11/15
Science & Technology
John Gearhart, Stem Cell Pioneer, Named Penn's Institute for Regenerative Medicine Director and PIK Professor
PHILADELPHIA –- John Gearhart, who led a research team that first identified and isolated human embryonic stem cells, has been named director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and also a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor.
Chair of Penn Chemistry Department Is Named Editor of The Journal of Chemical Physics
PHILADELPHIA –- Marsha I. Lester, chair of the Chemistry Department at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named editor of The Journal of Chemical Physics, effective Jan. 1, 2009.
University of Pennsylvania Engineers Reveal What Makes Diamonds Slippery at the Nanoscale
PHILADELPHIA –- They call diamonds “ice,” and not just because they sparkle. Engineers and physicists have long studied diamond because even though the material is as hard as an ice ball to the head, diamond slips and slides with remarkably low friction, making it an ideal material or coating for seals, high performance tools and high-tech moving parts.
Robert Ghrist Is Appointed a PIK Professor at Penn
PHILADELPHIA -- Robert Ghrist has been named the seventh Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
From Canada to the Caribbean: Tree Leaves Control Their Own Temperature, Penn Study Reveals
PHILADELPHIA –- The temperature inside a healthy, photosynthesizing tree leaf is affected less by outside environmental temperature than originally believed, according to new research from biologists at the University of Pennsylvania.
Stress Contributes to Increased Consumption of High Fat, High Calorie Foods, Says Award-Winning Penn Research
PHILADELPHIA -– Two veterinary researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have been awarded the 2008 Ziskind-Somerfeld Research Award given for the top science paper of the year.
RNA Toxicity Contributes to Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Pennsylvania Scientists Say
PHILADELPHIA –- Expanding on prior research performed at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn biologists have determined that faulty RNA, the blueprint that creates mutated, toxic proteins, contributes to a family of neurodegenerative disorders in humans.
Penn Center for Computer Graphics Joins SIG to Build Region's Largest Motion-Capture Studio
PHILADELPHIA- – The Center for Computer Graphics at the University of Pennsylvania is partnering with Susquehanna International Group LLP to build a new computer graphics center and gallery for the program, as well as create the largest academic motion-capture studio in the region.
Penn Vet World Awards Ceremony Provides $300,000 in Unrestricted Funding
What:Presentation of the First Penn Vet World Award and Penn Vet Student Inspiration AwardsWhere:
In the News
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Independent
Climate scientists fear Trump will destroy progress in his second term – and the outcome could be ‘grim’
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a second Trump term and the implementation of Project 2025 represents the end of climate action in this decade.
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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.
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