Math

Context-dependent behavior can make cooperation flourish

Recent studies led by School of Arts & Sciences’ researchers show that changing social strategies between settings—for example, cooperating at home but not at work—can in fact lead to more cooperative behavior in a society.

Katherine Unger Baillie

New mathematical tools to study opinion dynamics

Using a class of network structures known as discourse sheaves, researchers describe a new, flexible framework for studying how opinions change over social networks.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Understanding the pandemic classroom

Penn professors join the “Understand This ...” podcast to talk about the fall 2021 return to the classroom, reflecting on what students and educators have experienced during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, while examining lessons from remote learning.

Brandon Baker

Two Churchill Scholars for Penn

Adam Konkol and Abigail Timmel have each been awarded Churchill Scholarships for a year of graduate research study at the University of Cambridge in England. Konkol and Timmel are among only 16 who were selected nationwide.

Louisa Shepard

Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows

The fellowship recognizes extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of scientific leaders.

Erica K. Brockmeier



In the News


WHYY (Philadelphia)

Penn to become first Ivy League to offer AI degree, looks to ‘train the leaders’ in emerging field

Penn is the first Ivy League university to offer a degree in artificial intelligence, with remarks from Robert Ghrist of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

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The Conversation

A brief illustrated guide to ‘scissors congruence’—an ancient geometric idea that’s still fueling cutting-edge mathematical research

Ph.D. candidate Maxine Calle and Mona Merling of the School of Arts & Sciences explain the definition and history of the mathematical concept of “scissors congruence.”

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Quanta Magazine

The new math of wrinkling

Eleni Katifori of the School of Arts & Sciences is credited for her work simulating wrinkle patterns, which were crucial to an overall theory of geometric wrinkle prediction.

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New Scientist

Researchers have worked out the rules for how some things wrinkle

Eleni Katifori of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues used simulations of curving plastic pieces to predict the formation of wrinkling patterns.

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CBS Philadelphia

Mega Millions jackpot reaches $1.2 billion

Dennis Deturck of the School of Arts & Sciences estimates the odds of winning the lottery, contrasting it with increasingly more unlikely occurrences.

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Quanta Magazine

Mathematicians prove 2D version of quantum gravity really works

Xin Sun of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about new research at the intersection of physics, philosophy, and math. “This is a masterpiece in mathematical physics,” he said.

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