Penn Engineering | Inventing the Future

For more than a decade, Penn’s Dan Huh has been developing super-small devices called organs-on-chips that use living cells to stand in for larger organs. In May 2019, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two experiments with Huh’s organs-on-chips to the International Space Station. In orbit, a lung chip and bone marrow chip are being compared to Earth-bound counterparts to shed light on astronauts’ susceptibility to infection.

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Inventing the Future

Penn, Purdue, UC Merced and UF Partner on New $26M NSF Engineering Research Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture

The National Science Foundation, through a 5-year, $26 million grant, has established the NSF Engineering Research Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag), headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) are NSF’s flagship engineering program for convergent research to address large-scale societal challenges. The IoT4Ag Center aims to address food, energy and water security through advanced agricultural technologies. Cherie Kagan, Stephen J. Angello Professor in Penn Engineering’s departments of Electrical and Systems Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, is the IoT4Ag Center’s director and principal investigator.

Penn Engineering and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Join Forces to Envision the Future

In the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s new exhibit, Designs for Different Futures, artists, designers, and engineers are coming together to explore the future of technology in everyday life. A highlight of the exhibit is Quori, a socially interactive teaching robot developed by Mark Yim along with fellow members of the GRASP Lab and the Integrated Product Design program. Quori is genderless, and its socially-conscious design is sparking an important conversation about how sexism can be inadvertently coded into hardware and software.

Mini Autonomous Vehicles Race for Community-Driven Research

Former remote control toys are being reinvented to study the future of autonomous driving,. Houssam Abbas, a former post-doctoral researcher in Rahul Mangharam’s laboratory, was one of the core founders of the F1 Tenth Autonomous Racing Project, which transforms RC cars into miniature autonomous vehicles to study safety systems, computational performance, cybersecurity, and multi-car coordination. Now this project goes far beyond the lab. Members of F1 Tenth meet at international competitions to race their cars in pursuit of research.

Superstrong, Reversible Adhesive That Works Like Snail Slime

Using snail slime as inspiration, Penn Engineers led by Shu Yang created a reversible superglue that is adjustable when wet but cement-like when dry. When the wet adhesive dries, it locks firmly in place and is even strong enough to hold a fully grown adult. Durable, reversible adhesion, like that demonstrated in the material developed by Yang’s team, could allow for reusable envelopes, gravity-defying boots, and revolutionized industry assembly.

‘Nanocardboard’ can Levitate Using Only the Power of Light

Through working on a problem with blood filters, Penn Engineers developed what they call “nanocardboard,” a material that’s as thin as a few strands of DNA and weighs less than a thousandth of a gram, but stiff enough to resist flopping. In testing their material, they discovered an unexpected property: the material weighs so little that, when exposed to light, it can levitate. Their discovery, although still in the initial phases, could lay the groundwork for future smart dust sensors or weather sensors.

News

Penn Anti-Cancer Engineering Center Will Delve Into the Disease’s Physical Fundamentals

10.11.2021 | Read More

Singh Center Competes in ‘Plenty of Beauty at the Bottom’ Image Contest

10.08.2021 | Read More

With NIH Pioneer Award, Jennifer E. Phillips-Cremins Will Study Genome Folding’s Role in Long-term Memory

10.06.2021 | Read More

Events

MEAM Seminar: “Robotics Goes Soft: Challenges and Achievements, for New Robotics Scenarios”

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ODEI Spotlight: Diversity Lecture Series at Penn, “Addressing a More Complex and Encompassing Understanding of Identity”

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Fall 2021 GRASP SFI: “Physics-inspired learning for discontinuous contact dynamics”

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Announcement

In Memoriam: Dr. Nabil Farhat, 1933-2020

Penn Engineering mourns the death of our colleague Dr. Nabil Farhat, who died on November 3, 2020. The Penn Engineering community has lost a brilliant teacher, mentor, researcher and friend.

Penn Engineering COVID-19 Impact

Penn Engineering has created a page to host information for students, faculty and staff related to the School's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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In Memoriam: Noah Prywes, 1925-2020

Penn Engineering mourns the death of Professor Emeritus Noah S. Prywes, pioneering researcher in the field of computer science and accomplished teacher and mentor, who passed away on September 21, 2020.

About Penn Engineering

At Penn Engineering, we are preparing the next generation of innovative engineers, entrepreneurs and leaders. Our unique culture of cooperation and teamwork, emphasis on research, and dedicated faculty advisors who teach as well as mentor, provide the ideal environment for the intellectual growth and development of well-rounded global citizens.

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