Frankly Penn

November 26, 2012 · 4:20 pm

This Time of Year

Author: Lisa Ellen Niver, C’89

This time of year in 1984, I was accepted via early decision into the University of Pennsylvania. My acceptance was binding, and I would be leaving for a campus I had never seen. My father and I had visited quite a few universities on the East Coast on a Spring break trip from Los Angeles, and I disliked most of the places we saw. None of them seemed to be the right fit.

As a Penn alumnus from the 1960’s, my dad remembered the Penn campus as a city school. When I started looking at colleges, he did not think it would be the right place for me and so we didn’t schedule it on our campus tour. But then, my parents were on the East Coast visiting friends and they suggested that Penn had changed significantly over the years. After that, my dad said, “For all the reasons you did not like those other schools, you will like Penn.” I trusted his opinion and took the leap to apply early. Just a few short months later, I got my acceptance letter. I remember feeling so amazed and excited.

I had nearly the same feeling after graduation when I opened the big envelope from Penn inviting me to join the University community, and then again, when I learned I would have an article published in National Geographic magazine. As a reader and a traveler, I have always loved the magazine with the golden yellow square and now in a small way, I am a part of it. I believe that my experience at Penn helped to shape my adventurous side. From coming to campus sight unseen as a freshman and then having such a great four year experience both in and outside of the classroom, Penn taught me that taking risks could lead to unbelievable, life-changing discoveries, such as those I made in writing the article. I hope you enjoy reading about the Royal Cremation in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The crowd at the cremation ceremony.

Travel writer Lisa Ellen Niver (Penn 1989) is spending the year in Southeast Asia with her husband (both of whom are members of the Traveler’s Century Club). Follow her adventures on their blog, wesaidgotravel.com, and on Twitter @wesaidgotravel.

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November 23, 2012 · 9:00 am

MEAMpocalypse 2012

Author: Jonathan Cousins

I had heard the stories. Everyone said junior year in Engineering was when everything ramped up. But on the surface it was hard to believe. In Mechanical Engineering we only needed to take 3 required courses, Fluid Mechanics (Fluids), Mechanics of Vibrating Systems (Vibrations) and MEAM Lab. It didn’t look so bad. Even with all of the horror stories from prior years whispering around me, I decided that this semester would also be when I took Mechatronics, a course that takes the most work of all the MEAM courses. I also enrolled in a half-credit Rachleff Scholars Seminar in which we discussed the work we each did over the summer and wrote a paper for submission to journals or conferences about the research. As I looked at the semester, I was only taking 4.5 credits, the fewest I had ever done in a semester. I rationalized that Mechatronics would more than compensate for the missing half-credit, and that it would be a tough, but not impossible semester.

And for a long time, it was. Fluids assigned a problem set each week, and Vibrations did so every two weeks. The homework due dates were nicely offset by a few days. MEAM lab started off pretty slow, and was easy to fit in with everything else. Mechatronics took up the majority of my time, but it was ok and for the most part easy to balance with everything else. There were a few days which foreshadowed what was to come, though. October 15-17 were really tough. Monday we had a Fluids exam, and Wednesday we had a Vibrations exam. And of course in the middle of it there was a tough Mechatronics project. I ended up getting through it ok, but my mind was scarred from the experience.

As the next few weeks went by my wounds healed. I got more sleep, caught up on my other work, and got back into a groove with classes. And just as I started to feel in control again, trouble started brewing. Mechatronics started the final project, Robockey (Robots playing hockey), which was going to take up the rest of the semester. To give you an idea of how complicated this assignment is, here is a video of the Robockey Tournament from the Spring of 2012.

There were significant deliverables due November 14^th and 21^st, a week apart. I knew this would be a rough stretch, but I had no idea just how bad it would be. MEAM lab switched to the most time intensive project, building a vertical-axis wind turbine, a project that had two deliverables per week, and a demo Monday night the 19^th. The first draft of my Rachleff Scholars paper was scheduled for Wednesday the 14^th. Fluids had their typical homework set due on Friday the 17^th, but also added a Midterm on Monday the 19^th, complete with a take-home question due Wednesday the 21^st. And finally Vibrations decided to assign a project due Monday the 19^th, and just for fun added a homework assignment due Wednesday the 21^st.

When this scheduling nightmare became public knowledge, it quickly became dubbed the “MEAMpocalypse.” And there it was, the reason junior year was so painful. There were going to be times like this. Reporting now, most of the way through it, it has gone ok. I have yet to not turn an assignment in, which is a good start. I struggled through a difficult Fluids exam along with the rest of the class, and figured out the Vibrations project. And by Wednesday night it will be over. Thanksgiving will provide a much-needed break from school, and officially bring an end to the MEAMpocalypse.

As I look forward this semester, things will be hard, but nothing like this week. Mechatronics will be a challenge, but it was expected to be. We are making autonomous, hockey-playing robots after all. There is another Vibrations exam the week after Thanksgiving, and the MEAM Lab demo has also been pushed back. So there will be more struggles, but it would be hard to crush as much stuff into as short a time as happened the past 10 days. People say college has ups and downs, and this was a tough few days, for sure. But I think it brought the MEAM community together, and when we come back for our 5 or 10 year reunion, we will look back and say “Do you remember surviving the MEAMpocalypse?”

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November 22, 2012 · 2:11 pm

Autumnal Colors

Author: Sabrina Shyn, C’13

Wouldn’t you agree that the colors of these autumnal leaves look perfectly thanksgiving festive?

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Filed under Campus Life, Photos, Sabrina Shyn, Student Perspective

November 22, 2012 · 9:49 am

Locust Walk Talk: A Tale of Two Cities – Dick Polman and the Election

Author: Casey Ryan, C’95

As Dickens’s tale of London and Paris was set along a backdrop of political upheaval, our tour with Dick Polman was set against the political grumblings in the US. With only a few weeks before the election and sandwiching the last president debate, Dick visited the UK and France to meet with our Penn alumni and friends to talk about who would win the election.

“Who Will Win… & Why?”

You’ll have to take this with a grain of salt since I’m reporting after the election, but I do have over 60 alumni and friends in the UK and France who will vouch for me. Dick analyzed the first two debates (and by Paris the third) and concluded that this upcoming election has many very similar characteristics to Bush W’s re-election against Kerry: a match up with an incumbent President with lowering approval ratings against a Massachusetts politician who is portrayed as an elitist and as out of touch with the American public. Therefore he was willing to make the prediction that Obama would win, but he wouldn’t win the popular vote with as large of a margin as the first time.

Dick focused his discussion about the importance of the swing states. The candidates’ battle for Ohio, Colorado, Virginia and even New Hampshire was telling about the newer nature of campaigning. In contract, Nixon campaigned in all states when he ran and now for our two candidates of 2012 it was all an all-out assault on Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Penn Alumni enjoying cocktails before the discussion.

The meat of the conversation was the questions from the audience. While I was at the events, I tried, in 140 characters or less, to tweet some of the questions and some pictures from the evening to share with the Penn Alumni world at large.

If you are interested in getting updates from events that I attended, please feel free to follow me at www.twitter.com/CaseyJamesR. While I was running the logistics for the event, I was able to send off a few tweets about the conversation. Please note that my commentary in italics are from my recollection and only represent my memory of the event and not necessarily that actual comments of Dick Polman.

The Shard (a.k.a. the London Bridge Tower)

London:

Oct 22, 7:51pm: In #London with @Pennalumni in the UK for Dick Polman talking about the presidential race ow.ly/i/1337b #GOP #DEM

Oct 22, 8:22pm: Question to Dick Polman from @Pennalumni Would the #GOP position on #immigration make #Texas & #Arizona go Purple? #DEM

(DP addressed that the urban centers in Texas and Arizona definitely vote Democratic but they are small population centers relative to the exurbs and rural areas)

Parliament at night

Oct 22, 8:50pm: Question to Dick Polman from @Pennalumni Since you like to predict; who will win in 2016? (DP says Obama in 2012) #GOP #DEM

(DP declined to make a prediction that far in advance, but offered to return to Europe in 4 years to answer that question.)

Oct 22, 8:36pm: Question to Dick Polman from @Pennalumni Will issues like abortion & healthcare still be on the table in 2016? #GOP #DEM

(DP believes that the policies on abortion and healthcare will not be charged by Congress in the future, so they may still be used as part of the political platform but they will not really be effectively altered in the next few years.)

The Palais du Tokyo in the 16e arrondissement

Paris:

Oct 23, 6:57pm: reminds those @Pennalumni in London and Paris (and beyond) to visit Dick Polman’s blog whyy.org/polman

Oct 23, 7:04pm: In #Paris with @Pennalumni & Polman explains why incumbents don’t do well in their 1st debate. It’s their day job #GOP #DEM

Oct 23, 7:36pm: Question to Dick Polman from @Pennalumni What are #GOP voters in CA & #DEM voters in TX do due to the Electoral College?

(DP shared with the crowd the many movements that have tried to abolish the Electoral College, but in short many of the small states (in terms of population) wouldn’t favor losing their 3 votes and those movements probably will never pass.)

A detail of la Tour Eiffel at night

Oct 23, 7:42pm: Question to Dick Polman from @Pennalumni With the debates over what’s the game changer in the 2 weeks until the election? #GOP #DEM

(DP couldn’t specify what any game changer would be, but anything could come up and shadow the election.)

In the few hours that I had free, I was able to get some shots of London and Paris to add to this entry for your viewing pleasure.

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Warm Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving

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November 22, 2012 · 2:25 am

November 21, 2012 · 9:00 am

Movember Madness

Author: Patrick Bredhoft

This month, members of Penn Admissions and Alumni Relations have joined forces in the fight against prostate cancer—by growing mustaches all month long to celebrate Movember. In case you haven’t heard of it before, Movember is an annual, month-long fundraising event dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the eradication of prostate and testicular cancer. Staff from AR and Admissions will be letting their upper lips go unshaven for the entire month, as contributors to this university team: The Penn-cil Thins (although some of us are shooting for handlebar ‘staches).

But we’re hardly alone in our honoring of the Month of the Mustache. As you can see from a recent blog entry by the Penn Museum, the mustache has long been a symbol of wisdom, virility, and erudite charm. And if none of those features strike you, consider the Mo’s virtually limitless comedic value: from Charlie Chaplin to Nick Offerman, who you might know as Ron Swanson from TV’s Parks & Recreation, who recently presented a step-by-step guide to improving and enhancing mustache growth this Movember!

Regardless of the reason, we’re glad to be supporting a worthy cause that blends an important issue in men’s health with the fun of celebrating manliness. And when it comes to wise words about health and haircuts, Ben Franklin naturally had some thoughts to share as well, so we’ll sign off with his words today: “Beware the young doctor and the old barber.”

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November 19, 2012 · 12:43 pm

Running in Philly

Author: Rebecca Eckart, GEd’13

Philadelphia and Penn have a lot of great places and opportunities for runners. Running on the Schuylkill River Trail has been especially beautiful this month, as the reds and golds of the autumn leaves cascade over the trail and reflect in the river. As many runners can probably attest, some days are harder than others to get out and go. But right now, with the lovely fall colors and the cool, crisp autumn air, it’s easy.

My morning view of the Schuylkill River Trail.

Over the summer, as I was saying goodbye to friends and preparing to move to Philly, I really hoped I’d be able to find a good running group at Penn. I started running about four years ago, and the reason I was able to keep running was that I had a close friend who ran and entered races with me. Thankfully, when I got to Penn, finding a group wasn’t hard at all!

The second Saturday I was on campus, the Graduate Student Center (GSC), in response to student requests, held a casual run. There was a good turnout, with close to twenty students attending, a mix of returning and first-year grad students. We ran from the GSC down to the Schuylkill River Trail, and once there, split up according to distance and pace. I met some other women with similar pacing and distance goals that day, and we’ve been running together on weekends since.

We’ve also entered races together at Penn and in Philly. In October, we ran in the Penn Park Homecoming 5k. The race was a lot of fun and we got official Homecoming 5K shirts. For me, half the fun of running in races is collecting shirts!

With me friends…That’s me as #43.

Just yesterday, several of us ran in the Philadelphia half-marathon. My running group and I are all first year grad students, so it was a real challenge to train for a half-marathon while trying to balance our academic, work, and personal schedules. Some of my friends had time goals for this race, but my goal was just to finish (which I did!).

Running has been an important part of my life at Penn. It has encouraged me to set new goals and enabled me to make friends outside of my graduate school. After our big race this Sunday, my group is planning to go out for Philly cheesesteaks, and I’m sure we will look for more events in the area to join.