University of Pennsylvania

These microscopic robots are smaller than a grain of sand. At 200 micrometers wide, they're autonomous, programmable, and cheap enough that high school students are already learning to operate them in labs.

Using intricate geometry found in nature and refined through aerospace and biomedical design, scientists have now 3D-printed these forms into concrete to boost strength and capture carbon – creating a scalable material that benefits people and planet.

A powerful new optical chip can process almost two billion images per second. The device is made up of a neural network that processes information as light without needing components that slow down traditional computer chips, like memory.

Seventy five years ago, the world was introduced to ENIAC, the first ever electronic, programmable, general purpose, digital computer, which not only ushered in the beginning of the computer age, but also shaped popular conceptions of the computer.

The Mars Helicopter drone may be scheduled to launch soon, but it's still just a single aircraft that will be useless if it conks out. With that in mind, scientists are now looking into an alternative – fleets of tiny, cheap "Nanocardboard Flyers."

As electronic devices shrink batteries are becoming too heavy and inefficient for some uses. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new type of robot that powers itself by “eating” metal from its environment.

The promise of reusable sticky things, from Post-it Notes to Blu Tack, has never quite been fulfilled. They're just never quite as sticky the second time around, or the third. But now, a team of engineers thinks it has an answer, inspired by one of nature's great stickers, the humble, slimy snail.

A new technique has been used to turn ordinary metals into "metallic wood" with a greatly improved strength-to-weight ratio. By manipulating materials at the atomic scale, scientists claim to have created a sheet of nickel that is as strong as titanium​, but up to five times lighter.

Researchers have used an algorithm to analyze Shakespeare's writing style and some of his contemporaries, and determined which of his plays were likely collaborations and with whom. For the first time, an upcoming scholarly collection will credit Christopher Marlowe as co-author on Henry VI.

Engineers have developed a first-of-its-kind nanoscale plate that is one thousand times thinner than paper, yet still manages to maintain its shape after being bent and twisted by a human hand.

A team from the University of Pennsylvania has developed a color-changing polymer material that could one day be incorporated into headgear to instantly gauge the severity of blows and provide a clearly visible indication of injury.

A US team from the University of Pennsylvania has taken out the 2013 James Dyson Award with the Titan Arm, an upper body exoskeleton that augments human strength. The team will receive the £30,000 (US$48,260) first prize, with an additional £10,000 (US$16,100) for their university.