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Shujie Yang harnesses sound to build the next generation of microrobotic medicine
Shujie Yang

Shujie Yang is at the frontier of single-cell acoustic manipulation, an emerging field that blends physics, mechanobiology, and medicine.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering)

Shujie Yang harnesses sound to build the next generation of microrobotic medicine

Yang’s lab at Penn Engineering uses precisely-controlled ultrasound waves to develop microscale tools that can manipulate cells, viruses, and soft materials without physical contact.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

When bone behaves like a sponge
Three members of the Tertuliano lab looking at a computer in the lab.

To visualize the nanoscale structures, the Tertuliano lab often uses large-scale models like the one pictured.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

When bone behaves like a sponge

Penn Engineers in the Tertuliano Lab have developed a nanoengineered 3D-printed scaffold for observing how cells feel force.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold
High-speed images of raindrops rolling on a sandy slope, forming peanut-shaped sandballs (top) and donut-shaped sandballs with hollow centers (bottom).

High-speed laboratory images capture two distinct “sandball” shapes formed when raindrops strike dry, sloped sand and roll downhill. (Top) Peanut-shaped sandballs, where grains coat the surface of a liquid core. (Bottom) Donut-shaped sandballs, which densify into rigid, wheel-like structures with a hollow center, enabling far more efficient sediment transport than splash erosion alone.

(Image: Daisuke Noto)

Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold

Penn geophysicists and colleagues have uncovered Earth-sculpting processes that result from the formation of snowball-like aggregates they call “sandballs.” Their findings provide fundamental insights into erosion and will broaden scientific understandings of landscape change, soil loss, and agriculture.

3 min. read

Powering AI from space, at scale

Powering AI from space, at scale

A new design for solar-powered data centers reduces weight, power consumption, and overall complexity, making large-scale deployment more feasible.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Awards and accolades for Penn faculty
Ben Franklin statue in front of Penn’s College Hall.

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Awards and accolades for Penn faculty

A roundup of the latest appointments and awards for various faculty members in Penn Engineering, Penn Nursing, and Penn Dental Medicine.

2 min. read

Why are icy surfaces slippery?
An icy bench in a city.

Despite the commonality of water and ice, says Penn physicist Robert Carpick, their physical properties are remarkably unique.

(Image: mustafahacalaki via Getty Images)

Why are icy surfaces slippery?

Winter Storm Fern brought icy and snowy conditions to the Northeast and other parts of the country over the weekend. Penn Today asks physicist Robert Carpick about the unique properties of ice, the science of curling, and how close we are to ‘nonslip’ ice. 

5 min. read

A ‘Rosetta stone’ for molecular systems
Prashant Purohit (left) and Penn Engineering’s Celia Reina (right) in front of a whiteboard.

Penn Engineering’s Prashant Purohit (left) and Celia Reina.

(Image: Bella Ciervo)

A ‘Rosetta stone’ for molecular systems

Penn Engineering’s Prashant Purohit (left) and Celia Reina (right), in collaboration with recent doctoral graduate Travis Leadbetter, have spent years developing a mathematical “Rosetta stone” that can translate molecular movements into predictions of larger effects.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Two Penn faculty elected American Physical Society Fellows
Ritesh Agarwal and Doug Jerolmack.

Ritesh Agarwal (left), Srinivasa Ramanujan Distinguished Scholar in Materials Science and Engineering, and Douglas Jerolmack, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Professor of Earth and Environmental Science and professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics.

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Two Penn faculty elected American Physical Society Fellows

Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Douglas Jerolmack of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Engineering have been elected by their peers in recognition of their contributions to the field.

2 min. read

Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) doing hands-on experimental work in the Composto Lab.

Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) examine CoolSeal-treated asphalt bricks in the Composto Lab to better understand how this coating behaves in controlled environments.

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Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia

Third-year students Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research endeavor to evaluate a reflective pavement coating as a tool to mitigate extreme heat. Their work may inform policy efforts to improve urban heat resilience.

4 min. read