Reaching for the Stars: Using Light to Sail through Space News / August 27, 2026 Multiple projects trace mechanical engineer Igor Bargatin’s decade-long commitment to space exploration as they climb from the edge of the atmosphere to the stars—powered, almost every time, by light itself. Read More
Scientists Use Force to ‘Write’ Atomically Thin Superconductors News / August 24, 2026 Penn Engineers and researchers at Princeton develop new mechanochemical technique that transforms an atomic force microscope into a nanoscale manufacturing tool for next-generation electronics. Read More
Geomimicry Offers a New Framework for Engineering Sustainable Materials News / August 3, 2026 A new framework called geomimicry draws inspiration from the way soils evolve over time, offering engineers a roadmap for designing resilient, sustainable materials with applications in agriculture, manufacturing and climate adaptation. Read More
A New Kind of Light Sail Brings Interstellar Travel One Step Closer News / July 30, 2026 What if spacecraft could travel to nearby stars not with rockets, but by riding beams of light? Penn Engineers have developed an ultralight, highly reflective "light sail" that overcomes major engineering hurdles, bringing laser-powered interstellar travel one step closer to reality. Read More
The Impact of Microplastics—And How to Limit Exposure News / July 14, 2026 Microplastics researchers Samantha McBride and Derek Ho of Penn Engineering and Vijay Bhatia of the Philadelphia Water Department discuss how microplastics get into ecosystems and human bodies, offering practical ways to minimize exposure. Read More
Penn Engineering Students Receive IEEE Micro-Grant to Advance Acoustic Tool for Building Living Tissues News / July 7, 2026 The grant will allow the team to further develop an acoustic technology that precisely assembles living cells into complex tissue structures. Read More
AI in the Physical World: Helping Robotic Arms Solve Problems Using Tools News / June 4, 2026 Penn researchers developed an AI framework that enables robotic arms to invent and use tools on their own, allowing robots to adapt to unfamiliar tasks and environments by combining physical reasoning, tool design, and problem-solving in the real world. Read More
Dancing Through Life: From Origami Robotics to Sculptural Art News / June 2, 2026 An artist-in-residence collaboration between Penn’s Sung Robotics Lab and The Arts League of Philadelphia shows how origami-inspired robotics can transform contemporary art, resulting in kinetic sculptures that blur the boundaries between engineering, creativity, and public engagement. Read More
When Bone Behaves Like a Sponge: A New Platform for Observing How Cells Feel Force News / March 2, 2026 Penn engineers developed a nanoengineered, 3D-printed scaffold that recreates the complex forces experienced inside bone, giving researchers a new way to observe how living cells respond to mechanical stress. Read More
Shujie Yang Harnesses Sound to Build Microrobotic Medicine News / March 2, 2026 Assistant Professor Shujie Yang is pioneering ultrasound-powered microrobotic tools that can manipulate cells without physical contact, advancing new approaches to disease diagnostics, immune system research and highly targeted cancer therapies. Read More
