Inspiring Interest in Water Quality at Cobbs Creek News / October 13, 2025 The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has for decades designated Cobbs Creek in West Philadelphia an “impaired stream,” meaning it fails to meet at least one water quality standard, but lacks the data to identify the specific causes, says Jon Hawkings, assistant professor of earth and environmental science. George Ambrose... Read More
Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars News / October 2, 2025 From blistering desert dunes to future lunar missions, Penn researchers are preparing cooperative robots for the realities of off-world exploration. Read More
AI at the Eyelid: Glasses That Track Health Through Your Blinks News / October 1, 2025 Penn researchers have developed a groundbreaking AI-powered device that turns ordinary glasses into a smart, energy-efficient health monitor by watching you blink. Read More
Students Test One Way to Combat Extreme Heat in Philadelphia News / September 30, 2025 In fall 2024, a team of undergraduates in the Composto Soft Matter Laboratory (Composto Lab) launched a cross-disciplinary project testing the efficacy of a pavement coating designed to reduce surface temperatures in neighborhoods affected by extreme heat. Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda, both third-years in the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS),... Read More
Penn Engineers Explore How Tumor Mechanics and Tiny Messengers Could Shape the Future of Cancer Research News / September 17, 2025 When Ph.D. student Kshitiz Parihar began combing through dozens of research papers on two seemingly different topics — tumor mechanics and extracellular vesicles, tiny packages of proteins and genetic material secreted by cells — he noticed something surprising: the two fields were speaking to each other. Together with his advisor,... Read More
Understanding Order to Disorder at the Atomic Scale Opens Possibilities for Next-Generation Electronic Devices News / September 8, 2025 Two decades ago, scientists peeled away layers from graphite, the soft carbon in pencil tips, to isolate a single atomic sheet known as graphene—the first human-synthesized two-dimensional (2D) material. Its discovery heralded new technologies: flexible displays, faster computer chips, and high-capacity batteries. But graphene is made entirely of carbon, which... Read More
What Stiffening Lung Tissue Reveals About the Earliest Stages of Fibrosis News / September 5, 2025 Fibrosis of the lungs is often a silent disease until it’s too late. By the time patients are diagnosed, the scarring of their lung tissue is already advanced, and current treatments offer little more than a slowing of the inevitable. But what if we could understand the very first steps... Read More
How One Student’s Experience is Helping to Shape Renewable Energy Education News / September 3, 2025 In the midst of the complicated landscape of energy, economics, and environmental policy, third-year Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) student Ngaatendwe Manyika is helping to develop a new course for the next generation of engineers building renewable energy sources. This summer, with the guidance of practice assistant professor in Chemical and... Read More
Penn Engineers Unveil Generative AI Model that Designs New Antibiotics News / September 2, 2025 Uniting expertise in AI design and antibiotic discovery, two Penn labs have created a generative model that could redefine drug development. Read More
Penn Engineers Send Quantum Signals with Standard Internet Protocol News / August 28, 2025 Penn Engineers have brought quantum networking out of the laboratory and onto fiber-optic cables. Read More
