11/15
Physics
Researchers create better light-trapping devices
Researchers create better light-trapping devices
A new study shows how the performance of optical resonators can be improved using topological physics, which can lead to more efficient lasers, sensors, and telecommunication devices.
Bringing ideas to life through experimental physics
Bringing ideas to life through experimental physics
Researchers in the lab of Liang Wu are generating data to gain a better understanding of the properties of quantum materials. Their fundamental research can lead to applications ranging from better optoelectronic devices to quantum computers.
By the Numbers: Dark matter
By the Numbers: Dark matter
Key facts and figures about the unseen matter that remains one of cosmology’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
Summer aerospace research at the Jet Propulsion Lab
Summer aerospace research at the Jet Propulsion Lab
Senior Alex Ulin from Los Angeles spent the past two summers working at a NASA-contracted field center, and is now aiming for a career leading teams of aerospace scientists and engineers.
Physicists look to navigational ‘rhumb lines’ to study polymer’s unique spindle structure
Physicists look to navigational ‘rhumb lines’ to study polymer’s unique spindle structure
Researchers show how polymer spheres contract to form unique spiral structures known as loxodromes, or rhumb lines, creating patterns that are ten times smaller than the width of a human hair.
From the classroom to the lab and back again
From the classroom to the lab and back again
Senior Adithya Sriram is busy earning two degrees, researching new applications for graphene, and preparing physics courses for students in West Philadelphia.
A ‘quantum leap’ for quantum information science
A ‘quantum leap’ for quantum information science
By bringing together experts across campus and across disciplines, Penn is poised to lead ongoing efforts towards developing quantum applications using atomically-thin materials.
Can neutrinos help explain what’s the matter with antimatter?
Can neutrinos help explain what’s the matter with antimatter?
Results of a new study will help physicists establish a cutting-edge neutrino research facility to study some of the most abundant yet least understood particles in the universe.
Researchers discover new topological phases in a class of optical materials
Researchers discover new topological phases in a class of optical materials
These unique topological phases, which imbue materials with new properties, provide a pathway for future optical-electronic applications such as telecommunications devices and quantum computers.
In search of signals from the early universe
In search of signals from the early universe
Penn astronomers are part of an international collaboration to construct the Simons Observatory, a new telescope that will search the skies in a quest to learn more about the formation of the universe.
In the News
The Scientist
Artificial chromosomes for disease modeling
A study by Ben Black of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues used a new technique for synthesizing chromosomes to introduce panels of genes into disease models, facilitating drug testing.
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The New York Times
Harrison White, groundbreaking (and inscrutable) sociologist, dies at 94
Randall Collins of the School of Arts & Sciences and PIK Professor Duncan J. Watts discuss the career of the late Harrison White, a theoretical physicist-turned-sociologist.
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Live Science
Scientists propose ‘missing’ law for the evolution of everything in the universe
Stuart Kauffman of the Perelman School of Medicine comments on a study that proposed a missing scientific law identifying “universal concepts of selection” that drive evolution.
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The Wall Street Journal
Russia aims to restore prestige in race to moon’s south pole
Benjamin L. Schmitt of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Weitzman School of Design says that sentiment in the scientific and astronaut communities has begun to shift toward a future in which NASA and Roscosmos are no longer close partners.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Nine women who changed science are featured in a new Philly exhibit
A new exhibit at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia celebrates the late Mildred Cohn, a biochemist at the Perelman School of Medicine who fought to reduce discrimination in academia.
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Inc.
Neuroscience explains why Bill Gates’ weird reading trick is so effective
A study by Penn researchers working in physics, neuroscience, and bioengineering found that people instinctively seek patterns and similarities in the data they absorb.
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