Math | Penn Today

A teacher pointing ot a whiteboard in a high school classroom.

Penn GSE launches Algebra 1 fellowship to strengthen math teaching in Philadelphia schools

With funding from the Neubauer Family Foundation, the program’s creation is in direct response to the School District of Philadelphia’s call for targeted support in Algebra 1 instruction.

2 min. read

Hand holding a blood vial that reads "complement (C3 + C4)"

Decoding ancient immunity networks

A collaborative team from Penn Medicine and Penn Engineering have unraveled the mathematics of a 500-million-year-old protein network that “decides” which foreign materials are friend or foe.

5 min. read

Peter Lax, pre-eminent Cold War mathematician, dies at 99

Brit Shields of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authors an obituary of noted mathematician Peter Lax.

The soul of an artist, the mind of a mathematician

An artist, author, engineer, mathematician, and mentor, PIK Professor in the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science Robert Ghrist embraces innovation to enrich each of these roles.

8 min. read

The 9 unsolved mysteries mathematicians can’t stop thinking about

Mona Merling of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses the Kummer-Vandiver conjecture in number theory, an unsolved math problem that concerns divisibility of class numbers.

A young student writing a math equation on a white board.

Nurturing a love for math

A new book by Penn mathematics professor Robin Pemantle and longtime math teacher Henri Picciotto offers middle and high school educators actionable materials and invites reflection and connection across disciplines.

The universities already offering AI degrees, from Penn to Carnegie Mellon

In February, Penn became the first Ivy League school to announce an undergraduate degree in AI, featuring remarks from Robert Ghrist of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Who, What, Why

Who, What, Why: Hiro Chiba-Okabe on law and applied math

Chiba-Okabe explains his transition from practicing law in Japan to pursuing a Ph.D. in applied math and computational science and how those interests intersect.

Aerial view of people connected by lines.

A method of ‘look twice, forgive once’ can sustain social cooperation

Using mathematical modeling, researchers from Penn and Princeton found a way to maintain cooperation without relying on complex norms or institutions.

An elementary school student doing math on a white board.

Celebrating Penn GSE’s pilot elementary math tutoring elective

The academically based community service elective is supported by Penn’s Netter Center, with the aim to redefine traditional tutoring by designing its curriculum and approach.

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