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Science & Technology
Four Researchers From Penn Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Four researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies and a leading center for independent policy research. The new honorees are:
Two Penn Professors Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Charles Kane and Scott Poethig of the University of Pennsylvania have been elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, considered one of the highest honors that can be ac
Merging Engineering and Imagination, Four Penn Juniors Turn Dreams Into Reality
By Marjorie Ferrone
Scientists at Penn Characterize ‘Hot Spots and Hot Moments’ in America’s Tropics
The Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico are prone to extremes. Nearly all the rain for the year pours down in two drenching months. Lush, rolling forests give way to rocky, barren peaks. Even the soil is extreme, storing carbon differently than many other soil types, in highly localized iron minerals.
Penn Student Elected to Society of Women Engineers’ Board of Directors
Nicole Woon, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, has been elected to the board of directors of the Society of Women Engineers.
College of Liberal and Professional Studies Launches New Degree in Chemical Sciences
On April 1, the College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) at the University of Pennsylvania officially opened applications for its newest master’s degree: the Master of Chemical Sciences.
Computer Users Circumvent Password Security With Workarounds, Penn Led Study Shows
When workers and organizations circumvent computer passwords and security rules, they unwittingly open the door to hackers, according to a study co-authored by Ross Koppel, an adjunct professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Cosmologists at Penn Weigh Cosmic Filaments and Voids
Cosmologists have established that much of the stuff of the universe is made of dark matter, a mysterious, invisible substance that can’t be directly detected but which exerts a gravitational pull on surrounding objects.
The Motion of the Medium Matters for Self-assembling Particles, Penn Research Shows
By attaching short sequences of single-stranded DNA to nanoscale building blocks, researchers can design structures that can effectively build themselves. The building blocks that are meant to connect have complementary DNA sequences on their surfaces, ensuring only the correct pieces bind together as they jostle into one another while suspended in a test tube.
Penn Students Vie for Grand Prize in PennVention Competition
WHO: Alan Greenberger Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Director of Commerce City of Philadelphia Eight teams of student inventors
In the News
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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