Through
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Physics
A physical model for forming patterns in pollen
A physical model for forming patterns in pollen
Physicists have developed a model that describes how patterns form on pollen spores, the first physically rigorous framework that details the thermodynamic processes that lead to complex biological architectures.
The physics of multitasking
The physics of multitasking
Penn physicists characterize the limits of multitasking in biological networks, paving the way for future applications in fields from biology to medicine.
Physics on display
Physics on display
Hundreds of regional junior high and high school students visited Penn’s campus in early January to beat the winter blues—and reds—by watching physics demonstrations about lights and waves.
Dark Energy Survey completes six-year mission
Dark Energy Survey completes six-year mission
A global research effort to map a portion of the sky in unprecedented detail is coming to an end, but the task of learning more about the expansion of the universe has only just begun.
The nanotopography of an atomic world
The nanotopography of an atomic world
Physicists offer insights into the structure of atomically thin materials using nanoscale images of 2D membranes.
Electric bond
Electric bond
Behind the discovery of a new class of electronic materials is a 20-year collaboration between two Penn physicists, winners of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
Celebrating science
Celebrating science
Eight Penn faculty share their favorite general interest books about science.
Cutting and folding toward innovations in medicine, design, and more
Cutting and folding toward innovations in medicine, design, and more
Artist-in-residence Mike Tanis and physicist Randall Kamien use kirigami, literally “cut paper,” to better grasp scientific concepts and to solve real-world challenges.
Up, up, and away
Up, up, and away
Mark Devlin and his team behind BLAST are about to embark on another scientific adventure in Antarctica, this time measuring how stars form in our galaxy.
Charles Kane and Eugene Mele to share Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Charles Kane and Eugene Mele to share Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
For introducing a new class of materials with unique and useful properties, known as topological insulators, physicists Charles Kane and Eugene Mele will receive the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. The award honors “fundamental discoveries…that are transforming our world.”
In the News
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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The Guardian
UK joins international effort to uncover first moments of the universe
In a statement for the Simons Observatory, Mark Devlin of the School of Arts & Sciences says that new telescopes and researchers from the UK will make a significant addition to their efforts to examine the origins of the universe.
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Physics World
Liquid crystals bring robotics to the microscale
In collaboration with the University of Ljubljana, Kathleen Stebe of the School of Engineering and Applied Science has built a swimming microrobot that paddles by rotating liquid crystal molecules.
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