Biologists Find Evolution Favors Strategic Cooperation and Selfishness

Professor of Biology Joshua Plotkin and post-doc Alexander J. Stewart last year published a mathematical explanation of the evolution of cooperation and generosity in nature through the use of the Prisoner’s Dilemma in game theory.

In new findings, to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Plotkin and Stewart found that when the Prisoner’s Dilemma is played in a large, evolving population with variations in available payoffs, selfish strategies can be more successful. The research presents a grimmer but more realistic view of how cooperation and selfishness operate in nature.

Read the full story here.

Arts & Sciences News

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Penn Arts & Sciences Students Win 2024 President’s Engagement Prize

They will design and undertake post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world.

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2024 School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Awards

Penn Arts & Sciences recognizes nine faculty and seven graduate students for their distinguished teaching.

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Wale Adebanwi and Deborah A. Thomas Named 2024 Guggenheim Fellows

The award is designed to allow independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.”

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2024 College of Arts & Sciences Graduation Speakers

James “Jim” Johnson, C’74, L’77, LPS ’21, a School of Arts and Sciences Board of Advisors member, and student speaker Katie Volpert, C’24, will address the Class of 2024 Sunday May 19 on Franklin Field.

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Undergraduate and Graduate Students Honored as 2024 Dean’s Scholars

This honor is presented annually to students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise.

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Azuma and Hart Named Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professors of American History

Eiichiro Azuma specializes in Asian American and transpacific history, while Emma Hart teaches and researches the history of early North America, the Atlantic World, and early modern Britain between 1500 and 1800.

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