Computer Science

Nick Falcone standing with arms crossed with computer graphic renderings superimposed over the image.

Working to keep Penn ‘cyber safe’

Media hacks and data breaches are everywhere. Nick Falcone of Penn’s Office of Information Security works to keep the University’s information assets safe, from employing phishing-simulation tools to monitoring attack trends across all schools and centers.

Phyllis Holtzman

Carolyn Gibson, Sampath Kannan, Ellen Puré

Three Penn faculty named 2019 AAAS Fellows

Three from Penn have been named to the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s newest class of Fellows: Carolyn Gibson of the School of Dental Medicine, Sampath Kannan of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Ellen Puré of the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

Three students stand next to a poster entitled "Cleaning Up Philly's Streets" which describes their project

Helping Philadelphia tackle trash with technology

Last fall, a team of undergraduates developed a high-tech solution to help the city target one of its persistent problems: the illegal dumping of construction and trash debris.

Kristen de Groot ・

zane cooper in iceland

Exploring cryptocurrency and blockchain in Iceland

A virtual reality film, photo series, and soundscape from Penn and Rutgers document the effect this fast-growing tech industry is having on the country’s natural resources and people.

Michele W. Berger ・

a group of 40 people posing on a staircase

A ‘quantum leap’ for quantum information science

By bringing together experts across campus and across disciplines, Penn is poised to lead ongoing efforts towards developing quantum applications using atomically-thin materials.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・

self driving car

The human driver

As the ability to harness the power of artificial intelligence grows, so does the need to consider the difficult decisions and trade-offs humans make all the time about privacy, bias, ethics, and safety.

Gwyneth K. Shaw



In the News


CNN

What officials are doing—and suggesting—to learn more about the possible drone sightings

Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that the main difficulties in detecting and tracking drones stem from their small size, agility, and potential for autonomous operation.

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CNN

Why you shouldn’t try to shoot down a suspected drone

Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that shooting at potential drones could lead to missed shots, stray bullets, or accidents that result in hazardous outcomes far beyond the intended action.

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Newsweek

What New Jersey’s mystery drones could actually be, according to experts

Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied believes that mystery drones in New Jersey are part a U.S. government operation rather than being sent by a foreign state actor.

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Scientific American

Grumpy voters want better stories. Not statistics

In a Q&A, PIK Professor Duncan Watts says that U.S. voters ignored Democratic policy in favor of Republican storytelling.

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Interesting Engineering

Superhuman vision lets robots see through walls, smoke with new LiDAR-like eyes

Mingmin Zhao of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues are using radio signals to allow robots to “see” beyond traditional sensor limits.

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The Conversation

Many wealthy members of Congress are descendants of rich slaveholders — new study demonstrates the enduring legacy of slavery

A co-authored study by Ph.D. student Neil Sehgal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science found that legislators who are descendants of slaveholders are significantly wealthier than members of Congress without slaveholder ancestry.

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