School of Arts & Sciences

PHILADELPHIA -- A research team led by Marija Drndić of the University of Pennsylvania has been awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant to apply nanotechnology and materials science to the development of “third generation” techniques for DNA sequencing and to lower the cost of sequencing.

Evan Lerner ・September 8, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — In solid materials with regular atomic structures, figuring out weak points where the material will break under stress is relatively easy. But for disordered solids, like glass or sand, their disordered nature makes such predictions much more daunting tasks.

Evan Lerner ・August 31, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — It is helpful — even life-saving — to have a warning sign before a structural system fails, but, when the system is only a few nanometers in size, having a sign that’s easy to read is a challenge.

Evan Lerner ・August 18, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — A team of University of Pennsylvania physicists has shown how to disrupt the “coffee ring effect” — the ring-shaped stain of particles left over after coffee drops evaporate —  by changing the particles' shape.  The discovery provides new tools for engineers to deposit uniform coatings. 

Evan Lerner ・August 17, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — An international team of astronomers has discovered a huge mass of warm water vapor in the central regions of a distant quasar, marking the farthest place in the universe that water has been detected. 

Evan Lerner ・August 11, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — Even in trace quantities, the radioactive gas radon is very dangerous; it is second only to cigarette smoking as a cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States.

Evan Lerner ・July 29, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — Penn researchers have helped develop a nanotech device that combines carbon nanotubes with olfactory receptor proteins, the cell components in the nose that detect odors.

Evan Lerner ・July 25, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — Renaissance architects demonstrated their understanding of geometry and physics when they built whispering galleries into their cathedrals. These circular chambers were designed to amplify and direct sound waves so that, when standing in the right spot, a whisper could be heard from across the room.

Evan Lerner ・July 22, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — Almost everyone has experienced one memory triggering another, but explanations for that phenomenon have proved elusive. Now, University of Pennsylvania researchers have provided the first neurobiological evidence that memories formed in the same context become linked, the foundation of the theory of episodic memory.

Evan Lerner ・July 14, 2011

PHILADELPHIA –- Lorene Cary, who teaches creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, will discuss and sign copies of her book, "Free!

Jacquie Posey July 8, 2011