4/22
Science & Technology
Penn Research Predicts Future Evolution of Flu Viruses
PHILADELPHIA -- New research from the University of Pennsylvania is beginning to crack the code of which strain of flu will be prevalent in a given year, with major implications for global public health preparedness.
Penn holds groundbreaking for $80 million nanotechnology center
Penn President Amy Gutmann joined University Trustees, the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) and the dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science in a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony for the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology on Thursday, Feb. 17.
Eduardo Glandt’s Term as Penn Engineering Dean Is Extended
PHILADELPHIA – University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price today announced that Eduardo Glandt has agreed to extend his term as dean of Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science until June 30, 2015.
Research Suggests Friendships Are Built on Alliances
PHILADELPHIA -- New research from the University of Pennsylvania is challenging some longtime assumptions about why human beings seek and keep their friends, and it reveals a somewhat darker side to the very nature of friendship itself.
Three Penn Professors Named AAAS Fellows
PHILADELPHIA – Three faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are James C. Alwine, professor of cancer biology; Gideon Dreyfuss, Issac Norris Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator; and John C. Trueswell, professor of psychology.
University of Pennsylvania Scientists Uncover Inherent Properties of Cell Signaling Pathways
PHILADELPHIA -- Using an innovative approach based on synthetic biology and mathematical modeling, University of Pennsylvania researchers have explored the workings of a crucial cell-signaling pathway known as the mitogen-activated protein kinase, or MAPK, cascade.
New Penn Math Research Proves There’s Plenty of Time for Evolution
PHILADELPHIA -- A new mathematical model developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has offered even more evidence of the correctness of evolutionary theory.
Penn Astronomer Opens New Window on the Universe’s Past
PHILADELPHIA –- A new instrument designed, built and operated by a collaboration including University of Pennsylvania astronomer James Aguirre and scientists at the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Colorado and Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Sci
Penn Haptics Open House: Interactive Exhibition of Hands-On Student Projects Dec. 10
WHO: Katherine J. Kuchenbecker, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania
Christopher S. Chen Receives Heilmeier Research Award in Penn Engineering
PHILADELPHIA – Christopher S. Chen has been named the recipient of the 2010-11 George H. Heilmeier Faculty Award for Excellence in Research in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
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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