Every innovation begins with
At the center of all human advancements, materials have shaped what is possible. Today, Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) serves as the hub of every major scientific and technological breakthrough, from transportation to energy, from medical implants to AI and quantum computing. Materials Science and Engineering is where chemistry and physics come together to invent the materials of the future.
The MSE program offers the complexity of scientific rigor, the breadth of an interdisciplinary program, and direct access to world-class research tools. MSE students at Penn are equipped with the ability to think critically and advance to diverse careers, becoming start-up founders, management consultants, scientists and engineers, investors, policy makers, patent attorneys, and more.
Our students learn to create the materials that influence the future, all within a dynamic and close-knit department influenced by Benjamin Franklin’s belief that knowledge should serve humanity and a keen interest in applied scientific inquiry. Undergraduates can tailor their education to explore anything, from AI to inventing new products to launching their own venture, to conducting novel research to making art in our makers spaces.
Penn Engineering proudly celebrates the election of two distinguished faculty members, Karen Winey, Harold Pender Professor, and Nader Engheta, H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor, to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the profession’s most respected and time-honored distinctions. Their selection reflects a longstanding tradition of excellence in scholarship, discovery and service that continues to shape the future of engineering while building on the strong foundations of the past.
CarboWells has been named the grand prize winner of the 2026 Y-Prize, the University of Pennsylvania’s annual innovation competition challenging students to transform breakthrough research into real-world impact. Built around a pioneering carbon-capturing concrete technology developed at Penn Engineering, the team’s solution reimagines how abandoned oil wells can be sealed to reduce methane leaks and combat climate change.
Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Douglas Jerolmack of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Engineering have been elected to the 2025 class of American Physical Society (APS) Fellows.
Along the Pacific coast, the soft coral Leptogorgia chilensis can switch from flexible to rigid in an instant — and now engineers have uncovered how. In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reveal how this natural “granular jamming” system could inspire next-generation tools in medicine, robotics and manufacturing.
