Reinventing Invention.
At Penn Engineering, world-class researchers are harnessing AI to address global challenges like climate change and health care innovation, while our faculty lead cutting-edge programs that blend technical excellence with ethical responsibility, preparing students to shape the future of intelligent technology.
Penn Engineering is at the forefront of AI research, driving breakthroughs in robotics, machine learning and data science. With a focus on solving complex global problems through interdisciplinary collaboration and discovery, our innovations are shaping the future of AI.
Amy Gutmann Hall is the University of Pennsylvania’s home for AI and data science, bringing together scholars in fields as diverse as engineering, social science, and medicine.
Housing spaces for both research and teaching, Amy Gutmann Hall supports pioneering, interdisciplinary study and trains the next generation of scholars to innovate using AI and data science for the betterment of humanity.
Our faculty bring deep expertise across AI and its related disciplines, including machine learning, robotics, natural language processing, computer vision and human-computer interaction, shaping the future of AI to be innovative, interdisciplinary and impactful.
Collaboration is vital to Penn Engineering’s success. With partners across Penn’s 11 other schools, as well as industry leaders, government agencies, nonprofits and global academic institutions, we drive responsible AI innovation that addresses real-world challenges and advances human-centered solutions.
Penn Engineering is producing the groundbreaking innovations that will shape our world. From health technologies to sustainable solutions, the stories below highlight how Penn Engineers are solving global challenges and improving lives, demonstrating the transformative power of interdisciplinary research.
Shafag Idris, Master of Science in Engineering, EE'15
The value of a Penn Engineering degree starts the moment our students enter the classroom and continues on for years to come. Our engineering students are primed for success from day one through our active alumni networks, access to top-performing companies and dedicated faculty mentors.
Life at Penn is designed to be collaborative. Our community connects brilliant minds to fuel imaginative ideas. Here’s how we do it.
With six academic departments and over 25 programs, students have a variety of novel academic options to explore their interests and ideas.
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undergraduate student-faculty ratio
Tenure-track Faculty
of students receive a job offer before graduation
A team of Penn Engineering students has been selected as one of five teams worldwide to receive an IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society (UFFC-S) micro-grant to develop a new acoustic technology that could make it easier to build complex tissue models for biomedical research. The interdisciplinary team, working in the laboratory of Shujie Yang, Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), is developing a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT)-based acoustic tweezer, a device that uses sound waves instead of physical contact to precisely move and arrange cells into programmable patterns.
Sand. It has a way of getting everywhere on a beach day—and for some, it can make or break the whole trip. There’s the way it whips through the air just as sandwiches are being unwrapped, the way it turns blisteringly hot underfoot by midday, and the way it stubbornly clings to every piece of clothing. But the same stuff people curse at the shore is quietly becoming one of the most important materials on Earth. And it’s starting to run short. View large image Shu Yang in the lab. Shu Yang, the Joseph Bordogna Professor of Engineering and Applied Science in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. “After water, sand is the second-most-used natural resource on the planet—the world goes through roughly 50 billion tons a year, says materials scientist Shu Yang. “That's enough to build a nine-story wall around the entire globe, and we’re pulling it from rivers, coasts, and seabeds faster than the hundreds of thousands of years Earth took to make it.” Yang, who uses sand to create more sustainable concrete and building materials, says that while places like deserts are covered in sand, “not just any sand will do.” The wind-smoothed grains of dunes are nearly useless for construction, which is part of why a planet seemingly covered in sand can still face a shortage. Penn Today caught up with Yang to get into the nitty gritty of what’s really going on beneath people’s feet.
From the teenage soccer player recovering from knee surgery to the grandparent relearning how to walk after a stroke, physical therapy plays a vital role in restoring mobility and helping people live independently—especially later in life. But what if artificial intelligence could work side by side with clinicians and physical therapists, adapting to each patient, guiding treatment decisions and accelerating recovery? That is the idea behind the new U.S. National Science Foundation AI Institute for Human-AI Cooperation (NSF HAIC) launched today with a $21.5 million, five-year award. The University of Pennsylvania will partner with the University of Delaware (UD) who will lead the effort, and join other collaborators that include Delaware State University, Princeton University, and the University of Florida. Headquartered at UD’s Data Science Institute, HAIC will focus on pioneering AI’s role in improving healthcare. In total, the HAIC Institute will bring together more than 40 partners across academia, industry, government, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations, serving as a national hub for human-centered AI—designed to support, not replace, human decision making in healthcare. “Our goal is to transform artificial intelligence into an adaptive teammate, allowing human users and AI systems to interact in dynamic collaboration,” says HAIC Director Cathy Wu, the Unidel Edward G. Jefferson Chair in Engineering and Computer Science at UD. “By developing AI that enables personalized models tailored to individual needs and decision-making, our institute will chart a new path for healthcare and cultivate the next generation of leaders in AI.”
Penn Engineering forges powerful collaborations across the University of Pennsylvania and beyond to push boundaries, transform ideas into action and make a meaningful difference in our world through bold, innovative thinking. In uniting engineering expertise with insights from medicine, business, design and more, Penn Engineering tackles complex challenges to bring research to life — turning path-breaking ideas into real-world impact for everyone.
The work of our researchers touches everyday lives in ways you might not even realize: wearable medical tech that monitors health in real time, aerial robots that support disaster relief, and ethical AI that protects your data. Penn Engineers are redesigning traffic systems to reduce congestion and pollution; in hospitals, they are helping doctors deliver personalized treatments through health technology advances. Penn Engineering is driving advancements that make society safer, healthier and more connected. This kind of innovation matters: it defines the future for all of us.
We face urgent challenges in climate change, public health and disruptive technologies. Penn Engineering teaches students to turn challenges into opportunities by producing graduates who can think critically, act ethically and innovate boldly. With access to world-class faculty, advanced labs and a collaborative campus, students dive into hands-on, interdisciplinary learning from day one. Penn Engineering graduates don’t just fill jobs — they shape the technologies, systems and policies that will determine our shared future.
Penn Engineering is committed to making STEM education accessible to students from all backgrounds. This commitment matters because when determined, creative minds gain access to top-tier engineering educational opportunities, the ripple effects benefit us all. By supporting outreach and access, Penn Engineering is opening doors for more voices to have a seat at the table of innovation, producing solutions that are smarter, stronger and more impactful.
Undergraduates participate in research
Active patents stemming from faculty innovations
Interdisciplinary research centers and labs
