Centers + Institutes

• Penn Center for Quantum Information, Engineering, Science and Technology (QUIEST)
  

  Quantum information, engineering, science and technology (QUIEST) is a transdisciplinary field that draws from physics, materials science, electrical engineering, and information science. By controlling and exploiting quantum-mechanical effects like superposition and entanglement in physical systems, QUIEST is already transforming the way we think about computation and information security.

• Center for Precision Engineering for Health (CPE4H)
  

  Dan Hammer, Director

  CPE4H is focused on how advances in molecular medicine, such as sequencing and the genome, might give way to personalized treatments. Its efforts will catalyze the ability to move healthcare from providing one-size-fits-all solutions to a system that can recognize the unique state of each individual to provide the best care.

• Center for Soft and Living Matter
  

  Andrea Liu, Director

  This interdisciplinary center brings together more than 60 faculty working on soft and living matter from more than 10 departments across the Penn campus, from the School of Arts and Sciences as well as the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

• Center for Analyzing Evolved Structures as Optimized Products (AESOP)
  

  Shu Yang, Director

  The Center for Analyzing Evolved Structures as Optimized Products (AESOP): Science and Engineering for the Human Habitat is a dynamic and highly collaborative center bringing together materials scientists, chemical and biomolecular engineers, mechanical engineers, robotics engineers, systems engineers, and computer scientists with expertise in both active and real time control of materials, metamaterials, and structures. Its goal is address societal issues related to conservation of water, nutrients, energy, and sustainability.

• Center for Engineering MechanoBiology
  

  Vivek Shenoy, Director

  The Center for Engineering MechanoBiology (CEMB) is a multi-institutional Science and Technology Center funded by the National Science Foundation to advance the study of mechanical forces in molecules, cells, and tissues in plants and animals. The mission of the CEMB is to create new materials, biomedical therapies, and improved agricultural technologies. Our researchers utilize multidisciplinary approaches to interrogate and guide the formation of biological structures on multiple scales and will create new platforms for innovative research and training as a pipeline to the workforce of the future.

• Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM)
  

  Eric Stach, Director

  The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) is the intellectual focal point of materials research at Penn. It hosts the Materials Research Science & Engineering Center (MRSEC), which consists of five Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) plus selected seed projects. The MRSEC provides crucial support for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students drawn from different disciplines, to tackle complex materials science projects that can only be addressed in a truly collaborative mode.

• Penn Institute for Computational Science (PICS)
  

  Aleksandra Vojvodic, Director

  The formation of the Penn Institute for Computational Science derives from the observation that computing is an important tool for research in essentially every field of study today; from the physical and biological sciences to every part of engineering to linguistics to medicine to psychology. Computing’s rapidly changing landscape, while presenting immense opportunities, makes it a challenge for researchers to stay at the state-of-the-art. PICS is formed to address these challenges and opportunities across the University of Pennsylvania.

• Singh Center for Nanotechnology
  

  Mark Allen, Director

  The Singh Center is centered around four major research facilities, all featuring state-of-the-art equipment for nanoscale characterization, measurement, and fabrication: the Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility, the Nanoscale Characterization Facility, the Scanning and Local Probe Facility, and the Material Property Measurement Facility.