School of Engineering & Applied Science

With a gift of $15 million, University of Pennsylvania trustee emeritus P. Roy Vagelos, C’50, Hon’99, and his wife, Diana, parents ’90, are continuing to ensure Penn’s leadership in energy research by endowing two professorships dedicated to this critically important field.

For solar panels, wringing every drop of energy from as many photons as possible is imperative.  This goal has sent chemistry, materials science and electronic engineering researchers on a quest to boost the energy-absorption efficiency of photovoltaic devices, but existing techniques are now running up against limits set by the laws of physics.  

An interdisciplinary team of University of Pennsylvania researchers has already developed a technique for controlling liquid crystals by means of physical templates and elastic energy, rather than the electromagnetic fields that manipulate them in televisions and computer monitors. They envision using this technique to direct the assembly of other materials, such as nanoparticles.  

The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council today released a comprehensive report on sports-related concussions in youth, detailing factors associated with increased rates of the brain injury, the effectiveness of protective devices and new screening, diagnosis, treatment and management techniques, as well as the long-term consequences of concussions.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the University of Pennsylvania’s Nano/Bio Interface Center will host its annual NanoDay@Penn. This public education and outreach event will feature a series of talks, demonstrations and exhibits dealing with nanotechnology, a rapidly expanding scientific discipline that involves the manipulation of matter on the atomic and molecular scale.

As computers become more enmeshed in everyday life, both their software and hardware are becoming accessible to the average person. Whereas do-it-yourself enthusiasts of earlier generations tackled birdhouses and AM radios, this generation is making its own robots, 3-D printers and cell phone accessories.

The University of Pennsylvania is launching a new, interdisciplinary research effort to study and solve problems using the tools of the digital age: The Warren Center for Network & Data Sciences.  

The University of Pennsylvania Water Polo team really knows how to make a splash. One of the most rigorous collegiate sports clubs, water polo consists of six players and one goalkeeper guarding a net in a pool.

The University of Pennsylvania will officially open the region’s premier facility for advanced research, education, and innovative public/private partnerships in nanotechnology on October 4.

The University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon University have received a $5.65 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant for a joint research center to conduct transportation technology research and development.