Materials Science | Penn Today

A Penn engineering student holds up an array of different structures made with a new, 3D-printed material

New 3D-printing enables color-changing, stress-responsive materials for smart sensing, displays, and robotics

Penn engineers have developed a transparent silicone shell to preserve cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers—color-changing materials that can respond to mechanical stress—while supporting intricate 3D designs.

2 min. read

Tianwei Wu (left) and Liang Feng (right) demonstrating some of the apparatus used to develop the new, light-powered chip.

Penn engineers first to train AI at lightspeed

Penn engineers have developed the first photonic chip that reshapes how light behaves to carry out the nonlinear mathematics at the heart of modern AI while reducing energy use.

2 min. read

A jar of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud sits on a table beside a muddy, dirty baseball.

Baseball’s ‘magic mud’

Douglas Jerolmack and Paulo Arratia led research that could someday crack the code of the mud smeared on baseballs for nearly a century that pitchers profess provides a perfect grip.

3 min. read

Allyson Mackey, Melissa Kelly, Ping Wang, and Vanessa Chan speaking to audience.

Modeling careers in STEM

At Penn’s annual Women in STEM Symposium, Vanessa Chan, Allyson Mackey, Ping Wang, and Melissa Kelly shared lessons from their experiences.

3 min. read

3D rendering of artist's interpretation of quantum entanglement.

Quantum communications

Penn and CUNY researchers collaborated to develop a device that uses quantum principles to relay information securely—an advance that could improve encryption in critical service areas like banking and health care.

Some of the equipment used by the Feng Group for transmitting light.

Revolutionizing data centers: Penn Engineers’ breakthrough in photonic switching

Researchers have developed a photonic switch that can redirect signals in trillionths of a second with minimal power consumption.

Ritesh Agarwal looks through a microscope in his lab.

Breakthrough in energy-saving process could transform data storage

Researchers led by Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science have discovered a groundbreaking, ultra-low-energy method for creating amorphous materials, which could boost the efficiency of phase-change memory technology, potentially revolutionizing data storage.

Self shocks turn crystal to glass at ultralow power density: Study

A collaborative study by researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science has shed new light on amorphization, the transition from a crystalline to a glassy state at the nanoscale.

U.S. achieves billion-fold power-saving semiconductor tech; could challenge China

A collaborative effort by Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues has made phase-change memory more energy efficient and could unlock a future revolution in data storage.

Electric cars in lines with batteries exposed.

Extending battery lifespan and capacity through self-healing materials

Eric Detsi, associate professor in materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, has developed batteries that heal from the damage sustained by charging, extending their lifespan.

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