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Physics

A squid’s eye view

A squid’s eye view

Alison Sweeney of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed the complex structure of squids’ eyes, which have special lenses that allow for crisp vision in dark water. “The resolution of their eyes is approaching that of humans, their retinas are much more sensitive than ours are to light, and if you dig into the nitty-gritty of how nature figured it out, I’m forever blown away at the level of nuance to get it to work.”

A conversation with Vijay Balasubramanian

In the latest episode of Penn Today’s ‘Office Hours’ podcast series, a casual chat with Professor of Physics Vijay Balasubramanian.
Vijay Balasubramanian sitting next to BioPond
Vijay Balasubramanian, professor of physics, at the BioPond on Penn’s campus.
Five events to watch for in June
Woman hanging from purple tapestry A performer from Tangle Movement Arts during the 2018 Firefly Night at The Woodlands. (Photo by: Michael Ermilio)

Five events to watch for in June

The summer months around campus kick off with West Philadelphia Porchfest, arts performances at The Woodlands, and Penn Museum’s latest CultureFEST.
Stories of Penn scientists: David Rittenhouse
David Rittenhouse

Stories of Penn scientists: David Rittenhouse

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of his observations of the 1769 transit of Venus, a glimpse into the story of the man whose name became synonymous with astronomy and mathematics.

Erica K. Brockmeier

The next generation of optical communication with nanophotonics
a person adjusting a lens on an optics table

First-year graduate student Valerie Yoshioka collects optical measurements of atomically-thin materials in the Zhen laboratory. 

The next generation of optical communication with nanophotonics

Research from the lab of Bo Zhen is pushing the boundaries of optics by using fundamental physics to address many of the real-world challenges faced by engineers.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Two Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
portraits of eugene mele and nancy speck

Eugene Mele and Nancy Speck are among the 100 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences. 

Two Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Eugene Mele of the School of Arts and Sciences and Nancy Speck of the Perelman School of Medicine are welcomed into the Academy for their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”

Erica K. Brockmeier , Karen Kreeger

Four Penn undergraduates receive Goldwater Scholarships
Sophomore Chloe Cho and juniors Lauren Duhamel, Srinivas Mandyam and Abigail Poteshman.

Four Penn undergraduates have received a Goldwater Scholarship. Clockwise from top left, sophomore Chloe Cho and junior Lauren Duhamel in the School of Engineering and Applied Science; and juniors Srinivas Mandyam and Abigail Poteshman in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Four Penn undergraduates receive Goldwater Scholarships

Four Penn undergraduates have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. Sophomore Chloe Cho and juniors Lauren Duhamel, Srinivas Mandyam and Abigail Poteshman.
Making sense of string theory
a pile of colorful abstract strings

Making sense of string theory

A Q&A with theoretical physicists Mirjam Cvetic and Ling Lin about what string theory is and how their recent discovery of a “quadrillion solutions” might change the course of the field.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Philadelphia: The new city of science
a large group of people in front of the Franklin Institute building with a science demonstration (with smoke and the aftermath of an explosion that caused colored balls to fly into the air) in the foreground

The Philadelphia Science Festival, happening from April 26th until May 4th, brings together hundreds of institutions from the Greater Philadelphia area and culminates in the grand finale Science Carnival along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (Photo credit: Philadelphia Science Festival). 

Philadelphia: The new city of science

Penn researchers will be involved in a weeklong series of interactive activities and events across the city as part of the Philadelphia Science Festival.

Erica K. Brockmeier