School of Engineering & Applied Science

Infections caused by viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, measles, parainfluenza and Ebola, are typically considered acute. These viruses cause disease quickly and live within a host for a limited time. But in some cases the effects of the infection, and presence of the virus itself, can persist.

The A. James Clark Scholars Program has been established in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania with an extraordinary $15 million gift from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. It is the largest one-time gift to undergraduate support in the University’s history.

by Erica AndersenWhen University of Pennsylvania undergraduate Kyle Kersey wants to describe his research, he finds it difficult to delve into the intricacies of coordination, solubility and steric effects. So he’s settled on a different tactic.“The word I like to use is ‘humbling,’” says Kersey.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter has been awarded a six-year, $22.6 million center grant from the National Science Foundation to support LRSM’s work in cutting-edge materials.

The roundworm C. elegans is one of the most important model organisms in biological research. With a transparent, millimeter-long body containing only about a thousand cells and a lifespan of a few weeks, there is no better way of deciphering the role of a given gene on a living creature’s anatomy or behavior.

Mark Licurse didn’t know what to expect when he decided to group together middle schoolers from two very different schools for a week-long STEM Summer Science Camp held by the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter at the University of Pennsylvania.

Laws of perception explain why people see the world the way they do.

Through origami-inspired engineering, one researcher hopes to not only create rapidly fabricable robots, but also build intuitive design software that enables others who may not be trained in engineering to create their own personalized robots.

By Erica AndersenYann Pfitzer spent the heat of a Philadelphia summer in a lab, designing and testing ultrathin plates that could one day be part of systems that convert extreme heat to electricity.