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Racing to the future
A small racecar in a makeshift track in Penn Engineering with student spectators.

“Understanding the human factors and ethical implications of autonomous systems is just as crucial as the technical components,” says Mangharam. “This holistic approach aims to produce well-rounded engineers capable of addressing the multifaceted challenges of autonomous vehicle technology. Our goal is to equip them with the tools and mindset to tackle the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.”

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Racing to the future

Rahul Mangharam’s scaled-down, self-driving race cars are revamping engineering education at Penn.
The anthropology of plastics in India
An image of people picking through a dump with a handful of skyscrapers along the horizon

Children inspect plastic waste in a scrapyard with skyscrapers on the horizon line.

(Image: Sidharth Chitalia)

The anthropology of plastics in India

Doctoral candidate Adwaita Banerjee uses ethnographic research to document the ecological transition of the Deonar dumping ground, where thousands of Dalits and Muslim migrants mine the area for plastic that can be resold and recycled.

Kristina García

Exploring the limits of robotic systems
A robotic arm in a lab.

Image: iStock/gorodenkoff

Exploring the limits of robotic systems

Bruce Lee, a doctoral student in Penn Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, offers insights into the fundamental limits of machine learning.

From Penn Engineering Today

Hurricane changed ‘rules of the game’ in monkey society
A group of rhesus macaques sits amidst the bare, leafless trees of their hurricane-impacted habitat.

For more than 17 years, PIK Professor Michael Platt and his collaborators have followed a free-ranging colony of rhesus macaques in the Puerto Rican Island of Cayo Santiago who, in 2017, experienced the devastation of Hurricane Maria. The team showed that the macaques who invested in relationships had higher survival rates, findings that can provide insights into human social behavior and health in the face of environmental change.

(Image: Courtesy of Lauren J. Brent) 

Hurricane changed ‘rules of the game’ in monkey society

PIK Professor Michael Platt and collaborators from the University of Exeter find Hurricane Maria transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of their interpersonal relations.
New dissertation grants expand global research support
A glass globe sitting on a woodend table shows north and south America.

Penn Global has announced the first recipients of the newly established Penn Global Dissertation Grants program, which provides up to $8,000 in funding to nearly a dozen Ph.D. students.

(Image: iStock/artisteer)

New dissertation grants expand global research support

The newly established Penn Global Dissertation Grants program provides as much as $8,000 in funding to each of 11 Ph.D. candidates to enhance global components in their research.

Kristen de Groot

Who, What, Why: Nursing student and Peace Corps alum Eva Farrell
Eva Farrell.

“The Peace Corps really became the foundation for my approach in health care, in making sure it’s collaborative, patient-centered, and culturally competent,” says Eva Farrell, a master's student in the School of Nursing.

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  • Who, What, Why

    • Who, What, Why: Nursing student and Peace Corps alum Eva Farrell

    Serving in the Peace Corps as a math and science teacher in Kenya from 2012 to 2014 inspired MSN student Eva Farrell to go into nursing.
    The English major’s cheerleader and champion
    Jennifer Egan standing in front of class gesturing with one hand and holding papers in the other

    Egan first taught literature at Penn in the spring of 2019, but she restructured the course and wrote new lectures for this year’s class.

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    The English major’s cheerleader and champion

    Bestselling author Jennifer Egan taught an undergraduate literature course in the spring as an English Department artist in residence in the School of Arts & Sciences. A 1985 Penn graduate, she is a passionate advocate for the English major, the humanities, and a liberal arts education.
    Our favorite photos of the year
    color powder on student's face during holi festival

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    Our favorite photos of the year

    Penn Today’s iconic photos of the 2023-24 academic year highlight the beauty, achievements, innovation, and celebration in the Penn community.

    Penn Today Staff

    Fruitful insights on the brain
    Photograph of researcher, China Byrns, in front of monitor showing microscopy images of fly brain

    China Byrns used high-magnification confocal microscopy to visualize senescent glia (red) in Drosophila brains as part of a multidisciplinary approach to define the origin and effects of senescent cells in brain aging.

    (Image: Courtesy of Riya Anand)

    Fruitful insights on the brain

    Research led by China Byrns of the lab of Nancy M. Bonini in the School of Arts & Sciences have uncovered new details about the role of zombie-like cells in brain aging, using the fruit fly as a model.