News
Andrea Liu named Simons Fellow for 2014
Prof. Andrea Liu has been named a Simons Fellow in Theoretical Physics for Fall 2014. Prof. Liu will be supported for a sabbatical leave freeing her from teaching and administrative tasks to engage full time in research which will lead to intellectual stimulation of the field of condensed matter physics.
Gene Mele named to prestigious Professorship
Prof. Gene Mele will assume a 2014-2015 Leverhulme Visiting Professorship in the United Kingdom. The award from the Leverhulme Trust enables UK institutions to invite eminent researchers from overseas to enhance knowledge and skills of academic staff or the student body within the host institution. Prof. Mele's host institution will be the University of Loughborough but he will visit various other UK universities during a year-long sabbatical.
LSST passes Final Design Review
The Final Design Review is the last stage of review for NSF and DOE projects to be officially declared as a construction project. The National Science Board is expected to approve a construction start for 2014 of LSST as a Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction project. Penn scientists and engineers play leading roles in the front-end electronics for the LSST camera, weak gravitational lensing, and supernovae dark energy study designs. See the LSST web site for more information.
Nanotech optics
Perfect optical components may be formable from nanotechnology according to recent work by a collaboration of Penn scientists including Prof. Randy Kamien. The group recently discovered a structure where the layers curve around multiple ellipses that fan out radially from a common point, like the petals on a daisy. Since each “petal” can act as a focusing element for light, these structures could be used to concentrate light at an intense central point.
Marija Drndic named 2014 APS Fellow
Professor Marija Drndic has been named an APS Fellow "For development of novel nanofabrication methods for graphene nanoelectronics and fast biomolecular analysis in solution."
Next Year's Undergraduate and Graduate Chairs named
Starting July 1, 2015, Prof. Marija Drndic will serve as Associate Chair for Graduate Affairs and Assoc. Prof. Justin Khoury will serve as Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs.
Jay Kikkawa named APS Fellow in 2014
Jay Kikkawa has been elected to Fellowship in the American Physical Society. The criterion for election is "exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise". Being named an APS Fellow is a distinct honor signifying recognition by peers in the profession.
Alison Sweeney at Penn Science Cafe
Asst. Prof. Alison Sweeney will give a presentation on "Bio-Optics: The Physics of Squid Camouflage" at the Penn Science Cafe at the World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street, from 6-7pm on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd. See the link here for more information.
DNA Sequencing with Nanopores in Graphene ribbons
Professor Marija Drndić and her team have just published results on realizing a new sequencing technique based on threatind a string of DNA through a tiny hole and using a nearby sensor to read each letter as it passes through an atomically thin layer of carbon called graphene. The team's latest study shows how to drill nanoporers, the tiny holes, without ruining graphene's electrical sensitivity, a risk posed by simply looking at the material through an electron microscope.
Directed Assembly in Liquid Crystals
Prof. Randy Kamien and Penn collaborators Kate Stebe and Shu Yang in SEAS developed a technique for controlling liquid crystals by means of physical templates and elastic energy, rather than the electromagnetic fields that manipulate them in televisions and computer monitors. They envision using this technique to direct the assembly of other materials, such as nanoparticles.