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Erica K. Brockmeier
Science News Officer
ekbrock@upenn.edu
Math
Understanding the pandemic classroom
Understanding the pandemic classroom
Penn professors join the “Understand This ...” podcast to talk about the fall 2021 return to the classroom, reflecting on what students and educators have experienced during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, while examining lessons from remote learning.
Two Churchill Scholars for Penn
Two Churchill Scholars for Penn
Adam Konkol and Abigail Timmel have each been awarded Churchill Scholarships for a year of graduate research study at the University of Cambridge in England. Konkol and Timmel are among only 16 who were selected nationwide.
The impact of providing hands-on, interactive projects
The impact of providing hands-on, interactive projects
With inventXYZ, President’s Innovation Prize winner Nikil Ragav has created a high-tech curriculum for high school to motivate future problem-solvers.
Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows
Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows
The fellowship recognizes extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of scientific leaders.
Penn Engineering and Steppingstone Scholars launch a STEM equity and innovation lab
Penn Engineering and Steppingstone Scholars launch a STEM equity and innovation lab
Penn Engineering and Steppingstone will begin developing a new blended AP Computer Science course for the fall 2021 semester, in which engineering students will create online content modules to supplement high school classroom instruction.
Graduate mentors provide undergrads with ‘any path to math’
Graduate mentors provide undergrads with ‘any path to math’
The Directed Reading Program pairs undergraduates with graduate student mentors for advanced learning.
Plato was right. Earth is made, on average, of cubes
Plato was right. Earth is made, on average, of cubes
The ancient Greek philosopher was on to something, the School of Arts & Sciences’ Douglas Jerolmack and colleagues found.
Coronavirus models aren’t crystal balls. So what are they good for?
Coronavirus models aren’t crystal balls. So what are they good for?
Epidemiologists and data scientists have been gathering data, making calculations, and creating mathematical models to answer critical questions about COVID-19, but math cannot account for the unpredictability of human behavior.
Penn’s pioneering mathematicians
Penn’s pioneering mathematicians
Two of the first African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, Dudley Weldon Woodard and William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor worked on fundamental problems in the field of topology and supported graduate-level math education for minority students.
Three Penn faculty named 2020 Sloan Research Fellows
Three Penn faculty named 2020 Sloan Research Fellows
Engineer Liang Feng, neuroscientist Erica Korb, and statistician Weijie Su each received the competitive and prestigious award honoring early-career researchers.
Media Contact
In the News
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians prove 2D version of quantum gravity really works
Xin Sun of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about new research at the intersection of physics, philosophy, and math. “This is a masterpiece in mathematical physics,” he said.
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Quanta Magazine
How mathematicians use homology to make sense of topology
Robert Ghrist of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about homology, which uses algebra to identify holes in a particular topological shape. “There’s a real impetus to have methods that are robust and that are pulling out qualitative features,” he said.
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Wired
Why are lines at polling places so long? Math
Stephen Pettigrew of the School of Arts & Sciences explained why the voting process can take longer than expected. “The steps in the system in most states are: You have a check-in step where they verify your voter registration status, and then there’s the step of actually voting. Lines out the door can be a consequence of bottlenecks at any of those steps,” he said.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education
What COVID-19 computer models are telling colleges about the fall
Philip Gressman of the School of Arts & Sciences co-authored research that modeled how a large university might experience the effects of COVID-19 on campus.
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The New York Times
A bitter election. Accusations of fraud. And now second thoughts
The School of Arts & Sciences’ Dorothy Kronick and doctoral student Nicolás Idrobo helped conduct a statistical analysis of Bolivia’s contested election results.
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