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Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) doing hands-on experimental work in the Composto Lab.

Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) examine CoolSeal-treated asphalt bricks in the Composto Lab to better understand how this coating behaves in controlled environments.

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Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia

Third-year students Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research endeavor to evaluate a reflective pavement coating as a tool to mitigate extreme heat. Their work may inform policy efforts to improve urban heat resilience.

4 min. read

Penn Nursing and engineering students tackle health care challenges at inaugural Datathon

Penn Nursing and engineering students tackle health care challenges at inaugural Datathon

Nearly 70 students from Penn Nursing and Penn Engineering participated in the Datathon, sponsored by the Penn Community Collaboratory for Co-Creation last month, using the MIMIC-IV database, a massive critical care dataset, to develop innovative, data-driven solutions for real-world health care challenges. Team 6 CARE: A Critical-care Acuity & Resource Evaluation Metric earned the top award by creating a solution to better evaluate patient acuity and resource needs.

How tumor mechanics and tiny messengers could shape the future of cancer research

How tumor mechanics and tiny messengers could shape the future of cancer research

A literature review co-written by Penn Engineering Ph.D. student Kshitiz Parihar and Ravi Radhakrishnan, professor in bioengineering and chemical biomolecular engineering, highlights the hidden connections between tumor mechanics and extracellular vesicles (EVs), tiny packages of proteins and genetic material secreted by cells. EVs carry cargo like proteins and RNA between cells, influencing how tumors grow, how the immune system responds, and even how cancers spread to other parts of the body.

What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis
Donia Ahmed prepares tissue for imaging.

Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering Today

What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis

A Penn Engineering team has targeted the lung’s extracellular matrix to better understand early fibrosis by triggering the formation of special chemical bonds that increase tissue stiffness in specific locations, mimicking the first physical changes that may lead to lung fibrosis.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

A generative AI model that designs new antibiotics
Pranam Chatterjee in his lab at Penn Engineering.

The lab of Pranam Chatterjee (pictured), in collaboration with the lab of César de la Fuente, developed and validated a new “diffusion model” that can generate antibiotic candidates the same way AI creates images.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

A generative AI model that designs new antibiotics

A research team at Penn Engineering has developed and validated a new ‘diffusion model’ that can generate antibiotic candidates the same way AI creates images.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Penn buildings achieve LEED certifications, showcasing commitment to sustainability
Sun shades attached to building windows.

The sun shades on the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology.

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Penn buildings achieve LEED certifications, showcasing commitment to sustainability

Three recent building projects at the University of Pennsylvania have earned LEED Platinum, Gold, and Silver certifications, underscoring Penn’s ongoing commitment to sustainable design and construction.

3 min. read

Penn Engineers send quantum signals with standard internet protocol
Yichi Zhang wearing sunglasses in the Penn Engineering lab.

Yichi Zhang, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering, inspects the source of the quantum signal.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

Penn Engineers send quantum signals with standard internet protocol

Penn engineers have developed a “Q-Chip” (quantum-classical hybrid internet by photonics) signal which coordinates quantum and classical data and can run on the same infrastructure that carries everyday online traffic.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Understanding atomic disorder and next-gen electronics
Imaging devices surround a material on a blue backlit surface.

A new class of 2D materials known as MXenes holds the key to next-generation applications, such as consumer electronics and medical devices. Now, collaborative research led by Zahra Fakhraai of the School of Arts & Sciences, Aleksandra Vojvodic of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and their collaborators offers fundamental insights into the chemical and geometric mechanisms underlying the synthesis of these materials, a finding that could lead to cleaner, quicker energy conversion and storage for these devices. 

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Understanding atomic disorder and next-gen electronics

A Penn team has developed insight into the chemical and geometric mechanisms underlying the synthesis of new 2D materials, paving the way for next-gen devices, biomedical applications, and cleaner, quicker energy conversion and storage.

5 min. read

AI uncovers new antibiotics in ancient microbes
Cesar de la Fuente in his lab.

César de la Fuente (pictured) and his team used AI to study the proteins of hundreds of ancient microbes, searching for new antibiotic candidates.

(Image: Jianing Bai)

AI uncovers new antibiotics in ancient microbes

César de la Fuente uses AI to hunt for new antibiotic candidates in unlikely places, from the DNA of extinct organisms to the proteins of ancient microbes.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Ngaatendwe Manyika: Helping to reshape renewable energy education
Lorena Grundy and Ngaatendwe Manyike kneel beside a miniature wind turbine.

Third-year student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science Ngaatendwe Manyika (right) of Harare, Zimbabwe, spent the summer working with Penn Engineering’s Lorena Grundy (left) to develop a new class, the Renewable Energy Technologies Lab, coming to Penn next fall.

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Ngaatendwe Manyika: Helping to reshape renewable energy education

Third-year mechanical engineering student Ngaatendwe Manyika spent the summer working with practice assistant professor at Penn Engineering Lorena Grundy developing a new class, the Renewable Energy Technologies Lab coming to Penn next fall.

3 min. read