Author | Lightnews

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Alexander Morozov @alexandermorozov.bsky.social · Apr 3

Happy to share our recent preprint on (the absence of) giant number fluctuations in microswimmer suspensions.

arxiv.org/abs/2503.18068

Pseudo-giant number fluctuations and nematic order in microswimmer suspensions

Giant number fluctuations (GNFs), whereby the standard deviation $ΔN$ in the local number of particles $\langle N \rangle$ grows faster than $\sqrt{\langle N \rangle}$, are a hallmark property of dry ...

arxiv.org

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Shashank Shekhar lab @sshekhr.bsky.social · Apr 2

Excited to share our new paper in Nature Physics
@naturephysics.bsky.social: Cooperative hydrodynamics accompany multicellular-like colonial organization in the unicellular Stentor!

How do single-celled organisms benefit from teamwork?

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Apr 1

What motivated Sugi Widjaja and Millie Wan to support Penn Engineering Entrepreneurship? The chance to endow a new program offering unparalleled immersion via coursework, mentorship and paid internships: the Widjaja Entrepreneurship Fellows.

blog.seas.upenn.edu/investing-in...

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Joe Allen @joeallenjoe.bsky.social · Mar 12

In fiscal year 2024, the report found, NIH awarded more than $36.9 billion to researchers, supporting more than 408,000 jobs and generating over $94.5 billion in new economic activity nationwide.

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

NIH funding delivers exponential economic returns — Harvard Gazette

Report finds all 50 states reap gains in patient health, job creation, research resources, business development.

news.harvard.edu

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Jacinta Conrad @jcconrad.bsky.social · Mar 12

This was a wonderful collaboration with @phdramoncp.bsky.social and his colleagues, matchmade by @karenedaniels.bsky.social! I am proud to have been a part of this effort.

Ramón Castañeda-Priego @phdramoncp.bsky.social · Mar 12

I am happy to share our latest scientific work in collaboration with @jcconrad.bsky.social! Self-Assembly and Transport Phenomena of Colloids: Confinement and Geometrical Effects | Annual Reviews - go.shr.lc/3XrJICM

Self-Assembly and Transport Phenomena of Colloids: Confinement and Geometrical Effects | Annual Reviews

Colloidal dispersions exhibit rich equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamic properties, self-assemble into diverse structures at different length scales, and display transport behavior under bulk ...

go.shr.lc

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Mar 13

Join Penn Engineering for the George H. Heilmeier Faculty Award and Lecture featuring awardee Cherie Kagan. She will discuss how colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) act as "artificial atoms" to create advanced materials and devices.
events.seas.upenn.edu/event/2024-2...

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Society of Rheology @sorheology.bsky.social · Feb 24

The Future of Rheology virtual seminar series has extended its submissions deadline. This platform highlights research from students, postdocs, and professionals advancing rheology. Selected speakers will have the opportunity to present at the Annual Meeting for a chance to win prizes!

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Society of Rheology @sorheology.bsky.social · Feb 21

SoR is sad to announce the passage of 1994 Bingham Medalist Prof Andreas Acrivos. Prof. Acrivos and his numerous students and colleagues have made lasting contributions to rheology theory and practice. A fuller accounting of Prof. Acrivos's career is available at www.rheology.org/SoR/News/InM...

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Physics of Life Dresden @poldresden.bsky.social · Feb 21

🎉Paper alert! Material-like robotic collectives that mimic life

Congrats to the Campàs group at PoL @campaslab.bsky.social, for their new #publication with researchers at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social published in Science!

Read our press release here: physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/news/2025/02...

A group of silver/golden robotic disks merge together at the top of the picture, moving downwards to eventually form a wrench at the bottom.

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · Feb 19

Read highlights in this week’s issue of PNAS: We examine how turbulence enhances seagrass wave attenuation along coastlines, analyze the feeding patterns of marine Mediterranean megafauna, and study aerodynamics of flexible flapping-wing flight. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Pictured are striped dolphins cruising in the Mediterranean Sea. Charlotte Lambert et al. examined the abundance, diets, and energy requirements of marine megafauna in the Mediterranean Sea. Around 4.1 million individuals comprising fishes, mammals, reptiles, and birds consume 1.6 million tons of prey each summer, primarily pelagic cephalopods. Cetaceans and tunas are the primary consumers.

CREDIT: Laurine Gounot (MIRACETI).

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Society of Rheology @sorheology.bsky.social · Feb 20

The Society of Rheology is now accepting proposals for the 2025 Rheology Venture Fund. Past winners include the Student Trivia Night at the SoR meeting, the Soft Matter Kitchen, I am a Rheologist swag, Rheology Comics and others.

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Climate at the National Academies @climate.nationalacademies.org · Feb 20

@nationalacademies.org released a 2022 report on #carbondioxideremoval (CDR) strategies that assessed the current benefits, risks, and potential for responsible scale-up of six specific ocean-based CDR strategies. ow.ly/jfpX50V1VG5

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · Feb 19

Make your mark on the next decade of #oceanscience! Find out more about @nationalacademies.org's recommendations for #NSF priorities through 2035 during a webinar from 3-4pm ET on Feb. 20!

Registration:
events.nationalacademies.org/44451_02-202...

2025-2035 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences for the National Science Foundation (Public Release Report Briefing)

Register for this event from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

events.nationalacademies.org

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PNAS Nexus @pnasnexus.org · Feb 20

A study finds that male researchers increased their preprint posting rate by 6.4% more than female researchers after the introduction of ChatGPT, highlighting differences in how researchers are adopting generative AI tools. In PNAS Nexus: ow.ly/hkh950V3HFX

Number of preprints uploaded to the Social Science Research Network by gender across time.

AUTHOR: Professor Shaobo (Kevin) Li, lisb3@sustech.edu.cn

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · Feb 19

The #LAFires are the latest to devastate a community. What if we could design a fire-resistant town? Early strategies are already showing promise. A PNAS Science and Culture: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#wildfire #CampFire #FireBreak #RestorationEcology #firefighters #ClimateChange

A mock-up from landscape architecture firm SWA represents one potential bead in the green necklace of fire breaks around Paradise, California. If built, such a fuel break could double as a base camp for recreation, with a parking lot, showers, and shared community space.
CREDIT: Jonah Susskind (SWA).

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · Feb 19

Trace fossils capture ancient biological activity rather than whole-body impressions. A global dataset of trace fossils shows that development of the modern deep-sea ecosystem during the Ordovician Period took a leisurely 100 million years. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Reconstruction of the Ordovician Sea floor, showing the establishment of complex burrows linked to farming and trapping feeding strategies.

CREDIT: Alex Boersma/PNAS

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PNAS Nexus @pnasnexus.org · Feb 19

Census data from 1980–2020 shows that including undocumented residents in congressional apportionment has not shifted party control of the House or changed the outcome of presidential elections. In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

Change in apportionment if undocumented residents were removed from Census Data used for apportionment, 1980-2020.

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Jan 23

Improving vaccine distribution with network theory and a highly adaptable framework – A team of engineers and medical researchers developed a computationally affordable system for determining COVID-19 vaccination distribution. blog.seas.upenn.edu/who-to-vacci...

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Jan 27

How do engineers transform breakthroughs into solutions? Vanessa Chan, Penn Engineering’s inaugural Vice Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has spent her career answering that question. Read more: blog.seas.upenn.edu/meet-vanessa...
#ResponsibleInnovation

Meet Vanessa Chan: Penn Engineering’s Inaugural Vice Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Penn Engineering Blog

Vanessa Chan describes her vision for building on Penn Engineering's culture of entrepreneurship, drawing on her diverse career experiences.

blog.seas.upenn.edu

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Jan 31

Congratulations to John Bassani, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), on receiving the 2025 Society of Engineering Science William Prager Medal.

blog.seas.upenn.edu/john-bassani...

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Feb 14

Kyle Vining of Penn Engineering and Penn Dental Medicine is studying how the extracellular matrix regulates immune responses. Backed by a $2M NIH grant, his work could pave the way for new cancer and tissue repair therapies.

blog.seas.upenn.edu/kyle-vining-...

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Feb 18

Penn Engineering faculty members César de la Fuente (@delafuentelab.bsky.social) and Jason Altschuler have been named 2025 Sloan Research Fellows (@sloanfoundation.bsky.social).

penntoday.upenn.edu/news/four-pe...

Jason Altschuler (top left) and Anderson Ye Zhang (bottom left) of Penn Engineering and the Wharton School, Liang Wu (bottom right) of the School of Arts & Sciences, and César de la Fuente (top right) of Penn Engineering and the Perelman School of Medicine have been named 2025 Sloan Research Fellows.

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Feb 19

Stronger materials, inspired by nature? Led by Kevin Turner, researchers from @meam-penn.bsky.social and Aarhus University found that adding just the right amount of disorder to a material’s structure boosts toughness by 2.6x.

blog.seas.upenn.edu/breaking-the...

Sage Fulco, a postdoctoral researcher in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, demonstrates the machine the group used to test the materials’ toughness.

Comparison of an organized internal structure (top) versus disordered internal structure (bottom).

Fulco (right) and Turner (left), demonstrate the means by which they used light to assess the way mechanical stress affected the metamaterial.

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Penn Engineering @pennengineering.bsky.social · Feb 20

Jeffrey Babin’s journey from musician to entrepreneur to educator shapes his teaching at @meam-penn.bsky.social, where he helps students refine ideas and develop innovative, adaptable problem-solving skills.

blog.seas.upenn.edu/from-drummer...

From Drummer to Educator: How Entrepreneurship Transcends Disciplines - Penn Engineering Blog

For someone who’s navigated multiple careers and passions, starting in music, pivoting to tech and now teaching engineering entrepreneurship, Jeffrey Babin, Practice Professor in Mechanical … Read Mor...

blog.seas.upenn.edu

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ᐯIᑕTOᖇ ᑎIᘔET, ᗰᗪ @nizet.bsky.social · Jan 19

🄱🄸🄾🄵🄸🄻🄼
🄱🄸🄾🄿🄷🅈🅂🄸🄲🅂

Fascinating work from Sebastian Gonzalez La Corte, Sujit Data, et al at CalTech on polymer-induced entropic attractions that hinder diffusion and lead bacteria to form long spaghetti-like cables within mucus and biofilms

Paper in Science Advances: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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