11/15
Science & Technology
Immersive stories to spur action on climate
Immersive stories to spur action on climate
Organized by the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH), a two-day festival, “Environmental Storytelling and Virtual Reality” begins Friday, and will explore how virtual reality and other immersive storytelling might inspire action on climate change.
University of Pennsylvania receives $25 million gift to create data science building
University of Pennsylvania receives $25 million gift to create data science building
The largest gift in Penn Engineering’s history—a $25 million commitment from alumnus Harlan M. Stone to support the construction of a new Data Science Building—will serve as a hub for cross-disciplinary collaborations that harness expertise, research, and data across Penn’s 12 schools and numerous academic centers.
A second life for leaves
A second life for leaves
Taking a scientific approach to managing campus land, Facilities and Real Estate Services is partnering with soil scientists and ecologists to study how mulching plots with leaves fares for soil health and biodiversity.
Researchers create better light-trapping devices
Researchers create better light-trapping devices
A new study shows how the performance of optical resonators can be improved using topological physics, which can lead to more efficient lasers, sensors, and telecommunication devices.
Memory recall and spatial navigation elicit similar electrical activity in brain
Memory recall and spatial navigation elicit similar electrical activity in brain
Penn neuroscientists show for the first time that low-frequency oscillations called theta waves appear in both cases, a finding that could eventually help diminish memory loss.
To improve algorithms, embed human principles into code
To improve algorithms, embed human principles into code
“The Ethical Algorithm” describes how algorithms can inadvertently share private information or perpetuate racial and gender biases, and offers principled solutions that can help researchers design the next generation of socially-aware algorithms.
Mentoring circles support a journey through STEM
Mentoring circles support a journey through STEM
An initiative of the Biomedical Postdoctoral Council Diversity Committee has established an informal network of “mentoring circles” for postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates in STEM, with a particular emphasis on including participants from underrepresented backgrounds.
Advancing algorithmic care
Advancing algorithmic care
Experts from Penn share their perspectives on the role of advanced algorithms and AI in health care and what the future holds for digital health technologies.
Helping Philadelphia tackle trash with technology
Helping Philadelphia tackle trash with technology
Last fall, a team of undergraduates developed a high-tech solution to help the city target one of its persistent problems: the illegal dumping of construction and trash debris.
JPOD @ Philadelphia, 365 days later
JPOD @ Philadelphia, 365 days later
One year after the launch of the partnership between Penn and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, the Pennovation Center celebrated the early successes of this innovative program.
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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