SEAS Weekly 04-21-25

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Announcement for the week| Events (Engineering)| Events (Penn)| Scholarships & Grants Opportunities| Career & Networking Opportunities| Clubs & Organizations| Engineering Entrepreneurship| View Previous Issue

 

Important Dates:

Date	Event
April 30th	Last day of classes
May 1st – 4th	Reading Days
May 5th – 13th	Final Examinations
May 13th	Spring Term ends
May 17th	Alumni Day
May 19th	Commencement

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Announcements for the week

Now Open: NASA’s Computing Challenge

The NASA Beyond the Algorithm Challenge: Novel Computing Architectures for Flood Analysis is now open! All information for the challenge can be found at the challenge website here.
The NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) seeks solutions to complex Earth Science problems using transformative or unconventional computing technologies such as quantum computing, quantum machine learning, neuromorphic computing, or in-memory computing.
The challenge is to provide solutions or potential solutions to improve flood water analysis by using one or more unconventional computing methods. In Phase One, participants will submit a short 5-page white paper and a 2 to 3-minute video of their idea. Up to 10 Finalists will be selected to present their ideas to a panel of judges at a live Pitch Event in September 2025.
Up to three 3 winners will be chosen, with each winner being awarded a $100,000 prize! Deadline: July 25th, 2025

 

The Perception of Undergraduate Life and Student Experience (Penn PULSE)

This is a friendly reminder to participate in the Perception of Undergraduate Life and Student Experience (PULSE) Survey!
If you have already completed the survey, thank you! If not, there’s still time—please take a few minutes to share your experiences before the survey closes on Monday, May 5th.
To enter the survey, please visit ira.upenn.edu/takeasurvey/PULSE.
The survey will provide us with valuable information about your Penn experience. Thank you in advance for your time and commitment to improving Penn’s undergraduate experience. If you encounter any problems while taking the survey, please contact surveys@ira.upenn.edu.

Student Design Competition

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) Student Design Competition promotes real-world design experience for students interested in pursuing education and careers in water and wastewater engineering and science. As a program of WEF’s Students and Young Professionals Committee (SYPC), the competition tasks individuals or teams of students to prepare and present a design that helps solve a water quality issue.

May 1st is the deadline to inform the planning committee by email of your team or Member Association’s intent to participate in the 2024 WEFTEC SDC. For more information, check out The Water Environment Federation (WEF) website. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Sonya Gwak sgwak@seas.upenn.edu

 

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Events (Engineering)

Accelerated Master’s Undergraduate Advising Panel

Penn Engineering Council is hosting an Accelerated Master’s degree advising panel from 6:00 – 7:00 PM in Levine lobby on Tuesday, 4/22. Stop by to grab a Chipotle burrito and learn about what an Accelerated Master’s program might entail in various fields of study.
Tuesday, April 22nd
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Levine Lobby

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Events (Penn)

Down to Earth: Networking for a Greener Future

Join Penn Traditions for an alumni networking event celebrating Earth Week! This event is designed to connect current students with Penn Alumni to learn more about how to incorporate sustainability into their future careers.

Friday, April 25th
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Sweeten Alumni House

Sign up for End of Semester Meal Kit!

Pick up a free meal kit with pantry items to enjoy on your own or cook with others! Reserve yours here: https://bit.ly/GICmealkits

Research Bridge International (RBI) End-of-Year Symposium

RBI is a nonprofit focused on research ethics awareness and outreach. Our end-of-year symposium is coming up; come and receive insight and overview about research ethics! Enjoy Ethics Talks by fellow faculty and graduate students, introduction of journal publications by members, and free food catered from Pattaya!

Friday, April 25th
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Hall of Flag

 

Virtual Housing Fair

Virtual Housing Fair, starting March 27, 24×7. Students can search for off-campus living opportunities. Click here to learn more about off-campus services.

March 27 – July 26, 2025
Click here to register

 

Penn Violence Prevention (PVP) has a new home!

PVP is now located at 3935 Walnut St, Suite 400. Our drop-in hours are still 10 am-5 pm on weekdays! Come visit PVP’s new space!

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM)!

Join us at our events and collaborations throughout the month to spread awareness about interpersonal violence and honor survivors.

 

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Scholarships & Grants Opportunities

University Research Foundation Award

The University Research Foundation (URF) is an intramural funding program that provides up to $75,000 for research projects and up to $5,000 for conference support. The URF provides seed funding for up to one year for research activities that are expected to lead to external sponsorship and/or peer-reviewed research publications. Conference support grants are faculty-developed events that take place on Penn’s campus.

During Fall 2024, the OVPR reviewed 83 applications (over $4.2 million in requests) from across campus. Four review panels consisting of 33 faculty reviewers assessed proposals in four categories: Humanities, Social Sciences and Management, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Biomedical Sciences. A total of 56 new projects were recommended for funding, totaling $2,595,003.

The next cycle for the Fall 2025 URF program will open in late August, with a proposal deadline of October 9, 2025.

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Career & Networking Opportunities

Internships & Volunteer Work

• Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (CURF) – supports summer research opportunities for undergraduate students
• Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) – supports independent research related to contemporary India as well as summer internships in India.
• Civic House Community Engagement Internship – funding to support academic year-long undergraduate internships at selected community partner organizations
• Penn Global Research & Internship (GRIP) Award – provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad over the summer
• Platt Performing Arts Internship Award – provides one Penn undergraduate with funds to support a summer internship in professional performing arts or related entertainment organization
• Real Arts@Penn Internship Prize – offers internship prize specifically designed to help with costs associated with unpaid & underpaid internships in a creative field
• Summer Research & Internship Funding for Highly Aided Students – Highly Aided students are eligible to receive up to $5,000 in funding for unpaid or underfunded opportunities for two summers
• Startup Internship Award – Venture Lab – to support students interning with startups over the summer
• Penn Wharton Innovation Fund – offers funding for students in support creating a new startup venture
• Weingarten Center Scholarships – scholarships for internships or work experience that relate to academics and career goals for students with disabilities
• Annenberg School for Communication –Communication majors interested doing a public service internship this summer have an opportunity to apply to Annenberg in Public Service (AIPS), which provides financial support for students doing un- or under-paid Comm related public service internships up to $5,000.
• Penn Emergency & Opportunity Fund – Students can seek and receive support for needs including, but not limited to: academic or pre-professional opportunity, such as conference participation or travel to reach an internship/job, graduate school exam prep or application fees and more.

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Clubs & Organizations

AI for Educational Equity Hackathon

To celebrate AI Month, the Undergraduate Women in AI Club, in collaboration with Penn oSTEM, Drexel Society for AI, and Drexel WiCS, is hosting an AI hackathon!

All participants will receive 3 months of FREE Perplexity Pro but signups are limited to 50 spots, PRIZE POOL: $500 value.

Saturday, April 26th,
9 am -5 pm
Skirkanich Hall Basement and Ground Floor
Click here to register

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Engineering Entrepreneurship

Greater Philly Green Startup Pitch Competition 2025
Calling all green startups, climate tech enthusiasts, investors, and service providers! Are you building a climate or sustainability-focused startup? This is your chance to pitch in front of top investors, industry leaders, and key stakeholders in the Philly climate tech ecosystem. Compete for a prize pool bigger than last year, gain invaluable feedback, and connect with the people who can help take your startup to the next level!

Apply today: http://bit.ly/GPGSPC-App

Not a founder? Join us to be part of the action! Whether you’re an investor looking for the next big opportunity, a service provider eager to support growing startups, or simply a climate tech enthusiast, this event is your gateway to the region’s most exciting sustainability innovations.

Tuesday, April 22 (Earth Day)
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
One Commerce Square, 2005 Market St, Suite 160, Philadelphia

Investing in Penn Founders – Up to $100K

Here is an exciting opportunity for students at Penn who are building AI-driven startups.

1616 Ignite is an 8-week virtual accelerator, powered by 1616 Ventures, designed to help early-stage founders turn their ideas into venture-backed companies. We provide:

$20K in funding (with potential follow-on investment of up to $100k)
Hands-on mentorship from seasoned investors and operators
A structured path to fundraising with a high-caliber founder network
Applications are open on a rolling basis, so early submissions are encouraged.

You can find more details and the application link here: 1616ventures.com/ignite

More information about Engineering Entrepreneurship

• Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, & X/Twitter.
• Tag on these platforms @PennEngEntrep with your own posts.
• Join their subscription-based semi-monthly email to notify you of entrepreneurship-related events, competitions, opportunities and more. If you wish to receive this type of information, please visit https://groups.google.com/a/seas.upenn.edu/g/pennengentrep/ and then click on “ask to join the group” (Image). You have the option to unsubscribe at any time as well and this is completely optional. Emails will be sent on the second and last Wednesday of every month.

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