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Postdocs

Leading the charge: new research unveils the future of energy-efficent power delivery
Digital illustration of lithium ions passing through two-dimensional channels within a crystal structure

The rapid movement of lithium ions along the 2D vertical channels in the T-Niobium oxide (T-Nb2O5) thin film results in unique property changes and a chase transition. The blue and purple polyhedra show T-Nb2O5 lattices, without and with lithium, respectively. The bright green spheres represent lithium ions.

(Image: Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics / Patricia Bondia)

Leading the charge: new research unveils the future of energy-efficent power delivery

Penn’s Andrew Rappe and collaborators explore high-quality thin films to propel power into the future.
A plant-based, oral delivery of insulin regulates blood sugar levels similar to natural insulin
Two trays, one with four filled capsules, the other with green powder that will fill empty capsule shells.

With Daniell’s plant-based drug production and delivery platform, plant tissue is bombarded with biomedically important proteins, such as insulin, prompting the plant chloroplasts to take up the genes and express that protein. Harvested leaves can be freeze-dried and encapsulated, providing an affordable, shelf-stable means of delivery.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Dental Medicine)

A plant-based, oral delivery of insulin regulates blood sugar levels similar to natural insulin

A new, affordable method of insulin delivery developed by Henry Daniell of the School of Dental Medicine lowers the risk of hypoglycemia when compared to current diabetes treatments.
On a different wavelength, Nader Engheta leads a community in light
nader engheta in his lab

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On a different wavelength, Nader Engheta leads a community in light

2023 Franklin Medal winner Engheta is one of the world’s biggest names in wave physics. The Penn Engineering professor is renowned for his unique approach to science, combining technical brilliance, creativity, and care.

Devorah Fischler

The evolution of societal cooperation
Graphic ilustration of people holding hands in a concentric circle formation.

Image: iStock/melitas

The evolution of societal cooperation

Research led by the School of Arts & Sciences’ Joshua Plotkin and Taylor Kessinger sheds light on the impact of social contexts and multilayered societies on promoting cooperative behavior.
Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself
Subway train passengers with protective masks crowding to get on and off subway station platform on Metro station.

Subway train passengers with protective masks on a station platform in Sofia, Bulgaria in June 2020.

(Image: iStock/JordanSimenov)

Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself

Researchers led by former postdoc Bryce Morsky and Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences have produced a model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how masking and social distancing are affected by social norms.
Beyond the pipette and the stethoscope, students explore biology’s societal impacts
lecture attendees pay attention to a speaker in an auditorium

Health equity was the focus of Stanford’s talk in the Levin building.

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Beyond the pipette and the stethoscope, students explore biology’s societal impacts

The new Biology and Society course, supported by SNF Paideia, gave biology majors the chance to explore how scientists must contend with subjects such as health equity and vaccine hesitancy.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Scholarship beyond the written word
Juan Castrillon speaking in a classroom

Homepage image: This semester, Castrillón is co-teaching Critical Qualitative Research and Intentional Torts with Regina Austin of Penn Carey Law and Alissa M. Jordan, director of Penn’s Center for Experimental Ethnography.

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Scholarship beyond the written word

Ethnomusicologist Juan Castrillón, the inaugural Gilbert Seldes Multimodal Postdoctoral Fellow at the Annenberg School for Communication, is on a quest to get other academics to see multimedia work as he does: on par with scholarly text.

Michele W. Berger , Julie Sloane