10.21
Science & Technology
Q&A with mathematician Tony Pantev
Q&A with mathematician Tony Pantev
Penn Today interviewed the math department’s incoming chair to learn about his longtime passion for geometry and his hopes for the future of contemporary math research.
Making insights into ancient marine ecosystems with 3D-printed shells
Making insights into ancient marine ecosystems with 3D-printed shells
If you’re a snail hoping to survive an encounter with a hungry fish, it helps to have a strong shell. Paleoecology doctoral student Erynn Johnson is using 3D printing to understand how predator-prey interactions may have played out hundreds of millions of years ago.
Keeping parasites from sticking to mosquito guts could block disease transmission
Keeping parasites from sticking to mosquito guts could block disease transmission
Researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine show how a new model for studying the way parasites known as kinetoplastids adhere to mosquitoes’ insides could illuminate strategies for curbing diseases.
100th puppy
100th puppy
An 8-week-old black Labrador retriever is the 100th puppy to enter the Penn Vet Working Dog Center research-based training program.
Iron Man: The engineer who became a superhero
Iron Man: The engineer who became a superhero
A Q&A with Marc Miskin and James Pikul about the real-world tech and practical limitations that underly Tony Stark’s superpowered suit.
As molecular engineers, chemists create innovative tools for scientific research
As molecular engineers, chemists create innovative tools for scientific research
Ivan Dmochowski’s group brings together approaches from diverse fields in chemistry to build custom molecules for biologists and medical researchers.
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
A collaboration that has brought together biologists, engineers, and physicists to study the reproductive behavior of birds using machine learning in a custom-built aviary at Pennovation Works.
With summer field course, students get their hands dirty learning about soils
With summer field course, students get their hands dirty learning about soils
Taught by the School of Arts and Sciences’ Alain Plante, Field Study of Soils gives students skills and familiarity with different soil types, including some on University property.
Penn chemists to lead NSF-sponsored center for sustainable metals supply chains
Penn chemists to lead NSF-sponsored center for sustainable metals supply chains
The Center for Sustainable Separations of Metals will conduct research on metals recycling to reduce pollution, greenhouse-gas emissions, and energy usage while promoting political and environmental sustainability.
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
While the idea of emojis unifying people across language barriers is enticing, people of different cultures might not use emojis in the same way.
In the News
Inside Higher Ed
Twitter’s gender imbalance
Rachel Werner of the Perelman School of Medicine authored a study that found that while men and women use Twitter at equal rates, the site has not reduced gender disparities in academia overall.
FULL STORY →
PBS
Study finds kittens bond with their human caregivers like babies do
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine advised readers to keep in mind that while babies and kittens are similar, they’re not analogous; scientific findings about one may not hold true for the other. “We should be open-minded about the idea that there are other variables [at play],” he said.
FULL STORY →
Smithsonian Magazine
Women scientists were written out of history. It’s Margaret Rossiter’s lifelong mission to fix that
M. Susan Lindee of the School of Arts and Sciences praised academic Margaret Rossiter’s research on women’s contributions to science. “We have to look at her past work carefully,” said Lindee, “and re-examine all those brilliant strategies that women used to contest institutional power, which was oriented around preventing them from succeeding.”
FULL STORY →
The Hill
R&D, not Greenland, can solve our rare earth problem
Research into rare earth metals by Eric Schelter, Patrick Carroll, Ph.D. student Justin Bogart, and alumnus Connor Lippincott of the School of Arts and Sciences was cited.
FULL STORY →
Earth Magazine
Researchers find no link between testosterone and a lack of cognitive empathy
New research by Gideon Nave of the Wharton School found that, contrary to past research, increased testosterone levels do not impair men’s ability to empathize. “We found that there is no evidence to support this effect of testosterone, but that doesn’t rule out any possible effects,” said Nave. “From what we know, though, it seems that if testosterone does have an influence, the effect is complex, not linear.”
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Breeding has shaped dogs’ brains, MRI scans reveal
Wilfried Mai of the School of Veterinary Medicine weighed in on a study that analyzed cognitive differences between dog breeds. “The paper demonstrates very nicely differences in brain morphology with either reduction or hypertrophy [larger size] of certain brain areas that are known to be associated with specific behaviors,” he said.
FULL STORY →
WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)
Wheels, drones and Rescue Randy: DARPA robotics competition puts mine rescue to the test
A four-legged robot from the School of Engineering and Applied Science was among robots performing underwater search and rescue in a competition. “They're doing everything completely autonomously, so every step they take is kind of a minor victory for us,” said C. J. Taylor. “We always feel that we could do better. We learn so much from each of these events and that gives us new ideas about things that we want to try.”
FULL STORY →
Penn Live
Wildlife diseases in Pennsylvania targeted by $10 million Game Commission-Penn partnership
Julie Ellis and Lisa Murphy of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on a new collaboration between Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission: the Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program, based at New Bolton Center.
FULL STORY →
Axios
Looking to AI to understand how we learn
PIK Professor Konrad Kording said, “There is a big undercurrent in neuroscience [saying] we should go back to neural networks,” which rely on technology that allows machines to learn from their mistakes.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Why not fly over it?’ Uber picks New Jersey firms in ambitious bid to beat traffic congestion
Rahul Mangharam of the School of Engineering and Applied Science commented on Uber’s new air taxi venture. “It’s going to be a very congested sky,” he said. “You want to make sure that each flight plan is safe by design, and that even if they do mess up for some reason, they have a fallback option.”
FULL STORY →