Erynn Johnson monitors the progress of the lab’s 3D printer in Hayden Hall as it produces a resin-based replica of a snail shell. Her research, which relies on mathematical modeling paired with paleontology, gives insights into how shelled marine creatures that lived hundreds of millions of years ago evolved to withstand the crunching jaws of predators.
Making insights into ancient marine ecosystems with 3D-printed shells
If you’re a snail hoping to survive an encounter with a hungry fish, it helps to have a strong shell. Paleoecology doctoral student Erynn Johnson is using 3D printing to understand how predator-prey interactions may have played out hundreds of millions of years ago.
Penn Today interviewed the math department’s incoming chair to learn about his longtime passion for geometry and his hopes for the future of contemporary math research.
Penn chemists to lead NSF-sponsored center for sustainable metals supply chains
The Center for Sustainable Separations of Metals will conduct research on metals recycling to reduce pollution, greenhouse-gas emissions, and energy usage while promoting political and environmental sustainability.
Philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe was both a divisive figure and one of the most important female philosophical minds of her time. Notebooks filled with old postcards and scrawled responses, like those viewed here by graduate student Paul Musso (left), associate professor Errol Lord, and graduate student Marie Barnett, reveal Anscombe’s thought process as she corresponds with Anthony Kenny, a philosopher and priest, about God and faith.
Historical treasures of ‘most talented woman in 20th-century philosophy’ come to Penn
On loan from the Collegium Institute, an archive of materials written to and by Elizabeth Anscombe will be at the Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections for the next three years.
Energy Manager Kat Morlang has no shortage of ideas for how to reduce the energy consumption of the Penn Hospital System.
Saving energy in the buildings that save lives
In a Q&A, Kat Morlang, energy manager at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses optimizing chiller plants, swapping out inefficient lights, and other ideas to make the health system as energy-efficient as possible.
The beauty and nuances of Iceland, through a multidisciplinary lens
Tracing a circular path around Iceland, the students in Alain Plante’s Penn Global Seminar saw firsthand the nation’s unique geology, culture, politics, energy, people, and wildlife.
The Kelly Writers House has crowdsourced its chairs from the community. Some chairs are decorated based on a theme, including one that features photos and articles about benefactor Paul Kelly.
Kelly Writers House chairs are more than just a place to sit
Even the chairs at Kelly Writers House have stories to tell. The mismatched wooden seats came from the community, intentionally given to become part of Writers House everyday history.
Through a week of intensive seminars and workshops taught by university faculty, 15 veterans participated in this year’s Warrior-Scholar Project academic bootcamp at the University of Pennsylvania.
From soldiers to students
Penn hosted a week of academic bootcamps organized by the Warrior-Scholar Project, a nonprofit that supports enlisted veterans in their transition to college.
