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School of Engineering & Applied Science
GRASP Lab’s high-flying robots
GRASP Lab’s high-flying robots
Postdoctoral researcher David Saldaña is working on algorithms and designs for autonomous airborne robots which can link together, break apart, and work together to complete tasks.
Solving complex problems with purpose
Solving complex problems with purpose
Senior Angelica Padilla, who recently completed research through the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter undergraduate summer program, shares her passion for fluid mechanics.
Training the next generation of globally minded researchers
Training the next generation of globally minded researchers
As part of the Research and Education in Active Coatings Technologies for the Human Habitat program, students conduct fundamental research on materials that can improve lives while engaging in international collaborations and educational activities.
How to make a better water filter? Turn it inside out
How to make a better water filter? Turn it inside out
Penn engineers describe a novel approach for making antimicrobial nanoscale water filters while demonstrating new approaches that can be used to develop a broad range of materials.
Blinking eye-on-a-chip used for disease modeling and drug testing
Blinking eye-on-a-chip used for disease modeling and drug testing
Penn Engineering’s Dan Huh and Jeongyun Seo built an eye model that could imitate a healthy eye and an eye with dry eye disease, allowing them to test an experimental drug without risk of human harm.
Sun, sand, and medical rehab robots
Sun, sand, and medical rehab robots
As part of a new interdisciplinary Penn Global Seminar, 16 undergraduates traveled to Jamaica to test and refine robotic rehabilitation devices for patients in need.
Iron Man: The engineer who became a superhero
Iron Man: The engineer who became a superhero
A Q&A with Marc Miskin and James Pikul about the real-world tech and practical limitations that underly Tony Stark’s superpowered suit.
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
A collaboration that has brought together biologists, engineers, and physicists to study the reproductive behavior of birds using machine learning in a custom-built aviary at Pennovation Works.
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
While the idea of emojis unifying people across language barriers is enticing, people of different cultures might not use emojis in the same way.
Bioengineers shed light on folding genomes
Bioengineers shed light on folding genomes
Jennifer Phillips-Cremins, an assistant professor in Penn Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering, and colleagues use light as a trigger to fold sequences of genes into specific shapes and patterns to see how the different configurations alter gene expression.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Why not fly over it?’ Uber picks New Jersey firms in ambitious bid to beat traffic congestion
Rahul Mangharam of the School of Engineering and Applied Science commented on Uber’s new air taxi venture. “It’s going to be a very congested sky,” he said. “You want to make sure that each flight plan is safe by design, and that even if they do mess up for some reason, they have a fallback option.”
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Gizmodo
This freaky robotic fish is powered by ‘blood’
James Pikul of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored a study in which researchers developed a soft, robotic lionfish powered by a blood-like compound. “This robot blood is our first demonstration of storing energy in a fluid that is normally only used for actuation,” he said.
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Scientific American
How the mind emerges from the brain’s complex networks
Danielle Bassett of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored an article about network neuroscience, which allows us to see the origins of mental activity in the brain. One day, they write, “a neuroscientist who knew all the principles of brain function and everything about someone’s brain could predict that person’s mental conditions—the future, as well as the past, would be present inside the person’s mind.”
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The Guardian
Reversible superglue proves strong enough to hold average man
Shu Yang and colleagues from the School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new glue from hydrogel, inspired by snail slime. “The mucus [snails] produce is a viscous liquid, but when it dries they become firmly stuck,” said Yang.
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Nature
A DIY approach to automating your lab
Brian Chow of the School of Engineering and Applied Science led a team of Penn undergrads in developing a low-cost plate reader for teaching labs using open-source automation software. “Philosophically, I believe in supporting the open-source-hardware community,” he said.
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