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Math

Plato was right. Earth is made, on average, of cubes
Statue of Plato against blue sky

The ancient philosopher Plato conjectured that the universe was composed of particular geometric shapes; the earth, of cubes. Findings from a multidisciplinary research team found truth in Plato's belief. 

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Coronavirus models aren’t crystal balls. So what are they good for?
Microscopic coronavirus images superimposed over digital global map

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 Medicine

Penn’s pioneering mathematicians
side by side portraits of Dudley Weldon Woodard and William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Three Penn faculty named 2020 Sloan Research Fellows
liang feng, erica korb, and weijie su headshots

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Where math meets physics
a person standing in front of a chalkboard covered in equations

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Diving into code to illuminate the history of computing
Person poses, sitting on a staircase

Stephanie Dick’s work explores the history of science, philosophy, and mathematics. “I think my whole academic career has been triangulating between those three different fields in various ways,” she says.

 

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Where math meets biology
a person standing in a hallway lit with natural light

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Math, stereotypes, and social belonging
person looks perplexed holding a pencil staring into middle distancw with chalkboard behind them with math equations.

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.

Penn Today Staff