11/15
Science & Technology
The art and science of video game development
The art and science of video game development
In the group UPGRADE, students take an interdisciplinary approach to game creation.
Kirigami technique hints at promising outcomes for breast reconstruction
Kirigami technique hints at promising outcomes for breast reconstruction
Penn researchers have developed a new technique for aiding in the reconstruction of breast tissue following a mastectomy.
Wormhole-like dynamics
Wormhole-like dynamics
Theoretical physicists Vijay Balasubramanian and Jonathan Heckman of the School of Arts & Sciences speak with Penn Today to explain the implications of new research claiming to have observed wormhole-like teleportation on a quantum computer.
What secrets might 2-million-year-old DNA hold?
What secrets might 2-million-year-old DNA hold?
Scientists from Denmark recently extracted and sequenced the oldest-ever DNA, from permafrost in Greenland, revealing a robust ecosystem of 135 species. Penn Today spoke with four faculty members about the potential power of ancient DNA.
Turning carbon emissions into rocks
Turning carbon emissions into rocks
In Penn’s Clean Energy Conversions Lab, researcher Peter Psarras and colleagues are repurposing waste from industrial mines, storing carbon pulled from the atmosphere into newly formed rock.
A target for improving recovery from lung injury
A target for improving recovery from lung injury
After a bout of severe respiratory disease, some patients never fully recover. New research from the School of Veterinary Medicine identifies a factor responsible for inappropriate tissue regrowth after infection, pointing to a possible therapeutic target.
At Engaging Minds, three Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors take the stage
Alumni heard Lance Freeman examine racial equity in city planning, Dolores Albarracín talk about how conspiracy theories take hold, and Kevin Johnson discuss the importance of clear science communication.
Two from Penn named Distinguished Members of the Association for Computing Machinery
Two from Penn named Distinguished Members of the Association for Computing Machinery
Jing (Jane) Li of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Li Shen of the Perelman School of Medicine have been named distinguished members of the Association for Computing Machinery.
For ‘spirit of innovation,’ three from Penn named National Academy of Inventors Fellows
For ‘spirit of innovation,’ three from Penn named National Academy of Inventors Fellows
Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine were honored with the recognition.
Soft robots gain new strength
Soft robots gain new strength
Penn Engineers have developed a clutch 63 times stronger than current electroadhesive clutches, making soft robots stronger and safer and making virtual reality gloves feel more real.
In the News
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.
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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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