School of Engineering & Applied Science

PHILADELPHIA — Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are participating in a massive, interdisciplinary collaboration known as the TerraSwarm Research Center, which will study the potential applications — and risks — of “swarm-based” computing and robotics.

PHILADELPHIA — Directed assembly is a growing field of research in nanotechnology in which scientists and engineers aim to manufacture structures on the smallest scales without having to individually manipulate each component. Rather, they set out precisely defined starting conditions and let the physics and chemistry that govern those components do the rest.  

PHILADELPHIA — The field of metamaterials involves augmenting materials with specially designed patterns, enabling those materials to manipulate electromagnetic waves and fields in previously impossible ways.

PHILADELPHIA — Learning calculus is no easy feat.

PHILADELPHIA — In the waning days of 2012, two words have dominated the post-election discourse: “fiscal cliff.” The cliff is a combination of impending budgetary measures that will take effect in January if a legislative compromise is not reached.

PHILADELPHIA — One of the most promising innovations of nanotechnology has been the ability to perform rapid nanofabrication using nanometer-scale tips.  Heating such tips can dramatically increase fabrication speeds, but high speed and high temperature have been known to blunt their atomically sharp points.

PHILADELPHIA — Electronic circuits are typically integrated in rigid silicon wafers, but flexibility opens up a wide range of applications.  In a world where electronics are becoming more pervasive, flexibility is a highly desirable trait, but finding materials with the right mix of performance and manufacturing cost remains a challenge.

PHILADELPHIA — The disease atherosclerosis involves the build up of fatty tissue within arterial walls, creating unstable structures known as plaques. These plaques grow until they burst, rupturing the wall and causing the formation of a blood clot within the artery.

PHILADELPHIA — Making uniform coatings is a common engineering challenge, and, when working at the nanoscale, even the tiniest cracks or defects can be a big problem. New research from University of Pennsylvania engineers has shown a new way of avoiding such cracks when depositing thin films of nanoparticles.  

PHILADELPHIA — The colors of a butterfly’s wings are unusually bright and beautiful and are the result of an unusual trait; the way they reflect light is fundamentally different from how color works most of the time.