Penn Engineers Use AI, Reddit to Identify Potential Side Effects of Unapproved New GLP-1 News / October 15, 2026 An AI analysis of nearly 150,000 Reddit posts provides the first systematic look at self-reported side effects of gray-market versions of retatrutide, highlighting how social media could potentially be used to help researchers identify signals for further investigation. Read More
AI Platform Allows Real-Time Conversation Between Patients and their Medical Devices News / October 14, 2026 A new AI-driven platform could allow people to interact with their medical devices by sending messages using a smartphone application and receiving feedback in real time. Participants in a proof-of-concept study undergoing monitoring for seizures could ask questions about their brain activity, receive personalized alerts, report symptoms and behaviors, and... Read More
Harnessing Technology to Help Farmers Assess Crop Health Earlier News / October 13, 2026 Penn leads a team with researchers from Purdue University, the University of Florida, and the University of California, Merced, so the technology can prove itself across different crops, climates, and regulations. Read More
Space Invaders: What Cybersecurity Looks Like in Space News / October 12, 2026 In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, Phan explains why spacecraft are so hard to defend, why a few milliseconds can matter, and how AI might change the cybersecurity landscape. Read More
GRASP Laboratory and DSTA Singapore Sign a New Master Research Agreement to Advance Multi-Robots System Research News / October 9, 2026 The University of Pennsylvania’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing, and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory recently hosted a team of executives from Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) to celebrate the signing of a Master Research Agreement. The signing event at GRASP’s PERCH at Pennovation Works lab marks the beginning of a... Read More
Daeyeon Lee Receives 2026–27 Heilmeier Award News / October 8, 2026 Daeyeon Lee, Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is the recipient of the 2026–27 George H. Heilmeier Faculty Award for Excellence in Research for “advances in understanding and exploiting interfacial phenomena in soft matter and biomaterials.” Read More
2026 CAREER Award Recipient: Yuanwen Jiang News / October 8, 2026 Yuanwen Jiang is developing bioelectronic devices designed to work inside the body for the long term. His NSF CAREER Award will support technology that continuously monitors nerve injuries, capturing electrical and molecular signals that could reveal how nerves heal and inform future treatments. Read More
Updating a Radio Astronomy Instrument at the Green Bank Telescope News / October 7, 2026 Researchers worldwide use the Green Bank Telescope, the largest steerable telescope on Earth, due to its ability to survey a vast range of cosmic structures—from local objects in the solar system to distant galactic clusters billions of light-years away—with the goal of better understanding how the universe functions and evolves.... Read More
From the RoboRacer Course to the RoboRacer Track News / October 5, 2026 Penn’s RoboRacer/F1TENTH course, launched in 2016, has grown from a classroom project into a global autonomous racing competition, inspiring students Dhyey Shah and Cedric Hollande to compete in the 2026 RoboRacer Championship. Read More
Teaching Robots to Do More with Less Data News / October 2, 2026 Nadia Figueroa and her lab are developing new ways for robots to combine physics, planning and artificial intelligence, allowing them to learn useful skills from just a handful of demonstrations, and adapt when the world doesn’t go as planned. Read More
