News

Charlie Kane and Gene Mele awarded BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Basic Sciences category

This prestigious award is intended to,  “recognize and reward world-class research and artistic creation, prizing contributions of singular impact for their originality and significance. The name of the scheme is intended to denote not only research work that substantially enlarges the scope of our current knowledge – pushing forward the frontiers of the known world – but also the meeting and overlap of different disciplinary areas and the emergence of new fields.”

Penn sophmore Physics Majors present work at Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM

Sophomores Mark D'Souza and Rachael Keneipp (Penn Physics Majors, supervised by Prof. Sako and Prof. Drndic) presented their work on quantum logic and nanopores @ ERN (Emerging Researchers National) Conference in STEM, Washington DC, Feb. 21-23, 2019.

Congratulations to Paul Masih Das!

Paul is the winner of the Natural Sciences award of the Third Annual Penn Arts and Sciences Grad BEN Talks, for his presentation of "Quantum Materials: Making Smart Phones 'Cool' Again."

 

Three Physics gradulate students selected as finalists in the Natural Sciences division for the 2019 Grad Ben Talks

Grad Ben Talks is an afternoon of TED Talk-style presentations by Penn Arts and Sciences graduate students representing the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Professional Master’s programs.  The students are:

Emile Kraus, Physics and Astronomy
"The Physics of SpongeBob"

Paul Masih Das, Physics and Astronomy
"Quantum Materials: Making Smartphones 'Cool' Again"

Asja Radja, Physics and Astronomy          
"Pollen Patterns: A Beautiful Consequence of Biophysical Forces at Microscopic Scales"

Bo Zhen awarded the ECASE award

Congratulations to Prof. Bo Zhen, who has been awarded a highly prestigious "ECASE" award through the Army Research Office.

These awards are traditionally referred to as PECASE awards, after an official ceremony with the President. Because it has been unclear if or when such a ceremony will take place for such awards during the last couple of years, the awards are initially being referred to as ECASE. They will become PECASE awards when the official ceremony takes place.

 

The Physics of Multitasking

Penn physicists characterize the limits of multitasking in biological networks, paving the way for future applications in fields from biology to medicine.

Physics on Display

Hundreds of regional junior high and high school students visited Penn’s campus in early January to beat the winter blues—and reds—by watching physics demonstrations about lights and waves.

Simons Fellow (and 2018 Penn PhD graduate) Lisa Tran and the Future of Liquid Crystals

Most familiar in displays, liquid crystals behave in unusual ways that could lead to new developments in science and technology, points out Lisa Tran, a chemical engineer and a member of the Simons Society of Fellows.

https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2019/01/08/watch-simons-junior-fellow-l...

The nanotopography of an atomic world

 Marija Drndić offers insights into the structure of atomically thin materials using nanoscale images of 2D membranes.

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/nanotopography-atomic-world

Solar system exploration Q&A with Cullen Blake

A Q&A with Cullen Blake of the School of Arts and Sciences offers insights on recent astronomy news headlines and on the future of solar system exploration.

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/solar-system-exploration-qa-cullen-blake