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Penn fourth-year awarded Davis Projects for Peace grant
Hemza Tarawneh

Class of 2026 student Hemza Tarawneh has been chosen for a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace grant to help refugees in Jordan find protection from the heat and sun.

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Penn fourth-year awarded Davis Projects for Peace grant

The College of Arts & Sciences student will lead an effort aiding women and children in two Jordanian refugee camps.

1 min. read

Caitlyn Chen’s path to becoming a physician-scientist
Caitlyn Chen.

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Caitlyn Chen’s path to becoming a physician-scientist

The fourth-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, who will pursue medical school after graduation, spent her time at Penn applying deep knowledge of the natural sciences to research more affordable microsensors for medical devices.

3 min. reada

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

Historian, scholar, and best-selling author Michael Beschloss to speak at Penn’s 270th Commencement
Michael Beschloss

Award-winning presidential historian and scholar Michael Beschloss will be receiving an honorary doctor of letters degree at Penn’s 270th Commencement.

(Image: Stephen Voss)

Historian, scholar, and best-selling author Michael Beschloss to speak at Penn’s 270th Commencement

At the Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 18, Beschloss will receive an honorary degree, along with the other 2026 Penn honorary degree recipients.

5 min. read

An ‘illuminating’ design sheds light on cholesterol
A researcher scribbles an organic molecule

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An ‘illuminating’ design sheds light on cholesterol

High levels of cholesterol are linked to heart disease, stroke, and many other health problems. However, this complex and vital fatty, water insoluble molecule—a lipid—is found in every cell of the body and is not all bad news. It also regulates crucial processes that science has yet to map.

3 min. read

Four from Penn receive Kaufman Foundation grants

Four from Penn receive Kaufman Foundation grants

Penn researchers will receive two of four grants awarded this year by the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation in support of interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at developing novel approaches to fundamental scientific questions.

2 min. read

A serendipitous find leads to lifesaving discoveries
Fluorescent imaging of glioblastoma under a microscope.

Image: Kyosuke Shishikura

A serendipitous find leads to lifesaving discoveries

A Penn-led team has revealed a how hydralazine, one of the world’s oldest blood pressure drugs and a mainstay treatment for preeclampsia, works at the molecular level. In doing so, they made a surprising discovery—it can also halt the growth of aggressive brain tumors.

3 min. read

Beneath the surface: Diving into water’s hidden carbon-cleaning capabilities
3D rendering of water molecules on a copper surface.

Water molecules become increasingly disordered at the surface of a catalyst. Researchers found that this disordered interfacial water, shown transitioning from structured (left) to disorganized (right), plays a key role in speeding up the conversion of carbon monoxide into ethylene, a valuable fuel and chemical building block.

(Image: Courtesy of Shoji Hall)

Beneath the surface: Diving into water’s hidden carbon-cleaning capabilities

Penn materials scientist Shoji Hall and colleagues have found that manipulating the surface of water can allow scientists to sustainably convert greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to higher energy fuel sources like ethylene.

5 min. read

AI-driven discovery of hundreds of potential antibiotics
Venom on the Fang of a Diamondback Rattlesnake

Research from the lab of César de la Fuente on an AI-powered screen of global venom libraries uncovers dozens of promising drug candidates.

(Image: McDonald Wildlife Photography Inc. via Getty Images)

AI-driven discovery of hundreds of potential antibiotics

Research from the lab of César de la Fuente on an AI-powered screen of global venom libraries uncovers dozens of promising drug candidates.

Eric Horvath

2 min. read

Cracking the code of force-driven chemistry

Cracking the code of force-driven chemistry

Penn Engineering’s Robert Carpick, Cangyu Qu, and Lu Fang have developed a theoretical model that overcomes previous challenges in accurately describing the relationship between mechanical stress and chemical reactions. Their new study fills in the gap for describing the forces that occur when molecules are squeezed between two surfaces. This result helps make it easier to predict mechanochemical reactions, which are promising for the green manufacturing of plastics, metallic compounds, lubricants and more.