11/15
Science & Technology
Simulation of glacial calving and tsunami waves predicts climate change consequences
Simulation of glacial calving and tsunami waves predicts climate change consequences
Researchers at the School of Engineering and Applied Science have created a computer model that can accurately simulate tsunamis caused by glacial calving, critical to hazard assessments and mitigation measures in coastal regions regarding climate change.
Obscuring the truth can promote cooperation
Obscuring the truth can promote cooperation
People are more likely to cooperate if they think others are cooperating, too. New research by biologists in the School of Arts & Sciences shows that overstating the true level of cooperation in a society can increase cooperative behavior overall.
Latest ‘organ-on-a-chip’ is a new way to study cancer-related muscle wasting
Latest ‘organ-on-a-chip’ is a new way to study cancer-related muscle wasting
New “muscle-on-a-chip” technology allows for drug testing on human muscles outside the body while capturing the complexity of human physiology.
Protein’s ‘silent code’ affects how cells move
Protein’s ‘silent code’ affects how cells move
A School of Veterinary Medicine-led study shows how, despite having nearly identical amino acid sequences, two forms of the protein actin differ in function due their distinct nucleotide sequences.
New microfluidic device delivers mRNA nanoparticles a hundred times faster
New microfluidic device delivers mRNA nanoparticles a hundred times faster
With a “liquid assembly line,” Penn researchers have produced mRNA-delivering-nanoparticles significantly faster than standard microfluidic technologies.
A fieldwork experience, no travel required
A fieldwork experience, no travel required
During a two-week in-person bootcamp at the Penn Museum, 11 undergrads learned basic archaeological skills in subjects from ceramics and sample-taking to archaeobotany.
Growing ‘metallic wood’ to new heights
Growing ‘metallic wood’ to new heights
“Metallic wood” is full of regularly spaced cell-sized pores that radically decrease its density without sacrificing the material’s strength, which not only gives metallic wood the strength of titanium at a fraction of the weight, but unique optical properties.
Giant comet found in outer solar system
The discovery of the comet estimated to 100-200 kilometers across was made by Penn researchers following a comprehensive search of data from the Dark Energy Survey. Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is the most distant comet ever discovered and possibly the largest seen in modern times.
‘I Look Like an Engineer’
‘I Look Like an Engineer’
For the third year in a row, Penn Engineering’s Advancing Women in Engineering program, dedicated to recruiting, retaining and promoting all female-identified students in the School, participated in the “I Look Like an Engineer” social media movement.
Penn mRNA pioneers receive the Princess of Asturias Award
Penn mRNA pioneers receive the Princess of Asturias Award
Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó earned the prestigious honor for their foundational research that led to development of two lifesaving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
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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