School of Arts & Sciences

By encoding information in photons via their spin, “photonic” computers could be orders of magnitude faster and efficient than their current-day counterparts. Likewise, encoding information in the spin of electrons, rather than just their quantity, could make “spintronic” computers with similar advantages.   

This summer, two undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania are examining crimes throughout history and how those events resulted in controversial legislative changes. 

A University of Pennsylvania professor has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award to fund collaborative research with specialist colleagues in Germany.

Dealing with the difficulties of family illnesses and financial problems inspired Mary Sun to study medicine and business at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Imagination Institute, based at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, has announced nearly $3 million worth of grants to researchers at 16 institutions. The grants are aimed at the development of better ways of assessing and promoting imagination and creativity.

Lyme disease cases are on the rise, with diagnoses occurring in areas that were historically Lyme-free. Scientists attribute the spread to the fact that populations of blacklegged ticks, which carry the bacteria that causes the disease, now flourish in areas once thought to be devoid of ticks.

By Sarah Welsh Nature versus nurture is an age-old question in biology, centering on whether a given trait is determined by an organism’s genes or by its environment. Most times the answer is “both,” but research at the University of Pennsylvania has found one trait in particular that is not easily described by either.

The role that attention plays in generating new and useful ideas is controversial among neuroscientists. Some neuroimaging studies have shown that creativity involves more cognitive control, or focused attention. Other studies have shown it involves less.

Investigators at a new University of Pennsylvania research center will focus on key physical principles that underpin cancer’s development and growth.

After meeting online as students in University of Pennsylvania music professor Carol Muller’s open learning course, a professor at a small college in Central Appalachia and a teacher at a university in Ecuador began a dynamic collaboration.