News
Making sense of string theory
A Q&A with theoretical physicists Mirjam Cvetic, Ling Lin, and Muyang Liu about what string theory is and how their recent discovery of a “quadrillion solutions” might change the course of the field.
Answering big questions by studying small particles
Using electronics designed at Penn, particle physicists study neutrinos, incredibly small and nearly massless subatomic particles, to understand the fundamental nature of the universe.
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/small-particles-sudbury-neutrino-observ...
Congratulations to Dillon Brout, who was selected to become one of 24 new fellows of the prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship Program! He is the first Penn graduate to be awarded this fellowship since it started in 1990.
"The program enables outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue independent research across NASA astrophysics, using theory, observation, experimentation or instrument development. Each fellowship provides the awardee up to three years of support. The NHFP is one of the highlights of NASA's pursuit of excellence in space science.”
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-awards-2019-postdoctoral-fellowships
Congratulations to Dr. Bill Ashmanskas, who is the recipient of this year’s Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Affiliated Faculty!
This award is presented annually in recognition of the contribution to undergraduate education made by the School's adjunct professors and lecturers. The award honors teaching that is intellectually rigorous, exceptionally coherent, and stimulates active and interactive student engagement in the learning process. Candidates nominated must have taught in at least one undergraduate course in the School of Arts and Sciences during the current academic year and at least three courses overall.
Congratulations to Professor Masao Sako, who is the recipient of the Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching for Faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences!
This award is the School of Arts and Sciences' highest teaching honor, and seeks to recognize teaching that is intellectually rigorous and exceptionally coherent and that leads to an informed understanding of a discipline. Recipients of the Ira Abrams Memorial Award are expected to embody high standards of integrity and fairness, to have a strong commitment to learning, and to be open to new ideas.
Congratulations to graduate student Valerie Yoshioka for her award of the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship!
This fellowship is awarded to Valerie in recognition of her academic excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) achievements, from over 2,928 applications that were received this year.
Found: A Quadrillion Ways for String Theory to Make Our Universe
Stemming from the “F-theory” branch of string theory, each solution replicates key features of the standard model of particle physics.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/found-a-quadrillion-ways-for-...