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What ever-growing incisors can teach us about genetic disease
Microscopic view of a mouse incisor.

An image taken through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows a polished sagittal section through a mouse mandibular incisor, showing the different mineralized tissue layers.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering Today)

What ever-growing incisors can teach us about genetic disease

An interdisciplinary team of researchers approaches the question ‘How do teeth mineralize?’ by analyzing the physical, biological, and genetic properties of teeth for real-world clinical applications in the future.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Beneath the surface: Diving into water’s hidden carbon-cleaning capabilities
3D rendering of water molecules on a copper surface.

Water molecules become increasingly disordered at the surface of a catalyst. Researchers found that this disordered interfacial water, shown transitioning from structured (left) to disorganized (right), plays a key role in speeding up the conversion of carbon monoxide into ethylene, a valuable fuel and chemical building block.

(Image: Courtesy of Shoji Hall)

Beneath the surface: Diving into water’s hidden carbon-cleaning capabilities

Penn materials scientist Shoji Hall and colleagues have found that manipulating the surface of water can allow scientists to sustainably convert greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to higher energy fuel sources like ethylene.

5 min. read

A new recipe for safer, stronger mRNA vaccines
Emily Han and Dongyoon Kim in the research lab filled with bottles and other lab equipment..

Bioengineering researchers Emily Han (left) and Dongyoon Kim.

(Image: Bella Ciervo)

A new recipe for safer, stronger mRNA vaccines

Penn engineers have found a way to redesign mRNA vaccines that sidestep the the most common side effects.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

AI finds hundreds of potential antibiotics in snake and spider venom
Venom on the Fang of a Diamondback Rattlesnake

Image: McDonald Wildlife Photography Inc. via Getty Images

AI finds hundreds of potential antibiotics in snake and spider venom

Research from the lab of César de la Fuente on an AI-powered screen of global venom libraries uncovers dozens of promising drug candidates.

Eric Horvath

2 min. read

Cracking the code of force-driven chemistry

Cracking the code of force-driven chemistry

Penn Engineering’s Robert Carpick, Cangyu Qu, and Lu Fang have developed a theoretical model that overcomes previous challenges in accurately describing the relationship between mechanical stress and chemical reactions. Their new study fills in the gap for describing the forces that occur when molecules are squeezed between two surfaces. This result helps make it easier to predict mechanochemical reactions, which are promising for the green manufacturing of plastics, metallic compounds, lubricants and more.

George Pappas receives IEEE Kirchmayer Award

George Pappas receives IEEE Kirchmayer Award

Pappas, UPS Foundation Professor of Transportation in Electrical and Systems Engineering at Penn Engineering, has been awarded the Leon K. Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award for “inspirational mentoring” of graduate students.

Penn students and alumni awarded Fulbright 2025-26 U.S. Student Program grants
headshots of 17 people

The 17 Penn students and alumni who have been offered 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants are (from left) (top row) Emily R. Antrilli, Leo Biehl, Emmie Chacker, Claire Elliot, Zane Grenoble, and Arielle Hardy; (center row) Theresa Haupt, Timothy Lie, Paul Lin, Henry McDaniel, and Nova Meng; (bottom row) Aleena Parenti, Rajat Ramesh, Elan Roth, Emma Steinheimer, Rachel Swym, and Teresa Xie. Not pictured: Anjalee Bhuyan and Margaret Gerhart.

(Images: Courtesy of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships)

Penn students and alumni awarded Fulbright 2025-26 U.S. Student Program grants

As of early July, 19 Penn students and alumni have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants for the 2025-26 academic year. They will conduct research, pursue graduate degrees, or teach English in more than a dozen countries.

5 min. read

Designing cleaner, greener concrete that absorbs carbon dioxide
Masoud Akbarzadeh holding up one of the fabricated materials.

The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory is housed at the Pennovation Center and brings together designers, engineers, and computer scientists to reimagine the built world. Using graphic statics, a method where forces are mapped as lines, they design forms that balance compression and tension. These result in structures that use far fewer materials while remaining strong and efficient.

nocred

Designing cleaner, greener concrete that absorbs carbon dioxide

Penn engineers, materials scientists, and designers have developed a 3D-printed concrete solution based on diatomaceous earth that has enhanced carbon capture, is stronger, and uses fewer materials like cement.

6 min. read

$2.6M NIH grant backs search for genetic cure in deadly heart disease

$2.6M NIH grant backs search for genetic cure in deadly heart disease

Sherry Gao, Presidential Penn Compact Associate Professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering and in bioengineering at Penn Engineering is the co-recipient of a $2.6 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to develop new gene editing tools that could address one of the underlying mutations that causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic disease that thickens the heart’s walls, making it harder for the organ to pump blood.