Penn Researchers Working to Mimic Giant Clams to Enhance the Production of Biofuel
Alison Sweeney of the University of Pennsylvania has been studying giant clams since she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sweeney, an assistant professor of physics in the Penn School of Arts and Sciences, and her collaborator Shu Yang, a professor of materials science and engineering in the School of […]
Dave Meaney Elected To BMES Class of 2017 Fellows
Dave Meaney, Solomon R. Pollack Professor and Chair in the Department of Bioengineering, has been elected to the Bioengineering Medical Society (BMES) Class of 2017 Fellows. Fellow status is awarded to Society members who demonstrate exceptional achievements and experience in the field of biomedical engineering, and hold a record of membership and participation in the […]
These small robots are inspired by origami
Roboticist Cynthia Sung has been doing origami since she was young. She says she was always excited by the possibility of taking something two-dimensional and folding it into a three-dimensional object that can move. Through origami, an ordinary, flat sheet of paper can become a talking frog or a crane that can flap its wings. […]
Penn Researchers Engineer Macrophages to Engulf Cancer Cells in Solid Tumors
One reason cancer is so difficult to treat is that it avoids detection by the body. Agents of the immune system are constantly checking the surfaces of cells for chemical signals that say they belong, but cancer cells express the same chemical signals as healthy ones. Without a way for the immune system to tell […]
Teaching Robots to ‘Feel with Their Eyes’
At first glance, Alex Burka, a Ph.D. student in Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, looks like a ghostbuster. He walks into the Penn Bookstore strapped to a bulky orange backpack, holding a long, narrow instrument with various sensors attached.
Penn Professors Lead Call for Ethical Framework for New ‘Mind Control’ Technologies
As interventions for mental illnesses and neurological disorders are becoming increasingly powerful, an interdisciplinary group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, American University and Duke University are calling for new safeguards to guide treatments and protect patients.
Penn Collaboration Produces Surprising Insights Into the White Spots on Butterfly Wings
A collaboration between biologists and materials scientists at the University of Pennsylvania is yielding new insights into the wings of the “skipper butterfly” in the Costa Rican rainforest. What they learn could lead to technological advancements in systems ranging from power-efficient computer displays to sensors to energy efficient buildings, windows and vehicles.
Exploring new worlds: Penn students design an ice drilling robot for Mars
Wanda Lipps, Gautam Nagaraj, and Michael Gromis, all students in Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science who graduated this past spring, watched as a large drill, supported by a boxy metal frame, dug down into a container of dirt and ice. The students, members of the Mars Water Horizons team at Penn, were testing […]
Shu Yang Elected Royal Society of Chemistry Fellow
Shu Yang, Ph.D., Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), a professional society based in the United Kingdom with over 50,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1841, RSC is the largest organization in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences. […]
Penn Engineering Receives Honorable Mention for 2017 NEXT Award
Penn Engineering’s Department of Computer and Information Science has received an honorable mention for the National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT) Extension Services Transformation (NEXT) award. The NEXT award celebrates excellence in recruiting and retaining women in computing education. Penn Engineering’s Department of Computer and Information Science is being recognized for sustaining above-average recruitment, […]