Resource site for Scientific Kirigami
Threading high-performance, self-morphing building blocks across scales toward a sustainable future
November 19, 2020
Image: Masoud Akbarzadeh Inspiree by biological structural materials, Yang, Liang Feng (Penn Engineering, MSE) and Masoud Akbarzadeh (PennDesign, Architecture) have received $4.6M grant from National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with researchers at Princeton University (Andrej Košmrlj and Pierre-Thomas Brun), Rowan University (Xiao Hu) and Rutgers University Camden (David Salas-de la Cruz) to drive eco-future manufacturing of highly efficient structures and components ...
Emily Zinselmeier, One of Eight 2018 Thouron Award Winners from Penn
March 8, 2018
Emily Zinselmeier, a 2017 graduate, has received the prestigious Thouron Award to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. She majored in materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and architecture with a minor in Hispanic studies from the School of Arts and Sciences. She co-founded Penn’s chapter of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, led fundraising ...
Mimicking Giant Clams to Enhance the Production of Biofuel
November 3, 2017
Alison Sweeney of the University of Pennsylvania has been studying giant clams. She refer to the clams as “solar transformers” because they are capable of absorbing bright sunlight at a very high rate and scattering it over a large surface area. When the light is distributed evenly among the thick layer of algae living inside ...
Penn Collaboration Produces Surprising Insights Into the White Spots on Butterfly Wings
June 29, 2017
A collaboration between biologists and materials scientists at the University of Pennsylvania is yielding new insights into the whiteness on the wings of the “skipper butterfly”, a dusk-active and shade-inhabiting Costa Rican rain forest butterfly.
Memorandom of Understanding Signing Ceremony between KIST-MLSRD and UPENN-LRSM & AESOP
December 11, 2015
In an exciting development, we signed a Memo of Understanding to spur increased collaboration between Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Materials and Life Science Research Division (MLSRD) and two centers of excellence at the University of Pennsylvania. These include the newly launched Center AESOP (Center for Analyzing Evolved Structures as Optimized Products (AESOP): ...
Sabin named 2015 IVY Innovator in Design
December 9, 2015
Jenny Sabin, is principal of Jenny Sabin Studio, an experimental architectural design studio, and director of the Sabin Design Lab at Cornell AAP, a hybrid research and design unit with specialization in computational design, data visualization, and digital fabrication.
AESOP Goes Live!
October 29, 2015
Announcing the new entity: “Analyzing Evolved Structures and Solutions as Optimized Patterns, Products, and Paradigms Science for the Human Habitat”
Invited Commission, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum; Beauty-Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial exhibition
September 15, 2015
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present “Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial,” the fifth installment of the museum’s popular contemporary design exhibition series, from Feb. 12 through Aug. 21, 2016. With projects ranging from experimental prototypes and interactive games to fashion ensembles and architectural interventions, “Beauty” will fill most of two floors of the museum with ...
The Smart Window
April 26, 2015
The Smart Window is trying to balance several competing requirements for windows. Architects prefer transparency in the design of buildings for their aesthetic appeal. However, transparent windows may let in too much sunlight on a scorching summer day, causing interiors to become over-heated and then require artificial cooling. This is energy inefficient and leads to ...
How Nanoscale Optics Create Nature’s Most Dazzling Colors
February 19, 2015
What do a butterfly’s shimmering wings, a fish’s opalescent scales, and a peacock’s brilliant feathers have in common? Yes, their colors are beautifully iridescent. But they are also produced by the physical interaction of light with sophisticated nanoscale architecture that we are only just beginning to understand. read more