11/15
Science & Technology
The next generation of optical communication with nanophotonics
The next generation of optical communication with nanophotonics
Research from the lab of Bo Zhen is pushing the boundaries of optics by using fundamental physics to address many of the real-world challenges faced by engineers.
From the bench to bedside, boardroom, and beyond
From the bench to bedside, boardroom, and beyond
Penn’s Life Sciences & Management program empowers the next generation of biotechnology leaders with an education in both business and the natural sciences.
Student Spotlight with Connor Sendel
Student Spotlight with Connor Sendel
The senior looks back on his time on campus, discussing what it’s like to pursue a dual degree, how a startup grew out of his team’s senior design project, and his plans after graduation.
Creating connections with a Nobel laureate
Creating connections with a Nobel laureate
Thanks to their creative approach on a class project, a group of biochemistry students had the opportunity to get to know one of Penn Chemistry’s seven Nobel laureates.
With unprecedent threats to nature at hand, how to turn the tide
With unprecedent threats to nature at hand, how to turn the tide
One million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction due to human activity, according to a U.N. assessment issued earlier this month. Here, experts highlight the report’s major messages and offer ideas for moving from inertia to action to stem threats to biodiversity.
A new way to fly, built up from the nanoscale
A new way to fly, built up from the nanoscale
Super-thin “nanocardboard” can levitate using only the power of light, opening the door to tiny flying machines with no moving parts.
A link between mitochondrial damage and osteoporosis
A link between mitochondrial damage and osteoporosis
In healthy people, a tightly controlled process balances the activity of osteoblasts, which build bone, and osteoclasts, which break it down. Damage to cells’ mitochondria can make that process go awry, meaning exposure to cigarette smoke, alcohol, environmental toxins can increase the risk of osteoporosis.
For Philly Tech Week, a showcase for cutting-edge robots
For Philly Tech Week, a showcase for cutting-edge robots
Penn students, faculty, and affiliated entrepreneurs showed off their latest legged robots, drones, automated driving systems, and more at the Pennovation Center as part of the annual celebration of the tech industry in Philadelphia.
Putting mussels to the test
Putting mussels to the test
With a mussel hatchery in the future for the Schuylkill River, students in Byron Sherwood’s field biology course used scientific rigor to ask how effectively these filter feeders might render the water clean.
A course that showcases the prevalence, and power, of math
A course that showcases the prevalence, and power, of math
The Mathematics in the Media course helps students understand how to use fundamental mathematical approaches to solve real-world problems in a data-driven world.
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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