Congratulations to Polyhedral Structures Laboratory on winning this year's European Cultural Centre (ECC) award in the Design Project Category for their collaborative project Diamanti!

Diamanti structure is an industry-academic collaborative research that showcases a high-performing, sustainable modular spanning funicular system developed using a comprehensive design method considering new and existing fabrication and construction technologies.

Learn more about Diamanti at ECC: https://bit.ly/3M3s2LI

While concrete is the world’s most used manmade material, its carbon footprint accounts for around 8% of global greenhouse emissions. 

Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, a research team from Penn and a tenant at Pennovation Works, has been working on a project called Diamanti. This project features a 3-D printed lattice-like pattern made from a sustainable concrete mixture using diatomaceous earth.

The researchers, scientists and technologists that are defining Philly’s reputation as a hub for innovation.

A special congratulations to Pennovation Center member, Megharjun (Arjun) Nandakumar from Sahay AI, and our newest Pennovation Works community programming partners, Nolan Makatche from Code & Coffee Philadelphia, and Waskar M. Paulino from PhilaCon Valley, on making the list!

View the full list

Congratulations to Pennovation Works Lab company Interius BioTherapeutics on the announcement of their acquisition!

Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company, is a global biopharmaceutical company based in Santa Monica, California, focused on achieving cures with cell therapy. They announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire biotechnology company Interius BioTherapeutics for $350 million.

Penn continues to be an economic powerhouse for Philadelphia, and we're thrilled to see our Pennovation Works community member, Treeswift, featured in this spotlight!

Treeswift's vegetation management and asset maintenance monitoring technology showcases how the startups in our ecosystem are not just building groundbreaking solutions, but also contributing to Philadelphia's reputation as a world-class innovation hub.

At Pennovation Works, we're proud to foster the next generation of companies that are reshaping industries and strengthening our regional economy.

Congratulations to Pennovation Center member, Treeswift, on placing 2nd at the Distributech (DTECH) Initiate pitch competition! DTECH is the leading transmission and distribution event in the U.S., now expanding with focused events on Data Centers & AI, Reliability & Resiliency, and the Northeast to better support the evolving energy landscape. The Initiate pitch competition spotlights up-and-coming innovations in the energy sector and how these startups are transforming the industry.

Pennovation alum Andrei Georgescu is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vivodyne, a biotechnology company accelerating drug discovery by testing treatments on lab-grown 3D human tissues.

Andrei co-founded Vivodyne in 2020 after recognizing the limitations of animal testing in predicting human outcomes. He brings deep expertise in tissue engineering, robotics, and AI, with prior work that includes sending lab-grown tissues into space with NASA and developing DNA synthesis chips.

Congratulations to Center member, Goeppert, LLC, for being awarded $50,000 to develop new ways of making high-quality MoS2, a next-generation semiconductor material, by studying how it grows in microgravity aboard the International Space Station—helping improve the performance of future electronic devices.

Startup Genome, with Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and the University City Science Center launched the Global Startup Ecosystem Report, the world’s most comprehensive report on startup ecosystems. 

We are excited to announce the 2025 Pennovation Accelerator Cohort! The program's eighth summer kicked off on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at the Pennovation Center with the launch of the first event.

The Pennovation Accelerator cohort companies represent a variety of industries ranging from MedTech, financial management platforms, AI, robotics, and more.