11/15
Science & Technology
Environment influences coral’s resilience to acidification
Environment influences coral’s resilience to acidification
Ocean acidification is an effect of climate change that threatens the health of coral. A new study examines how coral samples from the Great Barrier Reef fare in acidic conditions.
3D printing drones work like bees to build and repair structures while flying
3D printing drones work like bees to build and repair structures while flying
Researchers including Weitzman’s Robert Stuart-Smith have made a swarm of bee-inspired drones that can collectively 3D print material while in flight, allowing unbounded manufacturing for building and repairing structures.
What beliefs shape our minds?
What beliefs shape our minds?
Jer Clifton of the Positive Psychology Center developed a framework to study primal world beliefs, our most fundamental sentiments about the world as a whole. Now, he’s ready for everyone to discover what their primal world beliefs are.
Crime and the scientific method
Crime and the scientific method
The multidisciplinary faculty in the Department of Criminology harness diverse methodologies to improve public safety and inform policy and planning.
Understanding the needs of cancer care partners
Understanding the needs of cancer care partners
Through the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program, undergrads Abi Ocholi and Akin Adio deepened their understanding of qualitative research and of the experiences of caregivers.
The future of globalization in a fracturing world
The future of globalization in a fracturing world
Perry World House’s 2022 Global Order Colloquium hosted experts from government, the media, and across the University to tackle the topic of the state of globalization
Landscape and climate factors can predict prevalence of Lyme disease bacteria
Landscape and climate factors can predict prevalence of Lyme disease bacteria
Environmental models, developed by biologist Dustin Brisson of the School of Arts & Sciences, former graduate student Tam Tran, and colleagues, could help forecast disease hotspots.
When curved materials flatten, simple geometry can predict the wrinkle patterns that emerge
When curved materials flatten, simple geometry can predict the wrinkle patterns that emerge
The findings—from a collaboration between Penn, Syracuse, and the University of Illinois Chicago—have a range of implications, from how materials interact with moisture to the way flexible electronics bend.
What’s in the semiconductor bill?
What’s in the semiconductor bill?
In a Q&A, Morris Cohen of the Wharton School explains the content of the CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law on Aug. 9.
Undergraduates help songbird research project take flight
Undergraduates help songbird research project take flight
Through the PURM internship program, Julia Youngman and Eric Tao had the opportunity to work in neuroethologist Marc Schmidt’s lab studying the neural basis of courtship behaviors in songbirds.
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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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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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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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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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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