News

Bill Ashmanskas awarded for teaching

Senior Lecturer Bill Ashmanskas received an Excellence in Teaching Award from the Undergraduate program in Architecture on Sunday, May 18.  The award signifies the creative and energetic teaching Bill has done for Phys8 and Phys9, the Physics for Architects courses.

Charlie Johnson featured in TV news piece

Prof. Charlie Johnson is interviewed in an Al Jezeera USA news video segment on detecting ovarian cancer through odor in the blood of patients.  The link to the video and transcription is here.

Scalable Chemical Sensors based on Graphene

A team led by Prof. Charlie Johnson has published a study in the journal Nano Letters of an artifical chemical sensor based on one of the human body's most important receptors, one critical to the action of anasthetics and painkillers.  Attaching these receptors to strips of graphene shows the way to mass production of chemical sensor devices that could be useful in drug development and diagnostic tests.

Reappointed Director of LRSM, Professor Arjun Yodh

Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell is pleased to announce the reappointment of Professor Arjun Yodh as Director of the Laboratory on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) for a six-year term ending June 30, 2020.

Matthew Lohr and Matthew Gratale from Arjun Yodh's group demonstrate soft matter properties at the Philadelphia Science Festival Kick-off Party at the Franklin Institute, April 25

Imagine a science wonderland filled with hands-on activities created just for adults. This kick-off event for the 2014 Festival included live science shows, music, demonstrations, and a variety of sensory stimulating stations-all tailored to grownups.

For the first time, the LRSM was invited to join and set up a demonstration booth called "The Surprising Behavior of Soft Materials." The night pulled in over 1000 attendees and was a great success. We look forward to our involvement next year.

P&A grad wins NDSEG Fellowship

Graduate student Tom Dodson has been selected to receive a 2014 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. Sponsored and funded by the Department of Defense, NDSEG selections are made by the Air Force Research Laboratory/Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Office of Naval Research, and the Army Research Office.  The American Society for Engineering Education administers the NDSEG Fellowship.

Nader Engheta to receive Gold Medal

Adjunct Professor of Physics and the H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering Nader Engheta is to receive the Balthasar van der Pol Gold Medal of the Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale (URSI).  URSI is a prestigious international scientific organization covering all aspects of the science of waves.  The van der Pol Gold Medal is one of URSI's highest awards, given every 3 years.

Charlie Kane elected to National Academy

Professor Charlie Kane has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He joins 84 new members (including Scott Poethig in Penn's Biology department) and 21 foreign associates elected for 2014.

P&A Public Outreach

Physics & Astronomy department members will contribute to the Penn Science Café on Tuesday, April 29 2014 at the World Café Live Downstairs. Prof. Charlie Johnson will talk on Nano-biosensors for Cancer Detection and Bill Berner, Demo Lab Coordinator, will perform physics demonstrations among other Penn experts contributing to the West Philly Science Showcase.

Cosmic Filaments and Voids

Penn cosmologists, Prof. Bhuvnesh Jain and graduate student Joseph Clampitt, have, for the first time, determined the mass of dark matter along the filaments and voids of visible galaxies.  The unexpected power of new, clever analysis techniques made the measurement possible much sooner than expected and shows surprising results.  For an overview, see the Penn news release.