5/18
Science & Technology
Vaccines, variants, and the evolving lexicon of COVID-19
Penn Today shares the third update to the pandemic glossary, providing insights into the jargon becoming an everyday part of conversations and news headlines about the ongoing public health crisis.
Black in Marine Science is building a community
Postdoc Camille Gaynus of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues formed a nonprofit dedicated to lifting up Black voices in marine science and inspiring a new generation to follow their curiosity about the ocean.
Reconsiderations of past, present, and future in a new environmental humanities book
Featuring contributions from scholars representing a range of disciplines, ‘Timescales: Thinking Across Ecological Temporalities,’ is an outgrowth of the Penn Program for Environmental Humanities.
Vijay Kumar reappointed dean of Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science
Kumar, the Nemirovsky Family Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, will serve as dean through June 30, 2027.
Newly described horned dinosaur from New Mexico was the earliest of its kind
With a frilled head and beaked face, Menefeeceratops sealeyi lived 82 million years ago, predating its relative, Triceratops. Researchers including Peter Dodson, of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Steven Jasinski, who recently earned his doctorate from the School of Arts & Sciences, describe the find.
An updated understanding of how to synthesize value-added chemicals
New research provides key insights on how to add functional groups onto simple hydrocarbons including methane, a crucial first step towards designing the next generation of catalysts.
A gentler strategy for avoiding childhood dental decay
By targeting the bonds between bacteria and yeast that can form a sticky dental plaque, a new therapeutic strategy could help wash away the build-up while sparing oral tissues, according to a new study by a team from the School of Dental Medicine.
Studying plants from 400 miles up
Using remote sensing data, senior Paul Lin looked for signals of climate change in the grasslands of the Great Plains.
A more effective at-home treatment for IBS
In a randomized control trial, researchers found that after eight weeks, participants with irritable bowel syndrome who used an app focused on cognitive behavioral therapy experienced better health-related quality of life, fewer GI symptoms, and less anxiety.
Beer with no buzz: 2021 Y-Prize awards dealcoholization project
LiberTech, the award-winning team, pitched their plan to filter alcohol from beer using a nanostructured membrane, which preserves the flavor of beer.
In the News
The world’s oceans just broke an important climate change record
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the warming of the oceans is helping to destabilize ice shelves and fuel more powerful hurricanes and tropical cyclones.
FULL STORY →
New Penn AI master’s program aims to prep students for ‘jobs that we can’t yet imagine’
Chris Callison-Burch of the School of Engineering and Applied Science discusses Penn’s new online master’s program in artificial intelligence.
FULL STORY →
The University of Pennsylvania is the first Ivy to offer an AI master’s
The School of Engineering and Applied Science has announced its first master’s degree in artificial intelligence, led by Chris Callison-Burch.
FULL STORY →
Penn Engineering announces first Ivy League Master’s degree in AI
The School of Engineering and Applied Science has announced the first graduate program in artificial intelligence among Ivy League universities, led by Chris Callison-Burch.
FULL STORY →
Penn Engineering rolls out an online master’s degree in AI, first in Ivy League
The School of Engineering and Applied Science has announced the first graduate program in artificial intelligence among Ivy League universities, led by Chris Callison-Burch.
FULL STORY →
Man does DNA test, not prepared for what comes back ‘unusually high’
César de la Fuente of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Perelman School of Medicine says that Neanderthal DNA provides insights into human evolution, population dynamics, and genetic adaptations, including correlations with traits such as immunity and susceptibility to diseases.
FULL STORY →
Forecast group predicts busiest hurricane season on record with 33 storms
A research team led by Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences is predicting the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season will produce the most named storms on record, fueled by exceptionally warm ocean waters and an expected shift from El Niño to La Niña.
FULL STORY →
My Climate Story: Philly students take science from abstract to personal
The “My Climate Story” project at the Environmental Humanities Department helps students and teachers learn about climate change’s impact in everyday backyards, with remarks from Bethany Wiggin. The idea is credited to María Villarreal, a College of Arts and Sciences second-year from Tampico, Mexico.
FULL STORY →
Penn professor on gen AI’s rapacious use of energy: ‘One of the defining challenges of my career’
Benjamin Lee of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that hardware and infrastructure costs are growing at high rates for generative AI.
FULL STORY →
Satellite images capture extraordinary flooding in the United Arab Emirates
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences explains how three low-pressure systems formed a train of storms that battered the United Arab Emirates.
FULL STORY →