Hosted within the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy will play a major role in a global forum focused on democracy June 25-27 in Belfast, Nor
Angiogenesis, the sprouting of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, is essential to the body’s development. As organs grow, vascular networks must grow with them to feed new cells and remove their waste. The same process, however, also plays a critical role in the onset and progression of many cancers, as it allows the rapid growth of tumors.
On June 24, David Hewitt, a biologist and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, will give a Penn Science Cafe talk titled, “Cities aren’t like ecosystems, they are ecosystems.”
During the past two years, David Hewitt has taught ecology to students of City & Regional Planning. This talk will be a "lessons learned" from that experience: about how and why one should understand cities as ecosystems — not as a metaphor, not as stretch of the imagination, but simply and clearly as ecosystems governed by ecological principles, just as other kinds of ecosystems are.
The talk is part of the Penn Science Café free public-lecture series presented by the School of Arts & Sciences and the Office of University Communications that takes science out of the lab for a night on the town. Hewitt’s presentation will be followed by an audience Q&A.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Seating is limited.
In conjunction with the first White House Maker Faire being held today, the University of Pennsylvania signed a joint letter along with more than 150 other institutions, pledging support to foster a “generation of makers.” The letter details the need for young tinkerers, inventors and entrepreneurs to bring life to future innovations.
This fall, thanks to an anonymous $250,000 gift, the University of Pennsylvania‘s School of Engineering and Applied Science will be opening the AddLab, a new additive manufacturing facility that will feature a suite of state-of-the-art 3-D printing tools.
Robert W. Carpick
John Henry Towne Professor and Department Chair
Mechanical Engineering Faculty and Students
Tour of new additive manufacturing facility
Wednesday, June 18, 12-1 p.m.
Towne Building Room 187 (gather by the CyberCafe)
This fall, thanks to an anonymous $250,000 gift, the University of Pennsylvania‘s School of Engineering and Applied Science will be opening the AddLab, a new additive manufacturing facility that will feature a suite of state-of-the-art 3-D printing tools. Professor Robert Carpick, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, will lead a preview of the facility; other members of the department will demonstrate 3-D printers and the kinds of objects they can make.
The event is timed to coincide with the first White House Maker Faire and national "Day of Making," a celebration of America as a nation of tinkerers, inventors and entrepreneurs who are using cutting-edge technologies like 3-D printers, laser cutters, desktop machine tools and free, user-friendly design software, democratizing the act of making and enabling citizens to build just about anything.
“Penn's founder Benjamin Franklin was an author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, engineer, politician and printer,” Carpick said. “While we can only imagine what he would think of today's revolution in manufacturing that is being brought about by the advent of 3-D printing, we are sure that he'd be proud to see Penn making its mark in the area.”
The event is free and open to the public.
For Betty Hsu an idea about how to strengthening one’s vocabulary became a rewarding lesson. While at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, she created ProfessorWord, an online application that helps to boost vocabulary development.
The human body is comprised of roughly 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells. In healthy people, these bacteria are typically harmless and often helpful, keeping disease-causing microbes at bay. But, when disturbances knock these bacterial populations out of balance, illnesses can arise. Periodontitis, a severe form of gum disease, is one example.
One of the defining features of cells is their membranes. Each cell’s repository of DNA and protein-making machinery must be kept stable and secure from invaders and toxins. Scientists have attempted to replicate these properties, but, despite decades of research, even the most basic membrane structures, known as vesicles, still face many problems when made in the lab.