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A ‘vibrant nexus’ for research and discovery in the physical sciences
the exterior of the david rittenhouse laboratory

As part of a $750M investment in science, engineering, and medicine, Penn has committed to constructing a new Physical Sciences Building and updating the David Rittenhouse Laboratory.

A ‘vibrant nexus’ for research and discovery in the physical sciences

With the construction of a new Physical Sciences Building and updates to the David Rittenhouse Laboratory, Penn will create a modernized physical sciences quadrant that integrates state-of-the-art research in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Understanding optimal resource allocation in the brain
a black and white landscape of rocky mountains

A processed image representative of the types of images used in this study. Natural landscapes were transformed into binary images, ones made of black and white pixels, that were decomposed into different textures defined by specific statistics. (Image: Eugenio Piasini)

Understanding optimal resource allocation in the brain

A collaboration between experimentalists and theorists shows how the brain processes information about textures, paving the way for better understanding of sensory perception efficiency.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Before geoengineering, some fundamental chemistry
chemicals representing geoengineering float over a city skyline.

Before geoengineering, some fundamental chemistry

Research led by Joseph S. Francisco of the School of Arts & Sciences examines the chemistry of a proposal to curb climate change’s effects—creating a sunshade in the upper atmosphere made of sulfuric acid—and finds that there’s more work to do to successfully pull off such a feat.

Katherine Unger Baillie

A new model for how the brain perceives unique odors
a diagram of a simplified brain created with string and pins

A new study from the lab of Vijay Balasubramanian describes a statistical model for how the olfactory system discerns unique odors. This work provides a starting point for generating new hypotheses and conducting experiments that can help researchers better understand this complex, crucial area of the brain.

A new model for how the brain perceives unique odors

Using statistical physics and insights from biology, this research can help inform new hypotheses and experiments towards understanding the olfactory system, a complex and crucial pathway of the brain.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Reimagining scientific discovery through the lens of an artist
a headshot of Rebecca Kamen in front of an abstract painting

Reimagining scientific discovery through the lens of an artist

The latest exhibition by Rebecca Kamen, Penn artist-in-residence and visiting scholar, at the American University Katzen Art Center explores curiosity and the creative process across art and science.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Atomically-thin, twisted graphene has unique properties
a film of hexagons twisted into a spiral

New collaborative research describes how electrons move through two different configurations of bilayer graphene, the atomically-thin form of carbon. These results provide insights that researchers could use to design more powerful and secure quantum computing platforms in the future.

Atomically-thin, twisted graphene has unique properties

Researchers describe how electrons move through two-dimensional layered graphene, findings that could lead to advances in the design of future quantum computing platforms.

Erica K. Brockmeier

How schools of ‘microswimmers’ can increase their cargo capacity
a school of fish in a circle

Inspired by observations made at the Georgia Aquarium, a new study by Penn’s Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute found that when a school of microscopic, self-propelled droplets known as “microswimmers” moves in the same direction inside a narrow channel, they can increase the cargo capacity—the number of particles they can carry—by tenfold.

How schools of ‘microswimmers’ can increase their cargo capacity

Penn researchers describe how groups of microscopic, self-propelled droplets can transport more material through narrow channels using a process called collective hydrodynamic entrainment.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Decoding how the brain accurately depicts ever-changing visual landscapes
people walking across an intersection

A collaborative study that employs a combination of sophisticated algorithms and models developed by post-doctoral researcher Eugenio Piasini and professor Vijay Balasubramanian details the time scales of visual information processing across different regions of the brain. The researchers found that deeper regions of the brain encode visual information more slowly, providing a mechanism for identifying fast-moving objects and images more accurately and persistently.

Decoding how the brain accurately depicts ever-changing visual landscapes

A collaborative study finds that deeper regions of the brain encode visual information more slowly, enabling the brain to identify fast-moving objects and images more accurately and persistently.

Erica K. Brockmeier

On the hunt for new exoplanets
the NEID spectrometer inside of a telescope dome

The NEID fiber feed mounted on the WIYN telescope obtained during commissioning of the instrument. This state-of-the-art spectrometer has officially started its scientific mission of discovering new exoplanets. (Image: NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory/KPNO/NSF/AURA)

On the hunt for new exoplanets

A state-of-the-art instrument called NEID, from the Tohono O’odham word meaning “to see,” has officially started its scientific mission: discovering new planets outside of the solar system.

Erica K. Brockmeier