Greg Rollman

When a lizard runs across a sandy desert it may seem effortless, but crossing sand has proved to be nearly impossible for robots until the advent of SandBot. Researchers at Penn and the Georgia Institute of Technology have collaborated to study how animals can accomplish what wheeled and tracked robots have not been able to do.

The economic downturn has had a mixed effect on summer programs at Penn, with some experiencing growth and others seeing a decrease in applications. Penn hosts a wide variety of summer programs, including athletic and academic programs targeted at high-school and college students.

In the fall, Penn became the last Ivy League university to establish a group promoting vegetarian interests when two freshmen created the Penn Vegetarian Society, according to the club's Facebook group. In the past month, the group has worked with the Undergraduate Assembly and Penn Dining Services to create a Nutrition Week.

Beginning next fall, the School of Engineering and Applied Science will offer a master's degree in embedded systems. In the current academic year, the school also created a master's in integrated product design. The IPD program also includes classes taught in Wharton and the School of Design, since engineering, business and aesthetics are the three aspects of product design, according to IPD director and Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics professor Mark Yim.

An owner's instinctual response to a dog's aggressive behavior might be to act aggressively toward the dog, but a new study shows that this could actually exacerbate that behavior. Meghan Herron, lead author and resident at the behavior clinic at the School of Veterinary Medicine's Matthew J.

At first glance, cosmology - or the study of the universe - and particle physics - the study of subatomic particles and the forces affecting them - have little in common due to size differences. However, the Physics and Astronomy Department has undertaken a new program to allow cosmologists and particle physicists to assist each other in solving some of physics' thorniest problems.

In the face of the typical year-end onslaught of high-fat foods and rich holiday meals, some Penn employees left family gatherings lacking something - extra weight. The "Maintain, Don't Gain" program, run by the Health Promotion and Wellness division of Human Resources' Quality of Worklife Department , challenged participants to keep their weight after New Year's within two to three pounds of their starting weight as measured on the day before Thanksgiving.

Starting next month, a few more squirrels will call Penn home. The Penn Art Club will be placing between 20 and 25 larger-than-life squirrel statues on Locust Walk and College Green between March 16 and April 19. The group is following in the footsteps of cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles which in the past have featured cows, angels or other figures decorated by prominent artists.

Beginning this fall, the School of Nursing will incorporate an electronic medical record (EMR) system in the classroom. Developed by Eclipsys and already used at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the system encompasses all the elements of a paper medical chart, according to Nursing professor Kathryn Bowles.