Science & Technology

Penn Engineering Brings Two Coding Contests Together with HACKfest

On Friday, September 6, more than a thousand students from about 100 universities will descend upon the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science to take part in HACKfest, a series of student-run, weekend-long software and hardware design competitions w

Evan Lerner

Penn Study Finds Earlier Peak for Spain’s Glaciers

The last glacial maximum was a time when Earth’s far northern and far southern latitudes were largely covered in ice sheets and sea levels were low. Over much of the planet, glaciers were at their greatest extent roughly 20,000 years ago.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Penn Law and Engineering Launch Innovative Program in Law and Technology

At a time when debates over technology policy are as significant as they are complex, the University of Pennsylvania Law School and School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) are launching an innovative joint degree program whose goal is to graduate lawyers and engineers able to address issues at the inte

Rebecca Anderson

Penn Research Helps Identify New Brain Cell Involved in Navigation

Using direct human brain recordings, a research team from the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Thomas Jefferson University has identified a new type of cell in the brain that helps people to keep track of their relative loc

Evan Lerner, Britt Faulstick

Penn Engineer Mark Harding Learns About Himself Via Teaching

(This is the second in a series about University of Pennsylvania students who took their arguments in support of federal student financial aid to Washington this summer in a project organized by the Office of Student Registration and Financial Services. Other profiles feature students Kristin Thomas and Mounica Gummadi.)

Evan Lerner



In the News


Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

Scientists struggle to explain ‘really weird’ spike in world temperatures

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that tendencies to exaggerate climate science in favor of “doomist” narratives helps no one except the fossil fuel industry.

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Vox.com

Spring is here very early. That’s not good

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that plant-flowering, tree-leafing, and egg-hatching are all markers associated with spring that are happening sooner.

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The New York Times

Can your personal medical devices be recycled?

A lab at the School of Engineering and Applied Science led the development of a COVID test made from bacterial cellulose, an organic compound.

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Tampa Bay Times

Could Florida electric bills go up because of a fuel made from manure?

Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that federal and California state subsidies have led to a gold rush of companies trying to get into the business of renewable natural gas around the country.

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WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)

Pa. environmental, religious and other groups criticize Shapiro plan for ignoring climate change

A study by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design found that Pennsylvania would benefit overall from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

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The New York Times

Why don’t we just ban fossil fuels?

Joseph Romm of the School of Arts & Sciences says that stronger action against fossil fuels is essential to save the planet.

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CNBC

Students can soon major in AI at this Ivy League university—it’ll prepare them for ‘jobs that don’t yet exist’

The Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence at Penn will be the first AI undergraduate engineering major at an Ivy League school, led by George Pappas of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

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The New York Times

We don’t have time for climate misinformation

In a co-written Op-Ed, Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that meaningful decarbonization in the U.S. is in jeopardy of being blocked or slowed if a significant portion of the electorate does not accept the basic scientific facts and implications of climate change.

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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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NPR

A famous climate scientist is in court, with big stakes for attacks on science

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences is suing a right-wing author and a policy analyst for defamation against the “hockey stick” climate change graph.

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