use of sensors that can detect color and distance, dynamic motion that allows the robots to mimic basic human movement and advanced computational power, these cute plastic machines can play soccer independent of human control.

RoboCup player rests after the demonstration.

Penn Engineering has been participating in RoboCup games since the late 1990’s and has traveled throughout the United States as well as internationally to Istanbul, Graz, and Singapore. Team DARwIn, a collaborative effort between Penn and Virginia Tech, won first place in the Humanoid Kid Size competition at the 2011 RoboCup tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.

Team DARwIn

For more information about RoboCup and to see videos of them playing, visit their website!

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Filed under Events, Lisa Marie Patzer, Photos, Uncategorized

March 28, 2012 · 6:22 pm

yPenn Highball Comes to Philly

Author: Drew Feith-Tye Asia, C’09

Calling all Penn Alumni in Classes 1997 to 2011!

You are cordially invited to yPenn’s first ever HighBall in Philadelphia this Saturday, March 31 from 9 PM to 1 AM. We will be partying at Stotesbury Mansion (1923 Walnut Street). The event is 21+ to enter, and will feature a full open bar, light bites, dancing, and the musical stylings of Penn alumnus and DJ, Akpo Omene! This event shouldn’t be missed, so register HERE right now.

Tickets are $40 online and $45 at the door, so get decked out in your favorite cocktail attire and join your fellow young alumni in the City of Brotherly Love!

HighBall hahy-bawl (n.) – A massive, blow-out party for you and your friends. Here's an example from last year's party in New York.

How AWESOME does this place look?

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March 23, 2012 · 1:33 pm

Presidents’ Day

Author: John Mosley, C’14

Confession: I fear for my future. How could I not? With all the doomsday prophecies and talk of widespread corruption in the American system, it can be hard to see the bright side of things as a college student/future member of the workforce. I can’t even select a course for next semester without wondering how it will one day lead me to a successful career. So, when I was offered the chance to work at an event with many class president alumni last Friday, I did not hesitate to respond with a resounding “of course!”

The event itself was an historical one: it was a get together for eight decades’ worth of University of Pennsylvania class presidents; from the president of 1947’s College for Women to the president of the class of 2015. It opened with the alumni enjoying each other’s company over drinks and a panel discussion with representatives from the Development and Alumni Relations (my employers) and it ended with a delicious dinner and ceremonial cigar lighting outside of Houston Hall. It truly was an outstanding event.

I imagined I would spend the entire event uttering the following phrase over and over again: “Hi Mr./Ms. Class President, are you hiring in the next 4-6 years?” (Basically, I imagined myself all but shouting “I AM DESPERATE AND CONCERNED ABOUT MY FUTURE!”). However, I quickly found that many alumni were glad to share advice and personal stories without prompt. I was told the story of an actual “rags-to-riches” story by the president of the Class of 1963. I was then given a refreshing reminder that life will throw me curve balls, but sometimes, the best thing for a career is a major shakeup and reevaluation (this was from the Class of 2000’s president).

All in all, I repeat, this historical event was absolutely wonderful, both for me and for the alumni. These men and women are so proud to be able to give back to the University they love. For my part, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to  to be part of such an event and to receive such indispensable information at the first alumni class president get-together in years.

You can view all of the photos from the event here.

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March 20, 2012 · 1:23 pm

Drink a Highball

Author: Stephanie Yee, C’08

There was a time before my Penn career when I didn’t know the lyrics to “Drink a Highball.” Now, I actually find myself singing the song one, two, sometimes three times per day – especially if the day includes a Penn Alumni event or a Penn Men’s Basketball game (Thanks, Penn Band!). Here is a cheat sheet for those of you who haven’t committed the lines to memory.

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March 5, 2012 · 8:33 am

Family Night at the Palestra

Author: Kristina Clark

On Friday evening, February 24, I had the pleasure of hosting over 200 Penn alumni families for an event at the Palestra.  This was a first-time event for Penn Alumni, and our Family Night at the Palestra was a huge success!  The evening began just after 5 PM with children of all ages having an opportunity to shoot hoops with Penn’s women basketball team. The kids had a blast and so did the players. Following the shoot-around, and prior to the basketball team taking the court for warm-ups, families were warmly greeted by women’s head basketball coach, Mike McLaughlin.  A pre-game dinner followed, and consisted of hot dogs, pizza, pretzels, beverages and Cracker Jacks. Penn Alumni families were treated to an amazing night and the game was the icing on the cake.  Penn women took a 63-49 win over Dartmouth!

The cost to participate in the Palestra Family Night event was $5 person.  The event was sponsored by Penn Alumni and the Association of Alumnae.  We look forward to offering this event again and hope you can join us next time!

In the meantime, mark your calendars now for upcoming Penn Alumni Family Events:


Family Day at Mask & Wig – 3/17/12
40 Winks with the Sphinx – 3/30-31/12

Contact Penn Alumni Relations at 215-898-7811 for more information.

View a slideshow of the event here.

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Filed under Alumni Programming, Athletics, Campus Life, Events, Kristina C.

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February 23, 2012 · 4:17 pm

A Rockin’ Saturday Night at Penn

Author: Colin Hennessy

Are you looking for something to do this Saturday evening? If so, join me at the Penn Symphony Orchestra Concert at 8:00 PM in Irvine Auditorium. This free concert, for those with a Penn Card or $5 general admission, will feature a program including works by Liszt and Brahms.

Founded in 1878, the Penn Orchestra is an ensemble made up of musicians from throughout the University community, primarily non-music majors. The Orchestra rehearses for four hours each week and performs a diverse array of repertoire drawn from the Classic Period through the Twentieth Century.

This particular concert will feature the 2011 winner of Penn’s Hilda Nitzsche Concerto Competition, Ellen Hahm. Hahm, who grew up in Seoul, South Korea, is a senior Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major and began playing the piano at age 4. In addition to her studies in her major, she has spent the last 18 months studying the piano with Michael Sheadel, a College House Music Fellow in the Department of Music. She also spent the summer of 2010 honing her musical skills at the acclaimed Aspen Music Festival and School. On Saturday evening, she will perform the 80-minute Piano Concerto No. 1 by Franz Liszt. The epic Fourth Symphony by Johannes Brahms will conclude the concert.

I hope to see you this Saturday at Irvine!

Penn Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, 25 February 2012,  8:00 PM 

Irvine Auditorium

Liszt: Concerto for Piano no 1 in E flat major, S 124

Artist: Ellen Hahm (Piano)

Brahms: Symphony no 4 in E minor, Op. 98

Conductor: Brad Smith

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January 30, 2012 · 9:59 am

Monday Moment of Zen

Author: Kiera Reilly, C’93

Winter blues got you down? Here’s your daily moment of Zen, thanks to the beautiful weather in California.

Manhattan Beach, CA

We welcome all alumni come visit us in the winter months for some sunshine. This weekend, the Engaging Minds academic program visited Los Angeles on Saturday and San Francisco on Sunday (San Francisco sold out). Check back for photos on our Phanfare site later on this week. Until then…

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January 25, 2012 · 2:34 pm

Connecting Penn Alumni to Each Other

Author: Nicole Oddo, C’05

January brings a new Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia Board and another year of volunteer leaders planning events connecting local alumni to Penn, Philadelphia, and each other.  As the President of the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, I was determined to start the year energized and worked with one of the board members to plan a kick off retreat.  We did a short survey to learn what was most important to our mission and for the future of the club.  While the responses covered a breadth of interests (a wonderful quality for a board), one thing was common. Everyone wanted the club to help them meet other Penn Alumni.  The motivations varied from looking for professional clients, to making new friends, to networking and career exploration, but the end goal was the same, to meet new people.

Penn people love meeting each other and the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia provides that opportunity. I love how alumni events and volunteering have introduced me to so many of “classmates” whether we were at Penn together or not! Whether you are interested in community service projects, speed networking, the Phillies, or grabbing drinks at a cool venue in the city, we have something for you. Like our next event this Thursday, Ben Franklin’s Birthday at the old Philadelphia establishment, McGillins. Check it out.  I hope to see you there!

P.S. If you are not in Philadelphia, there is a whole Global Alumni Network out there – see where your club is!

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January 17, 2012 · 3:21 pm

The Image as Archive; Towards a Third Cinema

Author: Lisa Marie Patzer

As I walked up the ramp to the second floor gallery at the ICA, I immediately recognized the whirring sound of the slide tray advancing and the click of the next slide falling into place.  Growing up in the 1970’s, I am nostalgic for all things celluloid, including 35mm slides.  Imagine my delight when I saw not one, but four slide projectors, sitting side by side in the gallery, dutifully rotating, loading and projecting images at regular intervals.  This is what I would call a little slice of cinephile heaven.

Still from "Sample Frames", 2011, by Alexandra Navratil

The four slide projectors are part of an installation titled Sample Frames, 2011 by Alexandra Navratil (born 1978) and is featured as part of the current exhibit Living Document / Naked Reality:  Towards and Archival Cinema on display at the Institute of Contemporary Art Project Space.

The show is curated by Jennifer Burris, the Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellow.  She states about the show, “Living Document / Naked Reality: Towards an Archival Cinema presents works by contemporary artists who explore cinema’s complex political, formal, and ideological history from the 1910s to the 1960s.  Each project engages with the often contradictory responses to the question ‘What is cinema?’  Together, these works—which include video, found object, and slide installation as well as a series of ‘black box’ screenings and events—provoke both critique and nostalgia for the outmoded film technologies and abandoned utopias of a previous era.”

Alexandra Navratil addresses the question “What is cinema?” through synchronized projections of 81 images that were produced by Eastman Kodak Company from 1916 to 1927 as a series of “color guidebooks”.  Kodak produced these slides in an attempt to demonstrate the correct way of tinting black and white slides.  What is fascinating is the way in which the film material has decomposed over the years, negating their original purpose as “pure sample frames”.  Instead, with the viewer sees are four variations of the same exact image, without reference to what the “true” or “correct” image would look like.

Accompanying the Sample Frames installation is an artist book designed by Navratil, Permanence Vocabulary.  On each page, a single term from the “Imagining Materials-Permanence-Vocabulary” manual is printed and defined. For instance, the first word “Abrasion” is printed in dark gray and following the word is the definition.

Permanence Vocabulary, Artist's Book, by Alexandra Navratil

The ICA has several events planned in partnership with the International House, Temple University and Penn, to run concurrent with this show.  See here for more information.

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Filed under Events, Film, Fine Art, Lisa Marie Patzer, The Arts, The Arts at Penn, Uncategorized

December 21, 2011 · 11:55 am

Penn Year in Review

Top 11 Moments for Diversity at PENN in 2011

-Cecilia Ramirez C’05 SPP ’10

This has been a big year for diversity and multiculturalism at Penn. In honor of the New Year that is upon us, I decided to do a little “Year in Review ” of my own.

Here are eleven of my preferred moments of 2011 at Penn:

#11.  La Casa Latina Receives Biggest Donation- La Casa Latina: The Center for Hispanic Excellence receives a $20,000 donation. This was a big deal this year because this became the center’s largest donation in history. The generous contribution was made my alumna, Ruth Colp-Haber, C’81, WG’85, and will help strengthen student programming, and hopefully provide more events featuring delicious Latin food!  🙂

Denzel Washington at Penn's Commencement 2011

#10.  Denzel Washington Comes to Penn- So maybe this didn’t do anything for multiculturalism at Penn per se, but I sure was excited to see one of my favorite actors be selected as Penn’s Commencement speaker- Denzel Washington- a talented, inspirational, and accomplished actor and philanthropist, who happens to be a black man- bonus!

UPAAN Celebrates a Decade

#9.  Asian Alumni Network Celebrates a Decade- The University of Pennsylvania Asian Alumni Network (UPAAN) celebrated its tenth anniversary this past Homecoming. The celebration featured their 7th annual mentoring exchange and a delicious luncheon that welcomed student, alumni, staff, and faculty from across the years.


#8.  Makuu (Also) Celebrates a Decade – Makuu Black Cultural Center, one of my favorite places on campus, also celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2011. Their elegant evening celebration featured speakers, performances, and remarks from Dr. Amy Gutmann.


#7.  The ARCH Receives $15M- The Arts, Research and Culture House (ARCH), home to the Asian, Black, and Latino cultural resource centers on campus, received its largest donation in history as well- 15 million buckaroos! The donation will be used to renovate the entire building, providing the cultural resource centers with state-of-the-art offices and upgraded meeting space- and an elevator! Yup, an elevator 🙂 Renovations begin in the summer of 2012.


#6.  LGBT Colors Project Launches- The first issue of LGBT Colors Project, Penn’s first student publication targeting queer students of color, was launched at Penn in December. The ground-breaking magazine publishes articles, essays, poems, fiction, and interviews to provide visibility and support to the diverse and talented queer student community at Penn. Awesome!


#5.  Two Students of Color Win Marshall Scholarships- Kristin Hall W’ 11 C’11 and G.J. Melendez-Torres NU’11 W’11 were each awarded the prestigious scholarship to study at the world-renown University of Oxford in the UK. What a fantastic accomplishment!


#4.  Penn Spectrum hits the road! In 2010, Penn hosted its first alumni conference focusing on the Asian, Black, Latino, LGBT and Native alumni populations—Penn Spectrum. This successful conference took to the road last spring, starting in the Big Apple, then DC, and Atlanta; next stops include Miami, LA and Puerto Rico! Hundreds of diverse alumni from across the nation are coming out in support of this traveling series. Looks like the Spectrum Conference of 2013 at Penn will be even bigger!


#3.  Penn Unites Against Racism- More than 200 students and faculty, including Amy Gutmann, united against racism in a silent circle outside of College Hall this spring. The “We Belong” protest was in response to a DP article written about one man’s experiences with racism on campus. The sobering accounts called anti-racism allies to action and led to a victorious display of solidarity and advocacy at Penn.


#2.  Homecoming Toasts to 40Years of Black History- The Center for Africana Studies (CFAS) – originally Afro-American Studies and the University’s first program dedicated to studies of the African diaspora- celebrated its 40th anniversary during Homecoming! CFAS had a jam-packed day of events that honored this milestone in Black History at Penn and attracted hundreds of alumni to join the celebration. Cheers!


#1.  Faculty Diversity Plan Unveiled- Penn released a $100-million Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence this summer to diversify the university’s faculty. A few weeks ago, this historic plan also received $2M for the Presidential Term Professorships, an integral part of the plan that will support up to ten professorships.  This was a huge step for diversity at Penn and definitely my #1 moment at Penn in 2011!

What do you think of the top 11 moments? What was your favorite moment of 2011?

Can’t wait to see what 2012 holds for Penn.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, QUAKERS!

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Filed under Cecilia R., Commencement, Events, Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture, Memories of Penn, Multicultural Outreach, Review, Uncategorized