Penn Engineering Launches Two New AI Degree Programs
In June, Penn announced the formation of a new Center for Quantum Information, Engineering, Science and Technology, or Penn QUIEST, that seeks to realize practical quantum technologies like quantum computers, quantum networks and quantum sensors. QUIEST is a transdisciplinary field that draws from physics, materials science and information science, and the new center brings together faculty from Penn Engineering and Penn Arts & Sciences to work toward its goals. Penn QUIEST will be led by Director Lee C. Bassett, Associate Professor in Electrical and Systems Engineering.
Arjun Raj Receives Heilmeier Award
Arjun Raj, Richard K. Lubin Professor in Bioengineering and in Genetics, has been named the recipient of the 2023–24 George H. Heilmeier Faculty Award for Excellence in Research for “pioneering the development and application of single-cell, cancer-fighting technologies.” The Heilmeier Award, named for the late George H. Heilmeier, a Penn Engineering alumnus and member of the School’s Board of Advisors, honors a Penn Engineering faculty member whose work is scientifically meritorious.
George Pappas Elected to the National Academy of Engineering
George Pappas, UPS Foundation Professor of Transportation in Electrical and Systems Engineering and Associate Dean for Research at Penn Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for his significant “contributions in analysis, synthesis, and control of safety-critical cyber-physical systems.” Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.
$18M NSF AIRFoundry to Revolutionize RNA Research
The National Science Foundation Artificial Intelligence-driven RNA Foundry (NSF AIRFoundry), led by the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Puerto Rico and supported by an $18 million, six-year grant, will use AI to design, optimize and synthesize RNA and delivery vehicles by augmenting human expertise, enabling rapid iterative experimentation and providing predictive models and automated workflows to accelerate discovery and innovation.
New $10M Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy
The University of Pennsylvania has announced $10 million in combined funding for a new Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy. Operating in partnership with five other schools at Penn, the Center will be housed in Penn Engineering’s Amy Gutmann Hall and will facilitate research synergies across the fields of law, political science, media, communications, data science, AI and more to explore the impact of media on democracy.
Mark Allen Named Chair of Electrical and Systems Engineering
Mark Allen, Alfred Fitler Moore Professor, has been named Chair of the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering. With secondary appointments in Mechanical Engineering
and Applied Mechanics and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Allen comes to this position after serving more than 10 years as the inaugural Scientific Director of the Singh Center for Nanotechnology.
Koditschek Doctoral Fellowship Honors Family’s Resilience, Love of Education
With a generous gift to Penn Engineering, longtime Penn professors Daniel E. Koditschek, Alfred Fitler Moore Professor in Electrical and Systems Engineering, and his wife, Anne M. Teitelman, Associate Professor Emerita in Penn Nursing, endowed a doctoral fellowship in Electrical and Systems Engineering to honor Koditschek’s paternal grandmother, Elsa Koditschek, and her son and daughter-in-law — Koditschek’s father and mother — Paul and Leah Koditschek. Elsa Koditschek’s extraordinary story was detailed in a 2018 article in The New York Times, “The Nazi Downstairs: A Jewish Woman’s Tale of Hiding in Her Home.”
IEEE Dedicates Milestone to Grace Hopper at Penn Engineering
On May 7, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dedicated an IEEE Milestone marker in recognition of the significance of the A-0 compiler, an early innovation in computer programming developed by Grace Hopper, the pioneering computer scientist who served as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. The dedication took place in the Moore Building, adjacent to the room that houses the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the world’s first general-purpose computer, which was developed at Penn.
Engineering Entrepreneurship Turns 25, Launches Fellows Program
Now in its 25th year, Penn Engineering Entrepreneurship has launched a new Fellows Program, enrolling its first cohort in January 2024. Open to a small, select group of juniors, seniors and first-year master’s students, the program offers a transformative educational experience, where Fellows participate in dedicated, seminar-style courses in the spring and fall semesters, and spend the summer at high-growth tech startups with executive mentors.
Penn Engineering Online Celebrates 5 Years of Master’s Degrees
In 2019, Penn Engineering Online diversified the online education space by expanding access to the School’s already wildly successful Master of Computer and Information Technology (MCIT) degree. Staying up to date with industry demands, the program opened its second master’s offering, the Master of Science in Engineering in Data Science, in 2022. Penn Engineering has been a pioneer in online education at the University, expanding access to an Ivy League education to a new cohort of students and broadening
Penn’s global reach.
Penn Engineering Launches Responsible Innovation Initiative
At an October 17 kickoff event co-hosted by Perry World House, Penn Engineering launched its new Responsible Innovation initiative at the Penn Washington Center in Washington, D.C. After opening remarks from Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean, the afternoon’s talks included keynote speaker Michael Horowitz, the Richard Perry Professor and Director of the Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania, and guest speaker and Penn Trustee Ted Schlein (C’86), pictured above. Critical themes that emerged from the event included the need to consider the long-term impacts of technological innovation, balancing innovation with regulation and prioritizing the incorporation of ethics and social impact into engineering education.
CIS Student Wins at Apple Swift Student Challenge
Rena Li (CIS’27) is a winner in the 2024 Apple Swift Student Challenge, which gives student developers the opportunity to showcase their creativity and coding capabilities. For the Challenge, Li created a prototype app called “Eco Journey,” which serves as a starting guide for individuals to learn more about the environment, calculate carbon footprints, find important resources for recycling and more.
$13.5M From DARPA to Enhance National Computer Security
Penn Engineering has secured a $13.5 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to pioneer cutting-edge technology aimed at enhancing national computer security. This award harnesses the School’s security leadership to fundamentally shift the state of the art in computer protection, moving the field from today’s typical “patch-and-pray” approach to a foundational, resilient approach that remains secure in the presence of even the most sophisticated software bugs.
Three New Scholarly Professorships Awarded
Thanks to the tremendous dedication and generosity of our donors, in Fiscal Year 2024, Penn Engineering awarded three recently established scholarly professorships:
Boileau Professorship of Electrical Engineering: Generously established by the late Oliver C. Boileau, Jr. (EE’51, GEE’53) and his late wife, Nan Eleze Boileau, the inaugural recipient of the Boileau Professorship is André DeHon, Professor in Electrical and Systems Engineering.
Misra Family Professorship: Endowed through the generosity of Rajeev Misra (ME’85, GEN’85), the first member of the faculty to hold the Misra Professorship is Mayur Naik, Professor in Computer and Information Science.
Richard K. Lubin Professorship: Established with the generous support of Richard K. Lubin (CHE’67) and the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, the Lubin Professorship is held by inaugural recipient Arjun Raj, Professor in Bioengineering.