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Science & Technology
Women in Physics Group inspires the next generation of physicists and astronomers
Women in Physics Group inspires the next generation of physicists and astronomers
Students had the opportunity to interact with a world-renowned astronomer during a day of informal get-togethers, networking events, and physics lectures at the annual conference.
Bacterial population growth rate linked to how individual cells control their size
Bacterial population growth rate linked to how individual cells control their size
Developed at Penn, a theoretical model from a new area of research at the interface of math, physics, and biology describes how individual parameters can influence population-level dynamics.
‘A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations
‘A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations
Engineering professor Nader Engheta and his team have demonstrated a metamaterial device that can function as an analog computer, validating an earlier theory.
Western bias in human genetic studies is ‘both scientifically damaging and unfair’
Western bias in human genetic studies is ‘both scientifically damaging and unfair’
In a commentary in the journal Cell, PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff and Giorgio Sirugo shine a light on the lack of ethnic diversity represented in genomic studies, and the consequences for health and medicine.
Fostering a ‘culture of innovation’
Fostering a ‘culture of innovation’
Penn President Amy Gutmann opened McKinsey’s first-ever “Innovation Night,” held at the Penn Museum on Thursday, March 14. It’s a testament to the University’s critical, visionary role in Philadelphia.
Groundbreaking chemistry research at record speeds
The state-of-the-art High-Throughput Experimentation Laboratory helps chemistry researchers make new discoveries in record time.
Green labs group strives to make science more sustainable
Green labs group strives to make science more sustainable
With a Green Labs working group, Elicia Preston of the Perelman School of Medicine and the University’s Sustainability Office in Facilities and Real Estate Services are striving to make the pursuit of scientific research a more eco-friendly endeavor.
Penn at SXSW
Penn at SXSW
This is the third year the Penn Center for Innovation has led a group of University-affiliated startups to participate in South by Southwest’s innovative arm, SXSW Interactive.
With a second patient free from HIV, what’s next?
With a second patient free from HIV, what’s next?
Scientists have succeeded in sending an HIV patient into long-term remission, only the second time such a feat has been documented. Pablo Tebas and Bridgette Brawner discuss what this means for HIV research and for people living with the virus.
Exploring the unseen: On dark matter and dark energy
Exploring the unseen: On dark matter and dark energy
Physics professors Mark Trodden and Masao Sako explain how dark matter and dark energy shape their work.
In the News
Gizmodo
This freaky robotic fish is powered by ‘blood’
James Pikul of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored a study in which researchers developed a soft, robotic lionfish powered by a blood-like compound. “This robot blood is our first demonstration of storing energy in a fluid that is normally only used for actuation,” he said.
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Scientific American
How the mind emerges from the brain’s complex networks
Danielle Bassett of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored an article about network neuroscience, which allows us to see the origins of mental activity in the brain. One day, they write, “a neuroscientist who knew all the principles of brain function and everything about someone’s brain could predict that person’s mental conditions—the future, as well as the past, would be present inside the person’s mind.”
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The Guardian
Reversible superglue proves strong enough to hold average man
Shu Yang and colleagues from the School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new glue from hydrogel, inspired by snail slime. “The mucus [snails] produce is a viscous liquid, but when it dries they become firmly stuck,” said Yang.
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Scientific American
Domestication made dogs’ facial anatomy more fetching to humans
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine said humans may have bred dogs to appear more infantile over time. “We are innately predisposed to respond with a kind of nurturing behavior towards certain physical characteristics,” he said. “Over time, [humans selected] for traits that satisfy that parental nurturing response.”
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WBUR Boston
What Puerto Rico’s monkeys post-Maria teach us about survival
PIK Professor Michael Platt joined a conversation about surviving trauma and Puerto Rico’s “monkey island.”
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Nature
A DIY approach to automating your lab
Brian Chow of the School of Engineering and Applied Science led a team of Penn undergrads in developing a low-cost plate reader for teaching labs using open-source automation software. “Philosophically, I believe in supporting the open-source-hardware community,” he said.
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Axios
A contest to beat geopolitical ‘superforecasters’
PIK Professor Philip Tetlock was cited for his “gold standard” performance in a 2015 forecasting contest. Contestants in this year’s contest will have access to all the data on Tetlock’s team’s winning methodology.
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Technical.ly Philly
Leggy bots, flying bots, building bots: Here’s what Penn’s robotics hub is up to
School of Engineering and Applied Science students past and present, including Gavin Kenneally, Daniel Mellinger, Divya Ramesh, Mickey Whitzer, and Chao Liu, were highlighted for their work at the Pennovation Center. Their efforts were showcased at Philly Tech Week.
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Vice
We are not prepared for the next generation of CGI food
The School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Chenfanfu Jiang; postdoc Ming Gao; Ph.D. students Joshuah Wolper, Yu Fang, and Minchen Li; and undergrad Jiecong Lu have developed two new approaches to animating dynamic fractures, like bread tearing or cars crashing.
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The New York Times
The microbots are on their way
Marc Miskin of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about his cell-sized microbots, which may one day be used for a variety of purposes ranging from measuring brain networks to cleaning cellphone batteries.
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