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Mapping molecular arrangements to pave the way for better catalytic systems
Bright spots represent individual catalyst molecules captured under cryogenic conditions to prevent clustering.

Eric Stach of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues used neural networks to better identify the characteristics of catalysts that drive the creation of liquid fuels from sunlight. Shown here: The arrangement of a catalyst molecule, as observed under cryogenic conditions. The bright spots represent individual or small groups of molecules immobilized on a surface and the cryogenic temperature helps minimize clustering caused by the electron beam during imaging, allowing scientists to study the molecule’s distribution more accurately.

(Image: Sungho Jeon)

Mapping molecular arrangements to pave the way for better catalytic systems

The Stach Group in Penn Engineering led a collaborative team identifying how chemical catalysts drive the creation of liquid fuels from sunlight, paving the way for more efficient removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Rivers in a changing world
Penn students and Sayre high school students wading in a river in Cobbs Creek.

Sayre ninth-grade science teacher LaRon Smith (center) is a former landscape gardener from South Philadelphia who switched careers to mentor a younger generation. “I think my passion is for them to be better individuals, better human beings,” Smith says.

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Rivers in a changing world

A new Academically Based Community Service class brings Penn and William L. Sayre High School students together to learn environmental science and engineering.

Kristina Linnea García

Refining lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies
Microscopic rendering of mRNA inside a lipid nanoparticle.

Image: iStock/Love Employee

Refining lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

A new method developed by Penn engineers for designing ionizable lipids is expected to have broad implications for mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.

Ian Scheffler

Teaching robots common sense, empathy and other forms of intelligence
A person programming a robotic arm with a laptop.

Image: iStock/gorodenkoff

Teaching robots common sense, empathy and other forms of intelligence

Antonio Loquercio, an assistant professor in electrical and systems engineering, explores the potential that robots can have in answering fundamental questions on decision-making.

Melissa Pappas

A Q&A with the director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research
Four people in front of National AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Penn researchers affiliated with the Penn Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) attended AIDS Walk Philly in October 2024. Pictured with the National AIDS Memorial Quilt are Deratu Ahmed, a first-year epidemiology doctoral student studying pharmacogenetics related to HIV and tuberculosis in Botswana; Dominique Medaglio, a fourth-year epidemiology doctoral student studying ways to encourage smoking cessation for people with HIV in the United States; CFAR co-director Robert Gross, professor of medicine and epidemiology in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Penn Medicine; and CFAR director Ronald Collman, professor of medicine and microbiology.

(Image: Courtesy of Ronald G. Collman)

  • Q&A

    • A Q&A with the director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research

    Ronald G. Collman talks about the current state of AIDS care, work with the City of Philadelphia, and how the Center is supporting collaborations across campus.
    Giving robots superhuman vision using radio signals
    (From left) Freddy Liu, Haowen Lai, and Mingmin Zhao, assistant professor in CIS, setting up a robot equipped with PanoRadar for a test run.

    (From left) Freddy Liu, Haowen Lai, and Mingmin Zhao, assistant professor in CIS, setting up a robot equipped with PanoRadar for a test run.

    (Image: Sylvia Zhang)

    Giving robots superhuman vision using radio signals

    Engineers have developed a new tool to transform simple radio waves into detailed, 3D views of the environment.

    Ian Scheffler

    Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi is a 2025 Rhodes Scholar
    Om Gandhi.

    Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi has been awarded a 2025 Rhodes Scholarship. 

    (Image: Courtesy of Om Gandhi)

    Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi is a 2025 Rhodes Scholar

    Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi, from Barrington, Illinois, has been awarded a 2025 Rhodes Scholarship, which funds tuition and a living stipend for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. He is among 32 American Rhodes Scholars, and an expected 100 worldwide.

    Louisa Shepard

    Breakthrough in energy-saving process could transform data storage
    Ritesh Agarwal looks through a microscope in his lab.

    Ritesh Agarwal is the Srinivasa Ramanujan Distinguished Scholar and a professor of materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

    (Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering Today)

    Breakthrough in energy-saving process could transform data storage

    Researchers led by Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science have discovered a groundbreaking, ultra-low-energy method for creating amorphous materials, which could boost the efficiency of phase-change memory technology, potentially revolutionizing data storage.