Recipients of the 2023 President’s Innovation Prize, team Sonura, five bioengineering graduates from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, have created a device that filters out disruptive environmental noises for infants in neonatal intensive care units. Their beanie offers protection and fosters parental connection to newborns while also supporting their development.
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Safe and sound: Sonura supports newborn development by sequestering disruptive noise
A team of five recent graduates from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and recipients of the 2023 President’s Innovation Prize have developed a beanie that filters out harmful noises for infants in neonatal intensive care units.
Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID
The School of Arts & Sciences’ Irma Elo and Samuel Preston, with a collaborative team of researchers, assessed racial disparities in U.S. COVID-19 deaths, calling for continued efforts to better understand and implement targeted strategies for addressing health inequalities.
Subway train passengers with protective masks on a station platform in Sofia, Bulgaria in June 2020.
(Image: iStock/JordanSimenov)
Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself
Researchers led by former postdoc Bryce Morsky and Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences have produced a model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how masking and social distancing are affected by social norms.
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes in the mid-20th century. They were initially made of germanium and later silicon, leading to the development of integrated circuits containing millions to billions of transistors on a single chip. The Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) became the dominant type due to its smaller size, faster speed, and greater energy efficiency. Today, MOSFETs are essential components in modern electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, and power electronics.
(Image: iStockphoto/vlabo)
Moore than meets the eye
Following the death of Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel and a pioneer in computer processor chips, Penn Today spoke with the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Benjamin C. Lee about Moore’s contributions to technology and the history and rapid evolution of chips.
Newly elected members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, (clockwise from top left) David Brainard from the School of Arts & Sciences; Duncan Watts from the Annenberg School for Communication, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Wharton School; Kenneth S. Zaret; and Susan R. Weiss, both from the Perelman School of Medicine.
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Four from Penn elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The newly elected members, distinguished scholars recognized for their innovative contributions to original research, include faculty from the School of Arts & Sciences, Perelman School of Medicine, Annenberg School for Communication, and Wharton School.
Repairing fractured metals for more sustainable construction
Mining, refining, and processing metals commonly used in construction are estimated to contribute around three billion tons of CO2-equivalent emissions. Now, researchers have developed a new metal-healing technique that fully restores previously unrepairable metals, presenting sustainable options for manufacturers.
Novel tools for the treatment and diagnosis of epilepsy
Penn neurologist Brian Litt’s work on implantable devices for recording and altering brain activity has led to new ways to treat and diagnose epilepsy.
