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Science & Technology
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to Speak at Penn
WHO: Steven Chu Nobel Prize-winning physicist and the U.S. secretary of energy
Penn Team Wins Entrepreneurial Innovation Award
PHILADELPHIA — The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected a University of Pennsylvania team as a member of its inaugural class of NSF Innovation Corps awards. The I-Corps Awards recognize research that has the potential for commercial applications and connects scientists to entrepreneurial resources.
Penn Physicists’ New Manufacturing Technique Means Higher Quality Nanotube Devices
PHILADELPHIA -- Major advances in materials science and nanotechnology promise to revolutionize electronic devices with unprecedented strength and conductivity, but those promises can’t be fulfilled if the devices can’t be consistently manufactured.
Penn Researcher Helps Identify 'Superfast' Muscles Responsible for Bat Echolocation
PHILADELPHIA – As nocturnal animals, bats rely echolocation to navigate and hunt prey. By bouncing sound waves off objects, including the bugs that are their main diet, bats can produce an accurate representation of their environment in total darkness.
Penn Researchers Develop New Technique for Filling Gaps in Fossil Record
PHILADELPHIA — University of Pennsylvania evolutionary biologists have resolved a long-standing paleontological problem by reconciling the fossil record of species diversity with modern DNA samples.
Student Spotlight with Kevin Conley
WHIZ KID: A self-proclaimed computer hacker, Kevin Conley, 21, a senior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, has developed a social networking application called SMSPersonFinder
Penn Research Team Hosts Interactive Exhibit on Climate Change and Urban Space for “Parking Day”
WHO: University of Pennsylvania faculty, graduate and undergraduate members of Partnerships for International Research and Education Mongolia and School of Arts and Sciences staffWHAT: Scientists transform a parking space into an interactive exhibit on Mongolian climate change research
Penn’s Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter Awarded $21.7 Million NSF Grant
PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania’s Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter has been awarded a six-year, $21.7 million center grant from the National Science Foundation to support LRSM’s work in cutting-edge materials.
Penn Receives $1.5 Million Grant to Predict Sea-Level Rise and Flooding from Hurricanes
PHILADELPHIA — In an effort to better understand sea-level rise and flooding from hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant to a research team led by the University of Pennsylvania’s Benjamin Horton
In the News
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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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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“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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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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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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