4/22
Science & Technology
Penn Robotic Soccer Team Reigns Supreme
The University of Pennsylvania’s robotic soccer team now has another world championship trophy to add to its collection.
Toyota-ITC Gift Will Support Penn Research on Automotive Electronic and Computer Systems
The University of Pennsylvania's PRECISE Center has received a substantial financial gift from the Toyota InfoTechnology Center. Toyota-ITC is interested in promoting the PRECISE Center's efforts on safety algorithms for self-driving cars, remote automotive diagnostics, resilient control of a
Penn Study: Understanding Graphene’s Electrical Properties on an Atomic Level
Graphene, a material that consists of a lattice of carbon atoms, one atom thick, is widely touted as being the most electrically conductive material ever studied. However, not all graphene is the same. With so few atoms comprising the entirety of the material, the arrangement of each one has an impact on its overall function.
Penn Vet’s Lisa Gretebeck Tackles Public Health Through Research and Outreach
By Madeleine Stone @themadstoneLisa Gretebeck always knew she wanted to be a veterinarian. Like many aspiring young vets, Gretebeck was first attracted to the career through her love for animals.
Penn’s Jordi Rivera Prince Uses Bones to Tell a Story of Human Evolution
It wasn’t until she was 18 years old that Jordi Rivera Prince, a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania, learned in depth about evolution.
Penn to Lead $22.5 Million Project on Restoring Memory Loss
A team of scientists and physicians at the University of Pennsylvania will lead a four-year effort worth as much as $22.5 million to develop next-generation technologies to restore memory function in people who suffer from memory loss due to disease or traumatic injury.
UTRC gift establishes robotics fellowship at University of Pennsylvania
United Technologies Research Center, the research and innovation arm of United Technologies Corp., has given $250,000 gift to the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science to establish a fellowship in robotics.
Penn Researchers: Consider the ‘Anticrystal’
For the last century, the concept of crystals has been a mainstay of solid-state physics. Crystals are paragons of order; crystalline materials are defined by the repeating patterns their constituent atoms and molecules make.
Goal of Breaking Down Barriers Leads Nancy Minyanou to Penn Abroad
Nancy Minyanou’s interest in Argentina was sparked in high school, and now this summer the rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania is fulfilling a vision for breaking down barriers and expanding her knowledge about the country in the Penn Summer Abroad program in Buenos Aires.
Penn Dental Medicine’s Dana Graves to Receive IADR’s Distinguished Scientist Award
Dana Graves of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine is this year’s recipient of the International Association of Dental Research’s Distingui
In the News
Associated Press
Here’s why experts don’t think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai’s downpour
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that many people blaming cloud seeding for Dubai storms are climate change deniers trying to divert attention from what’s really happening.
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Big Think
Can we stop AI hallucinations? And do we even want to?
Chris Callison-Burch of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that auto-regressive generation can make it difficult for language learning models to perform fact-based or symbolic reasoning.
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Salon.com
“Record-shattering” heat wave in Antarctica — yep, climate change is the culprit
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that persistent summer weather extremes like heat waves are becoming more common as people continue to warm the planet with carbon pollution.
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CNET
How the solar eclipse will affect solar panels and the grid
Benjamin Lee of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that the electrical grid will have to figure out how to match supply and demand during brief windows where the energy source goes away.
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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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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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