Penn’s Department of Bioengineering has received a $14 million dollar Leadership Development Award from the Whitaker Foundation. “This is one of the largest grants ever received by the School [of Engineering and Applied Science],” said SEAS Dean Eduardo Glandt.
This multi-year grant will boost the department’s existing research and teaching strengths in orthopedic, cardiovascular and injury bioengineering and neuroengineering by providing new facilities and at least seven new researchers. The University is committed to matching this sum with $42.8 million.
“This represents a quantum leap in the evolution of the school,” said Glandt. “A new engineering science is now taking its place alongside physics and chemistry. We must incorporate biology as a part of the gene pool—no pun intended.”
The Department of Bioengineering, one of the nation’s first, was established in 1973 and is a cornerstone of the University’s Agenda for Excellence.
The Whitaker Foundation supports research and education in biomedical engineering at academic institutions in the United States and Canada.
Penn physicists led by Bo Zhen have created hybrid light-matter particles that interact strongly enough to compute, pointing toward ultrafast, low-energy optical AI hardware.
Penn’s newest supercomputer is transforming research
Penn’s first campus-wide HPC and AI cluster, “Betty,” is expanding access to powerful computing, enabling groundbreaking projects, and fostering new collaborations across disciplines.
A bioengineered bean gum from the lab of Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell is found to reduce the levels of three microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer to almost zero, without affecting the beneficial bacteria normally found in the mouth.
Fighting oral cancer with bioengineered chewing gum
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell shows that antiviral and antibacterial chewing gums reduce the levels of three microbes linked to worse outcomes in oral cancers, paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies.
The performing arts at Penn: Process, practice, and purpose
In the vivid tapestry of performing arts groups at Penn, students prepare for their performances while simultaneously enriching their college experience.
