To err is human, to learn, divine To err is human, to learn, divine Researchers develop a new model for how the brain processes complex information: by striking a balance between accuracy and simplicity while making mistakes along the way.
Nikil Ragav wants to bring high-tech, hands-on learning to all students Nikil Ragav wants to bring high-tech, hands-on learning to all students The President’s Innovation Prize winner wants to bring high-tech, hands-on learning to students of all backgrounds across the country with inventXYZ.
State-of-the-art lasers at the micro level This three-square-millimeter filter chip can take the output of low-cost lasers and convert it such that it has the same frequency noise as bigger and significantly more expensive lasers. (Image: Penn Engineering) State-of-the-art lasers at the micro level New filter chips created by Penn engineers could enable high-quality lasers at a fraction of their current size and cost.
Coming together to solve the many scientific mysteries of COVID-19 Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (purple), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. (Image: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH) Coming together to solve the many scientific mysteries of COVID-19 Putting some of their regular research projects on the back burner, researchers around Penn are digging into unknowns about the novel coronavirus from their deep and varied perspectives.
The Sachs Program unveils 2020 grants Ph.D. candidate Tamir Williams will curate an exhibition at Slought titled “A Space to Appear, A Space to Tarry,” which will present works from the photographic series “Black Nightclubs on Chicago’s South Side” (1975-1977) by Penn alumnus Michael Abramson. The Sachs Program unveils 2020 grants The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation revealed 34 new art projects from students, faculty, and staff that will receive funding.
‘Nanocardboard’ flyers could serve as Martian atmospheric probes In this artist’s conception, fleets of flyers could be launched from ground-based rovers and steered with lasers to collect samples. Planets and moons with thin atmospheres and low gravities would enhance these flyers’ ability to levitate by shooting air through their corrugated channels. (Image: Penn Engineering) ‘Nanocardboard’ flyers could serve as Martian atmospheric probes As NASA plans to launch its next Mars rover, Perseverance, this summer, Penn Engineers are now testing their ‘nanocardboard flyers’ ability to lift payloads.
Language in tweets offers insight into community-level well-being Lyle Ungar, a professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and one of the principal investigators of the World Well-Being Project, which has spent more than half a decade working on ways to grasp the emotional satisfaction and happiness of specific places. Q&A Language in tweets offers insight into community-level well-being In a Q&A, researcher Lyle Ungar discusses why counties that frequently use words like ‘love’ aren’t necessarily happier, plus how techniques from this work led to a real-time COVID-19 wellness map.
Four Penn faculty elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Four Penn faculty elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Guthrie Ramsey, Kathleen Stebe, Eve M. Troutt Powell, and Barbie Zelizer join a group recognized for their world-class leadership and expertise.
New scavenger technology allows robots to ‘eat’ metal for energy Rather than a battery, the researchers’ metal-air scavenger vehicle gets energy from breaking chemical bonds in the aluminum surface it travels over. The vehicle keeps going until the hydrogel slab it’s dragging dries out or the surface is completely corroded, but a freely moving robot could seek out new sources of water and metal. New scavenger technology allows robots to ‘eat’ metal for energy Penn Engineering researchers’ new metal-air scavenger vehicle gets energy from breaking chemical bonds in the aluminum surface it travels over, rather than from batteries.
Meet the Penn students recreating campus in Minecraft Meet the Penn students recreating campus in Minecraft In a matter of weeks, Penn students have organized a volunteer effort to recreate campus in the popular crafting video game Minecraft.