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When curved materials flatten, simple geometry can predict the wrinkle patterns that emerge
A circular cutout with wrinkles forming in many patterns.

A circular cutout of a thin spherical cap carefully deposited onto a pool of water. The sheet forms a complex pattern of wrinkles to accommodate the change in geometry from a sphere to a plane. (Image: Monica Ripp, Paulsen Lab, Syracuse University)

When curved materials flatten, simple geometry can predict the wrinkle patterns that emerge

The findings—from a collaboration between Penn, Syracuse, and the University of Illinois Chicago—have a range of implications, from how materials interact with moisture to the way flexible electronics bend.

Michele W. Berger

A novel method for monitoring the ‘engine’ of pregnancy
fetus in the uterus showing connection to placenta

A novel method for monitoring the ‘engine’ of pregnancy

By combining optical measurements with ultrasound, researchers were able to study oxygen levels in the placenta, paving the way for a better understanding of this complex, crucial organ.

Erica K. Brockmeier , Katherine Unger Baillie

A new connection between topology and quantum entanglement
two figures, one showing a three dimensional polygon and another graph with four intersecting planes

A new connection between topology and quantum entanglement

The theoretical work led by physicist Charles Kane reveals an unexpected link between two major principles in physics that may inform future experimentation and an understanding of how to harness quantum information.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Inspired by nature, artificial microtubules can work against a current to transport tiny cargoes
graphic of microvascular networks showing how free-swimming microrobots disperse but a microcatheter propels robots against a flow to a target

W

hile free-swimming microrobots have been explored as a way to precisely deliver therapeutics within a blood vessel, they can disperse in the strong flows, failing to reach their target at high enough concentrations. In contrast, microrobots propelled along an artificial microtubule, developed by physicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues, can be transported precisely, even working against the current. (Image: Courtesy of Arnold Mathijssen/Nature Machine Intelligence)

Inspired by nature, artificial microtubules can work against a current to transport tiny cargoes

Technology developed by Arnold Mathijssen of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues could one day clear blockages in blood vessels or precisely target chemotherapy drugs to a tumor.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Music-making and the flow of aerosols
Person playing a tuba in a dark room with a green laser shedding light on water mist

Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, including Carol Jantsch, principal tuba player, took part in a study led by Penn scientists Paulo Arratia and Douglas Jerolmack. Their investigation examined the aerosols professional musicians generate as they play. (Image: Courtesy of Paulo Arratia)

Music-making and the flow of aerosols

If simply breathing can spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others nearby, what about blowing into a tuba? Researchers from the School of Engineering the School of Arts & Sciences used fluid mechanics to study the movement of aerosols generated by musicians.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The Higgs boson discovery, 10 years later
workers with hard hats stand next to the complex machinery of the Large Hadron Collider

The 25-meter-tall and 46-meter-long ATLAS detector, which identified the Higgs boson, is attached to the Large Hadron Collider. Lipeles and colleagues are moving into new research directions, including exploring how the Higgs might interact with dark matter. (Image: Yomiuri Shimbun/AP Images)

The Higgs boson discovery, 10 years later

Penn physicist Elliot Lipeles reflects on the past, present, and future of physics, from the discovery of the Higgs boson to theories about new subatomic particles.

Marilyn Perkins

How bacteria store information to kill viruses (but not themselves)
A microscope image of a group of phages
A group of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, imaged using transmission electron microscopy. New research sheds light on how bacteria fight off these invaders without triggering an autoimmune response. (Image: ZEISS Microscopy, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

How bacteria store information to kill viruses (but not themselves)

Researchers from the School of Arts & Sciences have discovered that the balance between fighting viruses and avoiding autoimmunity has a key role in shaping how bacteria “remember” old infections.

Luis Melecio-Zambrano

Researchers find topological phenomena at high technologically relevant frequencies
a close up of a needle etching stars into a blue membrane with a Z down the middle

Researchers find topological phenomena at high technologically relevant frequencies

A collaborative new study led by researchers in the School of Arts & Sciences demonstrates topological control capabilities in an acoustic system, with implications for applications such as 5G communications and quantum information processing.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Five Penn students are 2022 Goldwater Scholars
five students

Five undergraduates have received 2022 Goldwater Scholarships, awarded to sophomores or juniors planning research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. Penn’s newest Goldwater Scholars are (from left) juniors Joshua Chen, Allison Chou, Shriya Karam, Laila Barakat Norford, and Andrew Sontag.

Five Penn students are 2022 Goldwater Scholars

Five juniors have received 2022 Goldwater Scholarships to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. Penn's newest Goldwater Scholars are Joshua Chen, Allison Chou, Shriya Karam, Laila Barakat Norford, and Andrew Sontag.