11/15
Math
Empathy and cooperation go hand in hand
Empathy and cooperation go hand in hand
Taking a game theory approach to study cooperation, School of Arts and Sciences evolutionary biologists find that empathy can help cooperative behavior ‘win out’ over selfishness.
STEM legacies: Five researchers reflect on the women who inspire them
STEM legacies: Five researchers reflect on the women who inspire them
For Women’s History Month, Penn faculty share their perspectives on enterprising women in STEM who have been sources of inspiration in a field with a large gender imbalance.
‘A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations
‘A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations
Engineering professor Nader Engheta and his team have demonstrated a metamaterial device that can function as an analog computer, validating an earlier theory.
The math behind March Madness
The math behind March Madness
A Q&A with statistician Shane Jensen, who discusses the math behind sports team rankings, why March Madness has so many underdog victories, and how technology might change how analysts study sports teams in the future.
Bridge to Ph.D. program provides a way forward for greater access in STEM fields
Bridge to Ph.D. program provides a way forward for greater access in STEM fields
The pilot program in the Department of Mathematics enables students from underrepresented groups to become the next generation of enterprising mathematicians.
How technology is making education more accessible
How technology is making education more accessible
Text-to-speech technology, smart pens, and smart glasses are just some of the assistive technologies that the Office of Student Disabilities Services employ on campus to meet all students’ needs in their learning environments.
Two Penn faculty named 2019 Sloan Research Fellows
Two Penn faculty named 2019 Sloan Research Fellows
Jessica Anna and Davi Maximo of the School of Arts and Sciences are among the 126 recipients of this year’s Sloan Research Fellowships, which recognize early-career researchers and scholars in North America. Each will receive a two-year, $70,000 Fellowship for research.
Celebrating science
Celebrating science
Eight Penn faculty share their favorite general interest books about science.
Structures of the future
Structures of the future
The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, a research group based out of PennDesign, is showcasing an exhibit at the Pennovation Center that teases their work on designs with wide-reaching implications for construction.
Understanding the social dynamics that cause cooperation to thrive, or fail
Understanding the social dynamics that cause cooperation to thrive, or fail
Many examples of cooperation exist in nature, but it’s far from a universal characteristic of human or animal groups. Using a mathematical model, Erol Akçay showed that less randomly connected social networks make cooperation more likely, but those dynamics may ultimately lead to cooperation’s collapse.
In the News
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Penn to become first Ivy League to offer AI degree, looks to ‘train the leaders’ in emerging field
Penn is the first Ivy League university to offer a degree in artificial intelligence, with remarks from Robert Ghrist of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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The Conversation
A brief illustrated guide to ‘scissors congruence’—an ancient geometric idea that’s still fueling cutting-edge mathematical research
Ph.D. candidate Maxine Calle and Mona Merling of the School of Arts & Sciences explain the definition and history of the mathematical concept of “scissors congruence.”
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Quanta Magazine
The new math of wrinkling
Eleni Katifori of the School of Arts & Sciences is credited for her work simulating wrinkle patterns, which were crucial to an overall theory of geometric wrinkle prediction.
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New Scientist
Researchers have worked out the rules for how some things wrinkle
Eleni Katifori of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues used simulations of curving plastic pieces to predict the formation of wrinkling patterns.
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CBS Philadelphia
Mega Millions jackpot reaches $1.2 billion
Dennis Deturck of the School of Arts & Sciences estimates the odds of winning the lottery, contrasting it with increasingly more unlikely occurrences.
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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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