11/15
Research
Balancing ballet and summer learning
Third-year student Ayesha Patel conducted research and a financial analysis during a summer internship at BalletX, a contemporary ballet company in Philadelphia.
SCALAR: A microchip designed to transform the production of mRNA therapeutics and vaccines
Researchers have developed a platform that could rapidly accelerate the development of mRNA-based lipid nanoparticle vaccines and therapeutics at both the small and largescale, SCALAR.
Who, What, Why: Jimil Ataman on the politics and contradictions of slow fashion
The anthropology Ph.D. candidate discusses what she has learned following slow fashion creators and consumers on Instagram and in the Pacific Northwest.
Closing the carbon cycle with green propane production
Researchers from Penn have helped develop a new carbon-capture solution for a cleaner, more energy-dense fuel source.
A question of neutrality: Switzerland’s role in 19th-century imperialism
History undergraduate Sophie Mwaisela traveled to Geneva this summer to conduct research for her honors thesis.
How has Netflix changed in Mexico over the past decade?
Undergraduates Miraya Gesheva and Teia Hudson spent the summer working with Juan Llamas-Rodriguez to look at how streaming in Mexico has changed during the past 10 years.
Who, What, Why: Betsy Stade on novel methods for assessing anxiety and depression
The clinical psychology Ph.D. candidate discusses her research on language patterns in anxiety and depression and thinking about alternatives to the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.”
Long-awaited accolades for mRNA scientists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman’s key mRNA discoveries more than 15 years earlier made COVID vaccines possible. Now the global public has opportunities to honor them.
How machine learning could aid compatibility in kidney transplantation
Through the PURM internship program, undergraduate students are further researching an algorithm developed to group kidney donor-recipient pairs into low-risk and high-risk groups for graft survival.
Operatic notes: One student’s research on opera in society
Rising second-year Thomas Sharrock attended seven operas this summer at the Royal Opera House in London, studying audience perceptions of opera in the United Kingdom.
In the News
The hidden risk factor investors may be missing in stocks, bonds, and options
A study by Nikolai Roussanov of the Wharton School and colleagues finds that stocks, bonds, and options strategies could have more correlated risk than is evident on the surface.
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Why the return to office workforce is coming back less diverse
A study by the Wharton School found that changing job openings to remote work at startups increased female applicants by 15% and minority applicants by 33%.
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The more students miss class, the worse teachers feel about their jobs
A study co-authored by Michael Gottfried of the Graduate School of Education finds that teacher satisfaction steadily drops as student absenteeism increases.
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Diversity will suffer with five-day office mandates, research suggests
A 2024 Wharton School study found that changing job openings to remote work at startups increased female applicants by 15% and minority applicants by 33%.
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Superhuman vision lets robots see through walls, smoke with new LiDAR-like eyes
Mingmin Zhao of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues are using radio signals to allow robots to “see” beyond traditional sensor limits.
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Rising student absenteeism may be hurting teacher job satisfaction
A study by Michael Gottfried and Ph.D. student Colby Woods of the Graduate School of Education finds that student absences are linked to lower teacher job satisfaction, which could exacerbate growing teacher shortages.
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