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Chemistry
A physics treasure hidden in the pattern of wallpaper
Charles Kane and Andrew Rappe of the School of Arts and Sciences were part of an international team that has identified a new form of insulating material that may one day provide a basis for quantum computing. The patterns found in everyday wallpaper played a role in the discovery.
A maverick among chemists
Madeleine Joullie, the first woman to join Penn’s chemistry faculty, was also the University’s first affirmative action officer, which she says is the most important thing she’s done.
Two faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences
Shelly Berger and Karen Goldberg are among 84 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors for a scientist.
The Morris Arboretum was partly funded by beer, says brewery historian
A brewery historian will speak at the Arboretum on April 19 about the Morris family’s status as Philadelphia’s second—and arguably most significant—brewing clan.
Penn chemists develop 'motion capture' technology for tracking protein shape
In many modern animated movies, the trick to achieving realistic movements for individual characters and objects lies in motion-capture technology. This process often involves someone wearing a tracking suit covered in small, colored balls while a camera captures the position of those colored balls, which is then used to represent how the person is moving.
In the News
Scientists propose ‘missing’ law for the evolution of everything in the universe
Stuart Kauffman of the Perelman School of Medicine comments on a study that proposed a missing scientific law identifying “universal concepts of selection” that drive evolution.
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Meet the unsung scientists behind the Nobel for quantum dots
Christopher Murray’s lab at the School of Arts & Sciences is delving into the next phase of quantum-dot research to make components for quantum computing, sensing, and communication.
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Iontronics breakthrough: Faster thin film devices for improved batteries and advanced computing
Andrew Rappe of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues have developed high-quality, single-crystal oxide thin films, aligned in such a way that the lithium ions can move even faster along vertical ionic transport channels.
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How fireworks could worsen air quality
A report by chemists from Penn reveals that firework combustion releases harmful chemicals and metals into the environment that impact air quality, drinking water and public health.
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A once-shuttered California mine is trying to transform the rare earth industry
Eric Schelter of the School of Arts & Sciences cautions that the economics of rare earth production are challenging and have worked against U.S. industry in the past.
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Study: Heat-temperature marine bacteria help detoxify asbestos
Ileana Perez-Rodriguez of the School of Arts & Sciences says that iron has been identified as a major component driving the toxicity of asbestos minerals.
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