Skip to Content Skip to Content

Leading the charge: New research paves the way for energy-efficient power storage and electronics

Penn’s Andrew Rappe and collaborators explore high-quality thin films to propel power into the future.
Digital illustration of lithium ions passing through two-dimensional channels within a crystal structure
The rapid movement of lithium ions along the 2D vertical channels in the T-Niobium oxide (T-Nb2O5) thin film results in unique property changes and a chase transition. The blue and purple polyhedra show T-Nb2O5 lattices, without and with lithium, respectively. The bright green spheres represent lithium ions.
(Image: Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics / Patricia Bondia)

Recent Articles

  • More Articles
  • Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease
    Emissions from a power plant.

    Image: Pencho Chukov via Getty Images

    Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease

    New research from Penn Medicine finds living in areas with high concentration of air pollution is associated with increased buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, accelerating cognitive decline.

    Sep 9, 2025

    Penn physicist Charles Kane to receive the 2026 Lorentz Medal
    Charles Kane

    Charles Kane, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Physics at Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences.

    (Image: Brooke Sietinsons)

    Penn physicist Charles Kane to receive the 2026 Lorentz Medal

    Awarded every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the medal honors Kane’s pioneering research on topological insulators.

    Sep 4, 2025