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A physical model for forming patterns in pollen
Pollen structure types illustration

Four sets of pollen grains (from top left to bottom right: Alisma lanceolatum, Galium wirtgenii, Gaillardia aristata, Gomphrena globosa), showing the scanning electron microscopy image alongside the simulation of the physical model for the same geometry (Image credit: PalDat.org (SEM image) and Asja Radja (simulation)).

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.

Erica K. Brockmeier, Erica K. Brockmeier

Up, up, and away
BLAST telescope with Mark Devlin and students

As the project manager of the $100 million Simons Observatory project, Devlin (center) is working to keep the numerous and disparate components of the project from falling behind due to pandemic-related shutdowns while recognizing that some delays and disruptions will be inevitable. His advice is to not “sweat the small stuff.” (Pre-pandemic image)

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.

Lauren Hertzler

How do individual decisions affect group decisions?
Colin Twomey in labratory

Colin Twomey studies how groups, both human and animal, make collective decisions. His research covers a variety of topics, including fish behavior and human color perception.

How do individual decisions affect group decisions?

Postdoctoral fellow Colin Twomey looks to fish behavior to explore the dynamic between individual and group decision-making.

Jacob Williamson-Rea

Extreme weather won’t sway climate skeptics
figure in rainstorm with back turned wearing a yellow raincoat and boots surrounded by flooding

Extreme weather won’t sway climate skeptics

Experiencing extreme weather is not enough to convince climate change skeptics that humans are damaging the environment, according to a new study based on research at the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Penn Today Staff

Becoming a mother reduces a woman’s earning potential by up to 10 percent per child
Florian stands in front of tree with autumn leaves

Florian explains that though maternity leave doesn't last long, it has a long-lasting and unfair impact on mothers' careers.

  • Q&A

    • Becoming a mother reduces a woman’s earning potential by up to 10 percent per child

    In a Q&A, Sandra Florian, a postdoctoral fellow in sociology and the Population Studies Center, discusses motherhood’s short- and long-term effects on a woman’s career.

    Jacob Williamson-Rea

    Stains Alive
    Penn Libraries Fellow Erin Connelly is part of the Stains Alive research project.

    Penn Libraries fellow Erin Connelly (left) and colleague Alberto Campagnolo, of the Library of Congress, prepare a medieval manuscript for multispectral imaging at Penn as part of a national research project to analyze stains. (Photo by Eric Sucar)

     

    Stains Alive

    For Libraries fellow Erin Connelly, stains are some of the most exciting discoveries in her study of medieval manuscripts. She is part of a national team analyzing stains in medieval texts using modern multispectral imaging. An exhibition at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library displays the researchers’ discoveries.
    Sharing space to support ‘better science’
    Computational Neuroscience Initiative

    Sharing space to support ‘better science’

    Across disciplines, Penn researchers in the Computational Neuroscience Initiative put their heads together to better understand the brain.

    Ali Sundermier

    Hormones flatten social hierarchy and synchronize behaviors
    Penn Integrates Knowledge professor Michael Platt

    Penn Integrates Knowledge professor Michael Platt

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    Hormones flatten social hierarchy and synchronize behaviors

    Findings from a study of male rhesus macaques from PIK professor Michael Platt and postdoc Yaoguang Jiang could lead to treatment options for social impairments in disorders like autism and schizophrenia.

    Michele W. Berger

    When ancient technology and high-tech robots intersect
    Stone Tool in Harold Dibble's Hand

    Harold Dibble and his team research how humans might have made stone tools and flakes, from as far back as 2 million years ago to as recently as 10,000 years ago. 

    When ancient technology and high-tech robots intersect

    In one Penn lab, a stone-sculpting machine is helping archaeologists solve long-held mysteries of very old tools.

    Michele W. Berger

    Crowd-sourced map showcases campus accessibility in real time
    Mark Bookman and Alice McGrath are the co-leads on a new map accessibility project.

    Mark Bookman and Alice McGrath are spearheading the new accessibility mapping of the Penn campus.

    Crowd-sourced map showcases campus accessibility in real time

    Mark Bookman and Alice McGrath are on a quest to map physical and social barriers across campus. The goal is a crowd-sourced platform that automatically updates to present a real-time user accessibility resource.

    Michele W. Berger