Science & Technology

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.

Jordan Reese



In the News


Inside Climate News

As California pushes increased ethanol use, experts sound the alarm on environmental impacts

Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the negative impacts of biofuels on land are difficult to overstate.

FULL STORY →



Technical.ly Philly

Celebrate Philly’s winners of the 2024 Technical.ly Awards

Jeffrey Babin of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Wharton School is Technical.ly’s 2024 Educator of the Year. The Pennovation Accelerator, a six-week program hosted at the Pennovation Works, is Technical.ly’s 2024 Program of the Year.

FULL STORY →



Philadelphia Inquirer

Decoding Trump’s climate priorities—or lack thereof

In an opinion essay, Sanya Carley of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design examines the implications and possibilities of Donald Trump’s energy and climate agenda.

FULL STORY →



Rolling Stone

RFK Jr.’s 10 wildest medical theories

Kenneth R. Foster of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says studies haven’t provided clear evidence that exposure to levels of radio frequency energy below accepted limits, such as Wi-Fi, disrupts the blood-brain barrier.

FULL STORY →



Scientific American

Grumpy voters want better stories. Not statistics

In a Q&A, PIK Professor Duncan Watts says that U.S. voters ignored Democratic policy in favor of Republican storytelling.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →