Five Penn seniors and two recent graduates were announced as 2025 Thouron Scholars, a prize that provides recipients with full funding to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.
Every year, the Thouron Award covers tuition and travel fees for up to two years as part of a graduate exchange program between Penn and U.K. universities. The seven Penn award recipients were chosen for their academic excellence and ability to serve as student ambassadors, according to the Thouron Award website. There are currently more than 800 Thouron Award members around the world, with alumni playing an important part in the selection process.
Established in 1960 to enhance academic ties between Penn and the United Kingdom, the award offers young scholars the opportunity to “take an active part in a changing world” and immerse themselves in a new culture.
The 2025 Penn winners will study a range of topics — including neuroscience, archaeology, and theoretical physics — while pursuing the award’s mission of global academic citizenship.
College senior Benjamin Cohen is pursuing degrees in economics and political science at Penn and plans to use the funding to study political economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Cohen’s honors thesis at Penn examines authoritarian petrostates and the effects of negative oil price shocks on fiscal policy reform.
2024 College and Wharton graduate Alexander Gerlach completed his bachelor's degree in neuroscience and health care management. He has conducted research at the National Institutes of Health and NYU Langone Health. As a Thouron Scholar, Gerlach will pursue a master’s degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience at the University of Oxford.
College senior Joy Gong has dedicated her studies and research to astrophysics and mathematics. She is also enrolled in a submatriculation program to earn a master’s degree in physics. Gong has worked as a researcher at Penn’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and plans to study astronomy at the University of Cambridge.
College senior Sarah Hinkel is majoring in Middle Eastern languages and cultures, along with ancient history. Hinkel works as a student curator and fellow at the Penn Museum and has co-created an exhibition that features objects from the Song Dynasty. She hopes to study archaeological science at the University of Cambridge through the Thouron Award program.
College senior Sophie Kadan is a physics and math major, pursuing a bachelor’s and master’s joint degree combining theoretical coursework with research in high-energy physics. Kadan has conducted research at Penn and The University of Texas at Dallas and plans to attend the University of Cambridge to study theoretical physics.
2021 College graduate Benjamin May studied international relations and history at Penn. He currently serves as a sustainability program manager at Microsoft, where he works to decarbonize service and hardware suppliers. In 2020, May took a leave of absence from Penn to serve on the Biden for President campaign. He also founded a nonprofit called ThinkOcean to advocate for environmental concerns. May plans to pursue a master’s degree in water science, policy, and management at the University of Oxford.
College and Engineering senior Joey Wu studies bioengineering and environmental science in the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research. He founded a nonprofit organization to combat water insecurity and serves as a member of Penn’s Student Advisory Group for the Environment.
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