Penn Grad Talks (formerly known as Grad Ben Talks) features TED Talk-style presentations by Penn Arts & Sciences graduate students representing the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Professional Master’s programs. Penn Grad Talks is going virtual this year!
2021 PENN GRAD TALKS WINNERS
Professional Master's
Ashley Session, Public Administration
My Soul Is Anchored: How African American Women Have Carried Elections and the Political Movement Forward, and How We Can Take Our Power Back (video)
Social Sciences
Sarah Carson, Anthropology
The New Girls' Club: Political Party Culture and the Women Changing the Face of Politics (video)
Humanities
Sara Purinton, Philosophy
Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS): Challenges to Identity, Agency, and Belonging (video)
Natural Sciences
Lisa Yankowitz, Psychology
Goo Goo Ga Ga: Can Baby Sounds Help Improve Early Detection of Autism? (video)
Audience Choice
Sara Purinton, Philosophy
Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS): Challenges to Identity, Agency, and Belonging (video)
2021 Penn Grad Talks - Finalist Presentations
NATURAL SCIENCES
Optical Brain Monitoring: Probing Blood Flow and Oxygenation Without an Incision
Emilie Benson, Physics and Astronomy
The Age of our Universe: Early Dark Energy As a Solution to Hubble Tension
Qiuyue Liang, Physics and Astronomy
Sub-Cellular Submarines: Exploring Biology With Ultrasound-Powered Nanorobots
Jeffrey McNeill, Chemistry
The Most Important Elements You Have Probably Never Heard Of
Kevin Ruoff, Chemistry
Goo Goo Ga Ga: Can Baby Sounds Help Improve Early Detection of Autism?
Lisa Yankowitz, Psychology
HUMANITIES
(Ir)Responsibility and Globalization: Anonymous Victims, Consumption, and Transnational Crime in the Novel 2666 by Roberto Bolaño
Andrés García-Londoño, Hispanic Studies
Pursue and Avoid: The Power of Anecdote
Scotland Long, Hispanic Studies
Family Ties to Penn and Slavery: Exploring Intergenerational Wealth and Educational Attainments
Breanna Moore, History
Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS): Challenges to Identity, Agency, and Belonging
Sara Purinton, Philosophy
The Devil Is in the Rooster: The Supernatural in Medieval Preaching
Mario Sassi, Italian Studies
SOCIAL SCIENCES
The New Girls' Club: Political Party Culture and the Women Changing the Face of Politics
Sarah Carson, Anthropology
The Macroeconomy As a Random Forest
Philippe Goulet Coulombe, Economics
Fertile Ground: Sexuality, Science, and Fertility Tracking Apps
Caroline Hodge, Anthropology
Forced Parental Absence and Child Wellbeing: A Collective and Comparative Look at Incarceration and Deportation
Anneliese Luck, Demography
The Effects of Zoning Regulations on Crime: Evidence From Philadelphia
David Mitre Becerril, Criminology
PROFESSIONAL MASTER’S PRESENTATIONS
From Queen Latifah to Queen Bee: The Evolution of the Feminist Emcee
Jacquelyn Jordan, Liberal Arts
The Drum Major Instinct and Beyond: Motivations for National Service
Dana Kayser, Public Administration
Future Farming: The Rise of Big Data in Advancing Sustainable Agriculture and the Role of Public Policy
Justin Maroccia, Environmental Studies
My Soul Is Anchored: How African American Women Have Carried Elections and the Political Movement Forward, and How We Can Take Our Power Back
Ashley Session, Public Administration
Why We Sit So Much and What We Can Do About it
Allison Wishner, Behavioral and Decision Sciences
*The Audience Choice Award will be presented to the talk that receives the most online votes. There will be one Audience Choice winner across the four categories above. The winning talk will receive $500. You can only vote once per category.
2020 PENN GRAD TALKS WINNERS
Group Presentations
Cameo Hazlewood and Justin Thompson, Behavioral and Decision Sciences
Leveraging Behavioral Economics to Increase Concussion Symptom Reporting Among High School Athletes (video)
Professional Master's
Darlene Marshall, Master of Applied Positive Psychology
Building the Self So You Can Give It Away - The Upward Cycle of Self-Improvement (video)
Social Sciences
Nicole Welk-Joerger, History and Sociology of Science
It's Not Easy Eating Green (video)
Humanities
Johanna Kaiser, Classical Studies
Making Scents of Ancient Rome in the Epigrams of Martial (video)
Natural Sciences
Michael O'Shea, Earth & Environmental Science
Urban Road Dust: Investigating Philly's Street Gunk as Both Source and Sink for Pollutants (video)
Audience Choice
Darlene Marshall, Master of Applied Positive Psychology
Building the Self So You Can Give It Away - The Upward Cycle of Self-Improvement (video)
2019 PENN GRAD TALKS WINNERS
Professional Master's
Connor Joyce, Behavioral and Decision Sciences
To Fear or Not To Fear Automation: A Review of Research Covering Artificial Intelligence's Effect on Work (video)
Social Sciences
Yun Cha, Sociology
Who Do Graduate Degree Holders Marry? How the Separation of Advanced Degrees Affects Our Understanding of Trends in Educational Homogamy (video)
Humanities
Gregory Callaghan, Ancient History
If You Can't Walk the Walk, Then Talk the Talk: Status and International Relations in the Hellenistic World (video)
Natural Sciences
Paul Masih Das, Physics and Astronomy
Quantum Materials: Making Smartphones "Cool" Again (video)
Audience Choice
Lorena Levano, Behavioral and Decision Sciences
Sexual Harassment in High Schools From a Social Norms Perspective (video)
2018 PENN GRAD TALKS WINNERS
Professional Master's
Patrick Osei, Master of Applied Geosciences
Groundwater Contamination on Obuasi, Ghana (video)
Social Sciences
Rebecca Umbach, Criminology
Aggression and Sleep: A Daylight Saving Time Quasi-Experiment (video)
Humanities
Kendra Grimmett, History of Art
Looking at Art with Your Body in Mind (video)
Natural Sciences
Kieran Dunne
Mud and the Shape of Rivers (video)
Audience Choice
Garrett Meccariello and Tobias Nasgarde, Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences
The Marketer's Antagonist: Leveraging Behavioral Science to Reduce Unnecessary Spending Behavior in Cashless Environments (video)
2017 PENN GRAD TALKS WINNERS
Humanities
Mary Zaborkis
Age Drag (video)
Natural Sciences
Jonathan Johnnidis
Stem Cells Lead the Way to More Graceful Aging (video)
Professional Master's/Other Category
Bryan Currinder
Conserving Freshwater Systems in Bangladesh and Bhutan through Biomonitoring (video)
Social Sciences and Audience Choice Award
Haley Pilgrim
Accidentally Passing: The Identity Choices of Phenotypically White-Black Multiracials (video)