Through
11/26
Science & Technology
Ancient Mass Extinction Led to Dominance of Tiny Fish, Penn Paleontologist Shows
When times are good, it pays to be the big fish in the sea; in the aftermath of disaster, however, smaller is better.
Penn Collaborating in NSF’s Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub
The University of Pennsylvania is taking part in the newly established National Science Foundation Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub.
Penn Team Shares in 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Collaboration, which includes physicists from the University of Pennsylvania, shared the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
Penn Research Contributes New Understanding of the ‘Dewetting’ Process
When a material, typically a liquid, is confined by surfaces that it doesn't like, the material can be expelled from the confining region in a process called “dewetting.”
Penn, Notre Dame Researchers Mapping Genetic History of the Caribbean
In the island chain called the Lesser Antilles, stretching from the Virgin Islands south to Trinidad and Tobago, a team of researchers lead by Theodore Schurr, an anthropology professor in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences, is so
Penn’s GRASP Lab Receives $5.5 Million for ‘Fast, Light and Autonomous’ Flying Robots
The University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Laboratory has received a three-year, $5.5 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency to create new flying robots that are able to quickly and autonomously navigate unknown environments.
Penn-led Research Elucidates Genetics Behind Salmonella’s Host Specificity
It’s called bird flu for a reason. Particular characteristics about the influenza virus known as H5N1 allow it to primarily affect avifauna, though in some worrying cases the disease has been passed to humans.
Penn Undergraduate Takes Time Out to Hike the Appalachian Trail
By Claire Daly Harry Glicklich first set foot on the Appalachian Trail at summer camp almost 10 years ago. Although he only hiked a small section, the trip has been in the back of his mind ever since.
Penn Study Blocks Ebola Virus Budding by Regulating Calcium Signaling
The Ebola virus acts fast. The course of infection, from exposure to recovery, or death, can take as little as two weeks. That may not leave enough time for the immune system to mount an effective response.
In the News
Scientific American
Grumpy voters want better stories. Not statistics
In a Q&A, PIK Professor Duncan Watts says that U.S. voters ignored Democratic policy in favor of Republican storytelling.
FULL STORY →
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Climate policy under a second Trump presidency
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses how much a president can do or undo when it comes to environmental policy.
FULL STORY →
Interesting Engineering
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.
FULL STORY →
Technical.ly Philly
A sneak peek inside Penn Engineering’s new $137.5M mass timber building
Amy Gutmann Hall aims to be Philadelphia’s next big hub for AI and innovation while setting a new standard for architectural sustainability.
FULL STORY →
Salon.com
Exxon CEO wants Trump to stay in Paris climate accord
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences voices his concern about the possibility that the U.S. could become a petrostate.
FULL STORY →
Associated Press
Amid Earth’s heat records, scientists report another bump upward in annual carbon emissions
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that total carbon emissions including fossil fuel pollution and land use changes such as deforestation are basically flat because land emissions are declining.
FULL STORY →
The Wall Street Journal
How can we remove carbon from the air? Here are a few ideas
Jennifer Wilcox of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the carbon-removal potential of forestation can’t always be reliably measured in terms of how much removal and for how long.
FULL STORY →
Associated Press
California air regulators approve changes to climate program that could raise gas prices
Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that many things being credited in California’s new climate program don’t help the climate.
FULL STORY →
Times of India
Self shocks turn crystal to glass at ultralow power density: Study
A collaborative study by researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science has shed new light on amorphization, the transition from a crystalline to a glassy state at the nanoscale.
FULL STORY →
Interesting Engineering
U.S. achieves billion-fold power-saving semiconductor tech; could challenge China
A collaborative effort by Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues has made phase-change memory more energy efficient and could unlock a future revolution in data storage.
FULL STORY →