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Physics
Total solar eclipse
Gary Bernstein and Bhuvnesh Jain speak with Penn Today about the significance of the coming total eclipse.
Mechanics of knitting
Randall Kamien of the School of Arts & Sciences and Geneviève Dion of Drexel University share how combining traditional origami techniques with modern textile science can lead to practical applications in various industries.
Penn alum named 2024 Churchill Scholar
Xander Uyttendaele, a 2023 graduate, is among 16 selected nationwide to receive the scholarship.
A twist on atomic sheets to create new materials
A collaborative team of physicists in the School of Arts & Sciences have found that putting a twist on tungsten disulfide stacks illuminates new approaches to manipulate light.
Scientists observe composite superstructure growth from nanocrystals in real time
The findings could enable engineers to more reliably manufacture next-generation materials by combining different nanocrystals.
Decoding acoustic objects
Third-year student Lily Wei spent the summer conducting research in the lab of Vijay Balasubramanian using algorithms to propose how the brain may recognize acoustic objects.
Biophysics summer school in Crete
Eleni Katifori and Arnold Mathijssen spent a week in Crete, introducing students from Penn and other institutes to various topics and ideas in active biophysics research.
Could the age of the universe be twice as old as current estimates suggest?
Penn Professors Vijay Balasubramanian and Mark Devlin offer a broader understanding of a recent paper’s claim that the universe could be 26.7 billion years old.
Euclid Space Telescope launches exciting new possibilities
Professors of physics and astronomy Bhuvnesh Jain, Mark Trodden, and Gary Bernstein discuss the coming research findings from the European Space Agency’s Euclid Space Telescope.
Exploring the relationship between cooking and scientific discovery
Penn physicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues have authored a review article discussing the history of food innovations and the current scientific breakthroughs that are changing the way we eat.
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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Russia aims to restore prestige in race to moon’s south pole
Benjamin L. Schmitt of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Weitzman School of Design says that sentiment in the scientific and astronaut communities has begun to shift toward a future in which NASA and Roscosmos are no longer close partners.
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Nine women who changed science are featured in a new Philly exhibit
A new exhibit at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia celebrates the late Mildred Cohn, a biochemist at the Perelman School of Medicine who fought to reduce discrimination in academia.
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Neuroscience explains why Bill Gates’ weird reading trick is so effective
A study by Penn researchers working in physics, neuroscience, and bioengineering found that people instinctively seek patterns and similarities in the data they absorb.
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UK joins international effort to uncover first moments of the universe
In a statement for the Simons Observatory, Mark Devlin of the School of Arts & Sciences says that new telescopes and researchers from the UK will make a significant addition to their efforts to examine the origins of the universe.
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Liquid crystals bring robotics to the microscale
In collaboration with the University of Ljubljana, Kathleen Stebe of the School of Engineering and Applied Science has built a swimming microrobot that paddles by rotating liquid crystal molecules.
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