Skip to Content Skip to Content

Nathi Magubane

Science News Officer
  • nathi@upenn.edu
  • (215) 898-8562
  • A portrait of science writer Nathi Magubane
    Articles from Nathi Magubane
    The soul of an artist, the mind of a mathematician
    A rainbow-colored swirl.

    Image: Courtesy of Robert Ghrist

    The soul of an artist, the mind of a mathematician

    An artist, author, engineer, mathematician, and mentor, PIK Professor in the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science Robert Ghrist embraces innovation to enrich each of these roles.

    8 min. read

    National Academy of Sciences elects four from Penn
    Four headshots of Penn Faculty. Top left tile clockwise: Mark Devlin, Katalin Karikó, E. John Wherry III, and Virginia M.Y. Lee

    Four faculty have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their innovative contributions to original scientific research. The newly honored scholars are Mark Devlin (top left) from the School of Arts & Sciences and Katalin Karikó (top right), Virginia M.Y. Lee (bottom left), and E. John Wherry III (bottom right) from the Perelman School of Medicine.

    nocred

    National Academy of Sciences elects four from Penn

    The newly elected members, recognized for their innovative contributions to original research, are Mark Devlin of the School of Arts & Sciences and Katalin Karikó, Virginia Lee, and E. John Wherry III of the Perelman School of Medicine.

    3 min. read

    Penn students develop AI-driven solution to transform senior care
    Nami Lindquist, Melanie Herbert, and Alex Popescu

    Melanie Herbert (center), a fourth-year in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, created Sync Labs—an innovative AI solution that addresses caregiving in senior care. Joined by Nami Lindquist (left) of the Wharton School and Penn Engineering and Alex Popescu of Penn Engineering (right) their technology, which has earned them the 2025 President’s Innovation Prize, allows caregivers to see three times more seniors while providing more personalized care.

    nocred

    Penn students develop AI-driven solution to transform senior care

    Fourth-year students Melanie Herbert, Nami Lindquist, and Alexandra Popescu were awarded the President’s Innovation Prize for Sync Labs, a privacy-centered AI system to address the growing caregiving gap in senior care

    8 min. read

    Armoring CAR T cells to take on cancer
     3D visualization showing a reddish-blue tumor mass with internal vasculature, surrounded by blue CAR T cells and small extracellular vesicles against a dark background.

    Wei Guo of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science have teamed up to uncover how solid tumors’ complicated microenvironments can manipulate cancer-fighting CAR T cells through extracellular vesicles, causing the engineered CAR T cells to commit fratricide—essentially turning against each other instead of attacking the cancer.

    (Image: iStock / Marcin Klapczynski)

    Armoring CAR T cells to take on cancer

    Wei Guo of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science have uncovered how solid tumors manipulate cancer-fighting CAR T cells through extracellular vesicles, causing the engineered CAR T cells to commit fratricide—essentially turning against each other instead of attacking the cancer.

    3 min. read

    Penn IUR enters its third decade
    From left: Genie Birch, Judith Rodin, and Susan Wachter

    Housed in Meyerson Hall, the Penn Institute for Urban Research (IUR) is a campus-wide enterprise that draws from the collective wisdom of experts around the Penn and beyond to inform urban development and actions on public policy to support the sustainable growth of metros. Now entering its third decade, President Emerita Judith Rodin and Penn IUR co-directors Eugénie Birch and Susan Wachter reflect on the Institute’s history and impact.

    nocred

    Penn IUR enters its third decade

    The Penn Institute for Urban Research enters its second decade. President emerita Judith Rodin and co-directors Eugénie Birch and Susan Wachter reflect on the Institute’s history and impact.

    10 min. read

    For a better cup of coffee, look to physics
    A kettle and pour-over coffee filter full of coffee grounds.

    (On homepage) 

    (Image: Courtesy of Ernest Park)

    For a better cup of coffee, look to physics

    Researchers from Penn have found new cost-effective ways to make a great cup of pour-over coffee using fewer beans. Their findings could potentially provide insights into similar systems such as waterfalls and surface erosion.

    4 min. read

    Penn Electric Racing’s latest racecar
    Students unveil their latest self-made electric race car on College Green, just in front of Benjamin Franklin statue.

    nocred

    Penn Electric Racing’s latest racecar

    Penn Electric Racing, the student-led Formula Society of Automotive Engineers electric team, debuted its latest electric race car, REVX, on College Green on March 28. This marks the team's 10th custom-designed car since its founding in 2013 and its most sophisticated to date.

    3 min. read

    AI Month at Penn
    Buildings on Penn's campus and a banner that reads 'Penn Engineering.'

    Penn Engineering will host the second annual AI Month from April 1 to May 1.


     

    nocred

    AI Month at Penn

    The School of Engineering and Applied Science is hosting 2025 AI Month at Penn, a monthlong series of events throughout April dedicated to the theme “AI and Human Well-Being.”

    4 min. read

    Baseball’s ‘magic mud’
     A jar of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud sits on a table beside a muddy, dirty baseball.

    Lena Blackburne’s legendary baseball rubbing mud has been a game-day staple for nearly a century, helping Major League pitchers achieve a better grip. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have scientifically confirmed its friction-enhancing properties, revealing its significance not just in baseball, but also in the broader field of materials science.

    nocred

    Baseball’s ‘magic mud’

    Douglas Jerolmack and Paulo Arratia led research that could someday crack the code of the mud smeared on baseballs for nearly a century that pitchers profess provides a perfect grip.

    3 min. read

    Flying high with the Penn Aerial Robotics club
    A robotic aerial drone on Penn’s Locust Walk.

    nocred

    Flying high with the Penn Aerial Robotics club

    For more than a decade, Penn students have been building and competing with unmanned aerial vehicles. They unveil their latest creations, an autonomous drone-like tilt-rotor aircraft and a model plane, before they head to an international competition in Los Angeles this spring.

    7 min. read

    Load More