The (nearly) Reverend Doctor Booker Vaughn Booker is the George E. Doty, Jr. & Lee Spelman Doty Presidential Associate Professor of Africana Studies(Image: Courtesy of Omnia) The (nearly) Reverend Doctor Booker Vaughn A. Booker, associate professor of Africana Studies in the School of Arts & Sciences, investigates the history and diversity of 20th-century African American religions. 2 min. read
Which state policies are actually working? Image: Urbanscape via iStock Which state policies are actually working? Penn IUR faculty fellow John Landis analyzed 25 years of land use, transportation, energy, and water conservation efforts across the United States. 2 min. read
Understanding the animal-human bond nocred Understanding the animal-human bond Lauren Powell, assistant professor of animal welfare and behavior, researches the science behind the benefits and challenges of pet ownership. 2 min. read
Paving the way for safer roads Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard.(Image: Julio Cortez via AP Images) Paving the way for safer roads An interdisciplinary team of Penn engineers and urban planners has taken an innovative approach to creating a drivable digital twin of Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard, a significant public health threat to the tens of thousands of people who use it each day. 2 min. read
Supersonic whale calls and special relativity Humpback whales, like the one pictured here off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, are routinely located by analyzing when their calls reach underwater microphones. In a recent paper, oceanographer John Spiesberger and a colleague identified a theoretical wave-interference effect that can make energy from sound waves outrun fundamental speed limits without violating the laws of physics. Their findings could improve whale tracking.(Image: Courtesy of Bryce Flynn / Getty) Supersonic whale calls and special relativity Researchers noticed a wave-interference effect that makes sound energy appear to outrun fundamental limits without breaking physics. Their findings could improve whale tracking. 3 min. read
What lies beneath To better understand trade and economics along the Mediterranean Sea during Late Antiquity, second-year Ph.D. student Konstantinos Raptis dives deep into the ocean. Artifacts and shipwrecks remain preserved on the seafloor, offering a rare time capsule from a world long gone by.(Image: Courtesy of Konstantinos Raptis) What lies beneath From uncovering ancient ways of life to addressing the pressing threat of climate change, scholars at Penn Arts & Sciences are finding an upside to looking down. 2 min. read
Penn researchers join ARPA-H initiative to develop next-gen fetal monitoring device Image: Drs Producoes via Getty Images Penn researchers join ARPA-H initiative to develop next-gen fetal monitoring device Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine are part of a collaborative team awarded $39.3 million to provide clinicians with real-time information about fetal oxygen levels and reduce unnecessary interventions. 2 min. read
The hidden waves at the beach Image: Jenny Evans / Stringer via Getty Images The hidden waves at the beach Electromagnetism researcher Nader Engheta explains the physics behind invisible waves washing over beachgoers at the shore. 3 min. read
New Penn Vet research moves science closer to a solution to male infertility Spermatogonia generated from pluripotent stem cells.(Image: Courtesy of Kotaro Sasaki) New Penn Vet research moves science closer to a solution to male infertility By converting human skin or blood cells into stem cells and coaxing them into early-stage human sperm cells, researchers are furthering the understanding of how sperm cells are formed. 2 min. read
Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world nocred Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world Penn researchers Vanessa and Alexis North are studying one of the largest collections of Egyptian blue objects ever found in the ancient Near East, shedding new light on how the world’s first synthetic pigment may have traveled far beyond Egypt. 4 min. read