Science & Technology

Diving Deep for Alternative Energy

When Alison Sweeney, an assistant professor in the School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Physics and Astronomy, went scuba diving in Palau this summer, she wasn’t on vacation.

Evan Lerner

I-Corps Puts Penn Startups In Drive

It’s a crash course in business skills, Peter Gebhard says, while summing up his experience so far with Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, an accelerator program supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Lauren Hertzler

Penn’s THORwIn Takes Home Gold at RoboCup

The University of Pennsylvania’s robotic soccer team continues its international reign, winning the Robot Soccer World Cup’s AdultSize Humanoid League for the second year in a row.

Evan Lerner

Penn Researchers Discover New Chiral Property of Silicon, With Photonic Applications

By encoding information in photons via their spin, “photonic” computers could be orders of magnitude faster and efficient than their current-day counterparts. Likewise, encoding information in the spin of electrons, rather than just their quantity, could make “spintronic” computers with similar advantages.   

Evan Lerner



In the News


Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

Scientists struggle to explain ‘really weird’ spike in world temperatures

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that tendencies to exaggerate climate science in favor of “doomist” narratives helps no one except the fossil fuel industry.

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Vox.com

Spring is here very early. That’s not good

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that plant-flowering, tree-leafing, and egg-hatching are all markers associated with spring that are happening sooner.

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The New York Times

Can your personal medical devices be recycled?

A lab at the School of Engineering and Applied Science led the development of a COVID test made from bacterial cellulose, an organic compound.

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Tampa Bay Times

Could Florida electric bills go up because of a fuel made from manure?

Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that federal and California state subsidies have led to a gold rush of companies trying to get into the business of renewable natural gas around the country.

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The New York Times

Why don’t we just ban fossil fuels?

Joseph Romm of the School of Arts & Sciences says that stronger action against fossil fuels is essential to save the planet.

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CNBC

Students can soon major in AI at this Ivy League university—it’ll prepare them for ‘jobs that don’t yet exist’

The Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence at Penn will be the first AI undergraduate engineering major at an Ivy League school, led by George Pappas of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

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WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)

Pa. environmental, religious and other groups criticize Shapiro plan for ignoring climate change

A study by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design found that Pennsylvania would benefit overall from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

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The New York Times

We don’t have time for climate misinformation

In a co-written Op-Ed, Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that meaningful decarbonization in the U.S. is in jeopardy of being blocked or slowed if a significant portion of the electorate does not accept the basic scientific facts and implications of climate change.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

Penn to become first Ivy League to offer AI degree, looks to ‘train the leaders’ in emerging field

Penn is the first Ivy League university to offer a degree in artificial intelligence, with remarks from Robert Ghrist of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

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NPR

A famous climate scientist is in court, with big stakes for attacks on science

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences is suing a right-wing author and a policy analyst for defamation against the “hockey stick” climate change graph.

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