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The science of winemaking
Students listen to explanation at winery.

Students listened to an information session in a vineyard at Cobos winery prior to a sit-down tasting.

(Image: Kelly Williamson)

The science of winemaking

The Biochemical Engineering of Wine course provides a real-world application of engineering principles, teaching students about the science behind the processes involved with making wine.

3 min. read

A new hub for AI-driven RNA research
from left: Drew Weissman, Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research; Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering; Daeyeon Lee, Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the facility’s director; Susan Marqusee, head of NSF’s Biological Sciences Directorate; David F. Meaney, Solomon R. Pollack Professor in Bioengineering and Penn’s Vice Provost for Research; Pennsylvania State Senator Frank A. Farry.

(From left) Drew Weissman, Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research; Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering; Daeyeon Lee, Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the facility’s director; Susan Marqusee, head of NSF’s Biological Sciences Directorate; David F. Meaney, Solomon R. Pollack Professor in Bioengineering and Penn’s Vice Provost for Research; and Pennsylvania State Senator Frank A. Farry.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering)

A new hub for AI-driven RNA research

Penn’s newest collaborative institution is the U.S. National Science Foundation Artificial Intelligence-driven RNA BioFoundry (NSF AIRFoundry) which uses AI to improve, accelerate, and scale the design, manufacture, and delivery of RNA.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Building better delivery vehicles for medicine
A machine in Michael Mitchell’s lab.

Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering

Building better delivery vehicles for medicine

Penn researchers in the Mitchell Lab are modifying lipid nanoparticles, the delivery vehicles for mRNA therapies, to make them more potent, precise, and better tolerated.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Four third-years receive Goldwater Scholarships
(Top row) Shreya Nair and Ian Peng. (Bottom row) Pranav Sompalle and Emily Valerio.

(Top row) Shreya Nair and Ian Peng. (Bottom row) Pranav Sompalle and Emily Valerio.

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Four third-years receive Goldwater Scholarships

Goldwater Scholarships are awarded to students planning research careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics.

3 min. read

A stiff defense: Rethinking gum disease
A section of healthy human gum tissue captured using an imaging technique called Second Harmonic Generation microscopy. In this sample, collagen fibers (shown in yellow), which give healthy gums their firm, resilient stiffness, are dense and well-organized—acting as a supportive scaffold for the surrounding cells (shown in teal).

A section of healthy human gum tissue captured using an imaging technique called Second Harmonic Generation microscopy. In this sample, collagen fibers (shown in yellow), which give healthy gums their firm, resilient stiffness, are dense and well-organized—acting as a supportive scaffold for the surrounding cells (shown in teal).

(Image: Hardik Makkar)

A stiff defense: Rethinking gum disease

Penn Dental Medicine’s Kyle H. Vining and Hardik Makkar take a biomaterials approach to understanding periodontal disease, using a hydrogel system to investigate how the physical properties of the gum tissue impact inflammation.

3 min. read

When bone behaves like a sponge
Three members of the Tertuliano lab looking at a computer in the lab.

To visualize the nanoscale structures, the Tertuliano lab often uses large-scale models like the one pictured.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

When bone behaves like a sponge

Penn Engineers in the Tertuliano Lab have developed a nanoengineered 3D-printed scaffold for observing how cells feel force.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Penn fourth-year Yash Rajpal named 2026-27 Luce Scholar
Yash Rajpal

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Penn fourth-year Yash Rajpal named 2026-27 Luce Scholar

Yash Rajpal, a University of Pennsylvania fourth-year student in the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering & Applied Science, is one of 16 recipients selected by the Henry Luce Foundation to be a 2026-27 Luce Scholar.

1 min. read

Engineers sharpen gene-editing tools to target cystic fibrosis
Engineering researchers at a whiteboard in the Gao lab.

Beyond cystic fibrosis, the refined base editor could help researchers tackle a wide range of genetic diseases caused by single-letter DNA changes.

(Image: Bella Ciervo)

Engineers sharpen gene-editing tools to target cystic fibrosis

Researchers at Penn Engineering have developed a modified base-pair editor that offers improved accuracy and could help treat diseases like cystic fibrosis.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Shreya Parchure: Leveraging AI to help stroke survivors recover speech abilities
Shreya Parchure in a white coat in the Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation in the Goddard Laboratory on Penn's campus, smiling with arms crossed and facing forward.

Shreya Parchure, an M.D.-Ph.D. candidate at Penn, conducts much of her AI-driven research in the Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation, focusing on ways to personalize speech therapy for patients with post-stroke aphasia.

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Shreya Parchure: Leveraging AI to help stroke survivors recover speech abilities

Doctoral student Shreya Parchure and her team evaluated the usefulness of an AI tool for personalizing speech therapy for patients with post-stroke aphasia.

4 min. read