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Erica K. Brockmeier
Science News Officer
ekbrock@upenn.edu
Math
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.
Where math meets physics
Where math meets physics
Collaborations between physicists and mathematicians at Penn showcase the importance of research that crosses the traditional boundaries that separate fields of science.
Diving into code to illuminate the history of computing
Diving into code to illuminate the history of computing
Stephanie Dick delves deep into the practice of computer programming and design to shed light on different communities’ attempts to automate reason, knowledge, and proof.
Where math meets biology
Where math meets biology
Through his research, Yoichiro Mori, the Calabi-Simons Visiting Professor of Mathematics and Biology, demonstrates how mathematical theories can provide insights into complex, living systems.
Math, stereotypes, and social belonging
Math, stereotypes, and social belonging
Philip Gressman, professor of mathematics, discusses how stereotype threat can affect student performance in math, and how social belonging can curb it.
Q&A with mathematician Tony Pantev
Q&A with mathematician Tony Pantev
Penn Today interviewed the math department’s incoming chair to learn about his longtime passion for geometry and his hopes for the future of contemporary math research.
Mathematicians help train the next generation of positive thinkers
Mathematicians help train the next generation of positive thinkers
A trio of researchers paves the way for future progress in an up-and-coming field that unites geometry and number theory in powerful new ways.
Stories of Penn scientists: David Rittenhouse
Stories of Penn scientists: David Rittenhouse
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of his observations of the 1769 transit of Venus, a glimpse into the story of the man whose name became synonymous with astronomy and mathematics.
Media Contact
In the News
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.
FULL STORY →