On Monday, May 20, 2024, from 12:15-2:15 p.m., Penn Engineering will host an Open House for the School’s returning graduates and their families throughout the first floors of the main Engineering complex, immediately following the University Ceremony. Included are photo booth opportunities, a t-shirt giveaway (including a live t-shirt press!), and light refreshments. Please join […]
The pressing issues of global warming and the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves have prompted both private and governmental organizations to seek clean, renewable energy alternatives. Solar and wind energy have been extensively researched, leading to significantly reduced costs for energy production. However, to address the intermittent nature of these energy sources, reliable methods […]
Battery technologies are crucial for reducing greenhouse gases by enabling the use of renewable energy and facilitating the transition to electric vehicles, thereby lowering emissions. Lithium metal anodes are ideal for next-generation batteries in automotive applications due to their high energy density. However, issues such as dendrite formation and solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) affect their […]
Temporary and switchable underwater adhesion plays an important role in robotic underwater locomotion and transportation. The physical features of the suction cups of octopuses have been mimicked, where the vacuum chamber formed by the deformation of these cups enable strong adhesion. However, the works mainly focused on the strength of the underwater adhesion. For the […]
EHRS staff will discuss how to work safely in the lab while navigating the changing landscape of materials science and engineering research. The talk will also cover; - Standard orientation topics (physical/bio/chem safety, waste disposal, Workday training, etc.) - The new methylene chloride regulations and how they will affect EHRS and Penn operations. - Safe use of […]
Materials and chemicals impact daily life, as they enable modern healthcare, preservation of food, and delivering performance and efficiency of transportation and infrastructure. The talk will focus on Dow’s vision and path for carbon neutrality. An overview of Dow Chemical’s portfolio and the breadth of chemistries being practiced will be discussed. Dow has a vision […]
Structural materials that are damage-tolerant, lightweight, multifunctional, and sustainable are highly desirable for many engineering applications. Such combinations of properties are often found in the biological world. Organisms from nature construct various biological structural materials for protection, predation, body support, camouflage, etc. Despite the fact that these materials are made from limited constituent materials with […]
My group is developing a roadmap for soft actuating materials to replace bulky electric motors in miniature robots requiring large mechanical work output. First, I will describe the materials microstructure and mechanics of polymeric coiled muscles made by twisting nylon fishing lines, and how these actuators use internal strain energy to achieve a “record breaking” performance. Then I […]
Light-matter interactions form the fundamental basis for numerous phenomena and processes in optical devices. This talk will cover ultra-high-quality (Q) whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical microresonators which have an unprecedented capability to trap light in a highly confined volume smaller than a strand of human hair. Light-matter interactions are significantly enhanced in high-quality WGM resonators, creating the […]
Photonics serves as the backbone of modern information infrastructure, transmitting and processing data at unparalleled speeds with minimal energy consumption by harnessing the inherent parallelism, high-frequency operation, and expansive bandwidths. In the past decade, the surging advancements of artificial intelligence has revolutionized the traditional definition of computing algorithms. By bridging the gap between optical hardware and software-defined functionality, programmable integrated […]
