11/15
Science & Technology
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.
Bridge to Ph.D. program provides a way forward for greater access in STEM fields
Bridge to Ph.D. program provides a way forward for greater access in STEM fields
The pilot program in the Department of Mathematics enables students from underrepresented groups to become the next generation of enterprising mathematicians.
Charles Kane and Eugene Mele receive the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
Charles Kane and Eugene Mele receive the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
The Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria have recognized the Penn physicists for their discovery of topological insulators.
The link between sleep, genes, and mental health
The link between sleep, genes, and mental health
Whether you’re a night owl or a morning lark could affect your risk of developing a psychiatric disorder.
Championing scientifically driven energy policy
Championing scientifically driven energy policy
In the lab, chemist Amy Chu is aiming to make the chemical reaction that converts carbon dioxide into methanol more sustainable. Her work reflects her philosophy that scientists should have a stronger role in both public policy and education.
Cells use sugars to communicate at the molecular level
Cells use sugars to communicate at the molecular level
A recent study reveals the chemistry behind cellular communication using a new method that holds promise for future applications ranging from materials science to nanomedicine.
Engineers can detect ultra rare proteins using a cellphone camera
Engineers can detect ultra rare proteins using a cellphone camera
An innovative strobing system allows individual markers to be differentiated from their neighbors, allowing an accurate count, even in the ultra-low concentrations associated with hard-to-diagnose conditions.
How technology is making education more accessible
How technology is making education more accessible
Text-to-speech technology, smart pens, and smart glasses are just some of the assistive technologies that the Office of Student Disabilities Services employ on campus to meet all students’ needs in their learning environments.
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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