4/16
Innovation
Pennovation Accelerator moves online
In its third summer, the six-week program for startup companies went entirely virtual, but that didn’t stop the cohort of entrepreneurs from learning, networking, and innovating.
Engineering’s Firooz Aflatouni’s electronic-photonic innovations
Firooz Aflatouni has built his career on designing clever combinations of electronic and photonic technology with applications from laser-based 3D imaging, to microwave “cameras.”
A year of growth
Penn Today reflects on the 2019-2020 academic year with its new Year in Review video.
Additional challenges in bringing research online
As research on campus slowly restarts, those whose work requires field surveys, large-scale collaborations, or travel face additional challenges in bringing their research back online.
Nikil Ragav wants to bring high-tech, hands-on learning to all students
The President’s Innovation Prize winner wants to bring high-tech, hands-on learning to students of all backgrounds across the country with inventXYZ.
New scavenger technology allows robots to ‘eat’ metal for energy
Penn Engineering researchers’ new metal-air scavenger vehicle gets energy from breaking chemical bonds in the aluminum surface it travels over, rather than from batteries.
Rapid response to COVID-19 puts the power of innovation to the test
With a critical need for equipment that can help protect frontline healthcare workers, the Penn community has come together to help fabricate 20,000 face shields by mid- to late-April.
DIY origami face masks for COVID-19
The professor of materials science and engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering is leading an effort to design an effective face mask that can be made at home.
Scrap metal-powered lights win Y-Prize 2020
The winning team of this year’s Y-Prize, an invention competition in which entrants are challenged to pitch an innovative business plan for a technology developed at Penn Engineering, Metal Light, proposes technology to provide illumination for houses not connected to electrical grids.
Designs for what the future can be
The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Designs for Different Futures” exhibition includes contributions and installations from several Penn faculty and alumni who seek to answer questions about what the not-so-distant future may look like.
In the News
Bridging Blocks has Philadelphians focused on dispelling myths around immigration
Exequiel Hernandez of the Wharton School says that immigrants are net positive contributors to everything that makes a community prosperous.
FULL STORY →
Business schools are now encouraging students to use AI as they race to prepare them for a new job market
Ethan Mollick of the Wharton School is teaching his students to use and understand the capabilities of generative AI.
FULL STORY →
Retailers take on Amazon Prime with new subscription services
Raghu Iyengar of the Wharton School says that the average American has 12 subscriptions, which doesn’t leave much room for additional retail subscriptions.
FULL STORY →
Five questions for Ethan Mollick
Ethan Mollick of the Wharton School discusses the unpredictability of the current AI development ecosystem, why AI’s “apocalyptic” capabilities are overrated, and the need for government to set clear regulatory guidelines around AI.
FULL STORY →
These six questions will dictate the future of generative AI
A study by Ethan Mollick of the Wharton School found that consultants using ChatGPT-4 outperformed those who did not.
FULL STORY →
This Penn resident is behind an AI app aiming to reduce physician burnout
Penn Medicine resident Nikhil Illa is featured as the cofounder of Pocket Scribe, maker of a cloud-based app that assists physicians by using artificial intelligence to transcribe and sort dictated notes. The app won the Best Pitch Award at Pennovation’s annual accelerator pitch day.
FULL STORY →