2021

December
- Atmospheric Chemist Using NOAA Grant to Measure New Sources of Increased Ozone Production
  
  December 15, 2021
  Despite a decline in ground-level ozone in the United States, the ozone in the air of many cities remains high, and scientists don’t know why. A new grant from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration will support the work of Associate Professor of Chemistry Ezra Wood, PhD, who is the principal investigator of a project to characterize ozone formation in New York City.
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- CoAS Accomplishments in Brief
  
  December 08, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the recent grants, publications, presentations, awards and honors of the members of the College of Arts and Sciences.
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- How Drexel Students Are Prepping, De-stressing for the First Finals Week Back
  
  December 06, 2021
  This week marks the first fully in-person finals week since fall 2019. Undergraduate students hanging around campus on Dec. 3 explained how they’re preparing and how they plan to celebrate afterward.
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November
- Meet Assistant Teaching Professor of Physics Jesse Goldman, PhD
  
  November 23, 2021
  Jesse Goldman, assistant teaching professor of physics, received his PhD in experimental high-energy physics in 2000 and, following post-doctoral research on neutrino oscillations, turned his focus to physics teaching. His current research interests include the analysis and data-reduction of space-telescope image data and cosmic-ray applications for compact detectors.
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- Biological Sciences Major Nick Sookhoo is on the Path to Medical School
  
  November 22, 2021
  From his research experience to co-op, biological sciences student Nick Sookhoo is gaining the skills he will need to be successful in medical school and achieve his longtime dream of becoming a doctor.
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- Students Receive Chemistry Research Experience Through Maryanoff Scholars Program
  
  November 18, 2021
  
  Thanks to the generous support of Drexel alumni Bruce (BS '69, PhD '72) and Cynthia (BS '72) Maryanoff, selected College of Arts and Sciences students are able to participate in a chemistry research program during the first summer after their freshman year. Here recent Maryanoff Scholars share their research projects and their experience in the program.
  
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- Bolstering Commercial Corridors Is a Vital Part of Rebounding From COVID-19
  
  November 17, 2021
  As small retailers close, the commercial corridors they occupy face the prospect of a downward spiral, and the impact is most likely to be greater in poorer communities, Richardson Dilworth, PhD, head and professor in Drexel’s Department of Politics, wrote in a “Rebuilding Philly” essay.
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- Let’s Start Crafting Environmental Policy Through an Anti-Racist Lens
  
  November 17, 2021
  Pursuing equity and sustainability together requires a dramatic shift in thinking, Drexel’s Gwen Ottinger and Jennifer Britton wrote in this “Rebuilding Philly” essay.
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- Meet Assistant Research Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies Kathleen Powell, PhD
  
  November 11, 2021
  Kathleen Powell, PhD, is an assistant research professor in the Department of Criminology and Justice Studies, with a joint affiliation with the Center for Public Policy. Broadly, her research examines the various impacts of involvement with the juvenile and criminal justice systems. She focuses on identifying person-level outcomes of being arrested, on community supervision or incarcerated.
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- Sociology Event Explores Intersection of Racial Justice and the Environment
  
  November 10, 2021
  For decades, studies have shown that Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) communities and low-income communities face greater environmental and climate threats, while contributing the least to these problems. However, the environmental justice movement has not always considered how these populations are disproportionately affected by environmental issues. To call attention to environmental racism, the Department of Sociology kicked off a new series of social justice-themed events.
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- Kris Unsworth, PhD, Named Director of Center for Science, Technology & Society
  
  November 09, 2021
  Kris Unsworth, PhD, from the Department of Criminology and Justice Studies, has been appointed director of the Center for Science, Technology and Society, effective Fall 2021. She will lead the planning and implementation of initiatives to increase the visibility of the Center both inside and outside the university.
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- CoAS Accomplishments in Brief
  
  November 03, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the recent grants, publications, presentations, awards and honors of the members of the College of Arts and Sciences.
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- 8 Tips for Accomplishable Activism
  
  November 01, 2021
  Omkari Williams — a speaker, writer, podcast host and coach for activists — shared these tips in her “Activism For the Rest of Us” workshop hosted on Oct. 27 by the Pennoni Honors College and supported by The Center for Black Culture, the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design and the College of Arts and Sciences.
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October
- Facing Climate Change: Meet Associate Professor Elizabeth Burke Watson, PhD
  
  October 29, 2021
  Although Elizabeth Burke Watson, PhD, has been studying climate change impacts for the past 20 years, she had a transformative experience when it touched her family. While she felt called to do something more to address climate change, she also felt that she needed to use her individual choices to do something beyond reducing her family’s carbon footprint. Watson has decided to focus on her abilities as a teacher and mentor to make a difference in the fight for climate justice.
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- Keisha April MS ’18, PhD ’20 Works to Change Policies, Practices in Criminal Justice
  
  October 27, 2021
  Keisha April, PhD, a recent graduate of Drexel’s Clinical Psychology PhD program, won the Art Nezu Dissertation Diversity Award for her dissertation “Let’s ‘talk’ about the police: The role of race and the intergenerational transmission of police legitimacy attitudes in the legal socialization of youth.” This prestigious award recognizes an individual whose doctoral dissertation makes an outstanding contribution to the field of professional psychology and diversity and/or multiculturalism.
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- Termite Brains Can Grow in Anticipation of a Single Moment of Flight and Light
  
  October 20, 2021
  New research on dampwood termites shows select members of the colony will experience brain changes in anticipation of cognitive demand. Drexel researchers measured developmental differences in the relative sizes of visual processing brain regions, called optic lobes, among dampwood termite castes to test whether optic lobe investment matches caste differences in exposure to visually complex environments.
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- Faculty Highlights: Recent Grants and Awards
  
  October 13, 2021
  Last term, Drexel faculty were recognized for their research and achievements, like Alexis Roth, PhD, associate professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, who received a NIH R01 grant for $4.9 million to assess HIV prevention interventions over the next five years.
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- CoAS Accomplishments in Brief
  
  October 07, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the recent grants, publications, presentations, awards and honors of the members of the College of Arts and Sciences.
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- CoAS Relaunches Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
  
  October 05, 2021
  Seeking to fulfill its commitment to a justice-oriented curriculum for all of Drexel University, the College of Arts and Sciences relaunched its Center for Interdisciplinary Studies to support collaboration across three key interdisciplinary programs. With new directors in place, the College’s programs in Africana Studies, Jewish Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies will work across disciplines and areas of inquiry to foster greater inclusion and understanding across the University.
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- Research Co-op Leads to Innovative Breakthrough for Math and Physics Major Omesh Dhar Dwivedi
  
  October 04, 2021
  Drexel undergraduate Omesh Dhar Dwivedi was part of a team of researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory who have proposed a step-by-step chemical pathway to creating boron nitride nanotubes. The math and physics major from Lucknow, India, discusses the work he did during his co-op.
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September
- Meet WELL Center Assistant Research Professor Erica Schulte, PhD
  
  September 29, 2021
  Erica Schulte, PhD, is an assistant research professor in the WELL Center. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Kansas and her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. Schulte completed a predoctoral internship at the Medical University of South Carolina and a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship with the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania.
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- History Co-ops Dive Deep into Drexel Archives
  
  September 27, 2021
  Over the spring and summer Teaching Professor of History Lloyd Ackert, PhD, mentored a diverse group of co-op students in research projects centered on three Drexel archives and special collections. Exploring the archives of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Legacy Center and the Schramm Inc. Collection at University Libraries, the twenty-two co-op students investigated their own unique and individualized research projects based on their background, interests and career plans.
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- Communication Major Emma Whitehouse Contributes Research to Prestigious Conference
  
  September 21, 2021
  With mentor Hyunmin Lee, PhD, associate professor of communication, communication major Emma Whitehouse recently had a paper accepted for the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)’s 104th annual conference, which took place last month. The paper investigates the growing popularity of corporate social advocacy (CSA) and how companies communicate their CSAs.
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- Meet New Associate Dean for Research Evangelia Chrysikou, PhD
  
  September 20, 2021
  Evangelia Chrysikou, PhD, was appointed to a three-year term as associate dean for research following her service as interim associate dean. The Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Director of the Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences PhD program recently took the time to answer questions about her own research, the importance of undergraduate research opportunities and her goals as associate dean, among other things.
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- PhD Student Greg Loring-Albright Investigates “Keepsake” Games
  
  September 09, 2021
  Communication, Culture and Media PhD student Greg Loring-Albright and Wes Willison, an independent scholar, recently presented their research “Memorable Artifacts: The Co-Production of Unique Materiality Via Game Rules” at GENeration Analog, the first tabletop games and education conference presented by Analog Games Studies and Gen Con, the preeminent consumer marketing event for hobby games in North America.
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- CoAS Accomplishments in Brief
  
  September 09, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the recent grants, publications, presentations, awards and honors of the members of the College of Arts and Sciences.
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- 10 New Dragons Discuss Starting at Drexel This Fall
  
  September 02, 2021
  DrexelNow checked in with the new students joining our campus community this fall about their past experiences, future plans, and their hopes and worries about starting their Drexel careers amidst the ongoing pandemic.
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- In an Unpredictable World, Don’t Wait to Make the Most of Your College Experience
  
  September 01, 2021
  Jaara Ndaw, a fourth-year global studies student and member of the Center for Black Culture 2021–2022 Advisory Board, planned to take it slow her first year at Drexel and get more involved later. Then, the pandemic happened. She compels new students to be aware of the challenges they face when starting college, but also to step out of their comfort zone in order to not miss out on the great opportunities Drexel has to offer.
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August
- CoAS Faculty and Research Featured in EXEL Magazine
  
  August 24, 2021
  The new issue of EXEL, Drexel University’s research magazine, features a number of articles on College of Arts and Sciences faculty members, departments, centers and programs, recognizing the significant contributions they have made to research and discoveries.
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- Dieting: Villain or Scapegoat? Research Reevaluates Weight Loss Dieting
  
  August 17, 2021
  For decades, there has been an accepted definition of dieting in academia, and in society as a whole. Michael Lowe, PhD, a professor in Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences, has recently reevaluated the decades of dieting research to redefine the way researchers and the public define – and therefore understand - dieting and the culture of weight loss.
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- CoAS Accomplishments in Brief
  
  August 12, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the recent grants, publications, presentations, awards and honors of the members of the College of Arts and Sciences.
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- Environmental Science PhD Candidate Lincoln Rehm Named John A. Knauss Fellow
  
  August 11, 2021
  Lincoln Rehm, an environmental science doctoral candidate who studies giant clams and coral reef ecology, has been named a John A. Knauss Fellow. As a Knauss Fellow, Rehm will receive hands-on experience transferring science to policy and management through a one-year appointment with a federal government office in Washington, DC.
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- NIH R01 Award to Develop Next-Generation Dry Electroencephalography (EEG)
  
  August 09, 2021
  Assistant Professor of Psychology John Medaglia, PhD, and collaborator Flavia Vitale, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, have been awarded an R01 research project grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a next-generation dry EEG using MXene electrodes, creating an update to this neuroscience technique that has been fundamentally unchanged for over 100 years.
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July
- Open Science Hardware Accelerates Innovation, Democratizes Science
  
  July 29, 2021
  Open Science Hardware (OSH) could be a game changer for the democratization of science, as long as there is infrastructure to prevent recreating existing inequities. Julieta Arancio, a postdoctoral researcher under the mentorship of Gwen Ottinger, is studying the OpenFlexure project to develop policy recommendations for university management, researchers and anyone trying to promote OSH.
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- Athletic Director Emeritus Reflects on 23 Years in College Athletics
  
  July 21, 2021
  Eric Zillmer, PsyD, shared some of what he saw and experienced during his run of more than 23 years at the helm of collegiate sports for the University — and what comes next.
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- NSF Career Award Supports Work that Could Redefine the Night Sky
  
  July 19, 2021
  Naoko Kurahashi Neilson, PhD, associate professor of physics, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award to look for supermassive black holes in the sky using neutrinos. Neilson is conducting this work as part of the IceCube collaboration, which is a team of approximately 300 physicists from 53 institutions in 12 countries, working with data collected from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the geographic South Pole.
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- Drexel Student Named Miss Philadelphia 2021
  
  July 14, 2021
  Elaine Ficarra, a rising third-year biology major and Pennoni Honors College student, earned the title of Miss Philadelphia after competition was postponed due to the pandemic last year, and placed third runner up at the Miss Pennsylvania competition in June.
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- Eco-Passionate Students Find Outlet, Experience Through Climate and Sustainability Working Group
  
  July 09, 2021
  As plans for a centralized sustainability office at Drexel continue to formulate, students seeking climate and sustainability impact opportunities have found a home working with Drexel’s cross-functional and interdisciplinary working group started last spring in conjunction with the University’s “Climate Year” initiative.
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- Drexel Helps Set Climate Resilience Research Agenda for Philadelphia
  
  July 09, 2021
  A new collaboration between the University, Academy of Natural Sciences, City of Philadelphia, DVRPC and local organizations will ultimately create a research agenda to help make the region more climate resilient.
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- Recognizing Excellence in Research, Scholarship, Creativity, Teaching and Professional Service
  
  July 08, 2021
  As a means of supporting the ongoing development of Drexel University’s research, scholarship and creative activities, as well as recognizing excellence in teaching and professional service, the Office of Research & Innovation and the Office of Faculty Advancement and Undergraduate Affairs are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020-21 Research, Scholarship and Creativity Awards and the 2020-21 Provost Awards for Teaching, Scholarship and Professional Service.
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- CoAS Accomplishments in Brief
  
  July 07, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the recent grants, publications, presentations, awards and honors of the members of the College of Arts and Sciences.
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June
- Drexel Writers Room Collaboration Shines 7-Story Spotlight on Local High School Graduates
  
  June 21, 2021
  As part of its TRIPOD initiative, the university-community literary arts program Writers Room helped celebrate and share stories of the Paul Robeson High School senior class and their resiliency during the pandemic — culminating in the projection of the students’ portraits on the side of the University City Campus’ Nesbitt Hall on the evening of June 17.
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- ‘Good Morning America’ Scholarship Recipient Lyric Wise Can’t Wait to Be a Dragon
  
  June 21, 2021
  The 18-year-old Paul Robeson High School grad who won a $50,000 scholarship live on national television explains her existing ties to the University, as well as her excitement and plans for starting at Drexel this fall.
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- Watch Your Professors Give TEDx Talks During a Student-Curated Virtual Event This Week
  
  June 21, 2021
  TEDxDrexelU, a student organization whose mission it is to bring the spirit of TED to the Drexel community, will present a two-day virtual conference featuring Drexel faculty and alumni speakers June 26–27.
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- Faculty Highlights: Recent Grants and Awards
  
  June 16, 2021
  Last term, Drexel University faculty were recognized for their scholarly research and professional contributions and recognitions.
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- Drexel Virtually Celebrates 2021 Graduates of Colleges, Schools, Heritage Groups
  
  June 14, 2021
  Before the University-wide ceremony at Citizen’s Bank Park on June 11, commencement for Drexel’s colleges, schools and students of the African diaspora were held virtually though celebrated wholeheartedly.
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- Capping Off the Return of Drexel’s Commencement Cap Contest
  
  June 14, 2021
  The top three designs from the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 showed the Philly skyline, the future’s possibilities and recognizing achievements of the past.
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- 2021 Graduate Student Awards
  
  June 08, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the following graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences, who recently received Drexel Emerging Graduate Scholars Conference Awards and Graduate Student Excellence Awards.
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- CoAS Accomplishments in Brief
  
  June 03, 2021
  We are pleased to recognize the recent grants, publications, presentations, awards and honors of the members of the College of Arts and Sciences.
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- Sophomore Kejsi Ruka Goes from STAR Scholar to Award Winner
  
  June 02, 2021
  Global Studies major Kejsi Ruka recently presented her research at the Stanford Student Research Conference, where she was awarded Best Poster in the Qualitative Social Science Research Category. Her conference poster presented her analysis of what unionized energy workers think about energy transitions and the future of energy in the United States.
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- Spring 2021 CoAS Interdepartmental Research Showcase
  
  June 01, 2021
  At the Spring 2021 CoAS Interdepartmental Research Showcase, Emily Greberman, a Criminology & Justice Studies and Psychology major, took home first prize for her research presentation on "Twitter As a Mechanism for Coping with a Traumatic Event: Ferguson and the Shooting of Michael Brown."
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May
- History Professor Nic John Ramos, PhD, Troubles the Line
  
  May 26, 2021
  
  Award-winning Assistant Professor of History Nic John Ramos, PhD, does not easily fit into any one category. Though he teaches in the Department of History, his doctorate is in American Studies and Ethnicity, which he describes as really being at the intersection of Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies. Meanwhile, his research exists at the intersection of race and medicine. And in his classes, students are just as likely to encounter graphic novels and poetry as they are historical documents and books.
  
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- Drexel University Announces 2021 Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients
  
  May 24, 2021
  The speakers and honorary degree recipients addressing graduating Dragons this year are well-known and respected in their various fields, and several have deep, longstanding ties to Drexel.
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- Michael Silverstein’s Research Provides Answers for People with ADHD, EFD in Highly Cited Paper
  
  May 24, 2021
  Michael Silverstein, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology, investigated the relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and executive dysfunction symptoms in adults and found that ADHD symptoms were strongly correlated with and predictive of executive function deficits (EFDs), guiding clinicians to take a more holistic approach to treatment. The resulting paper received enough citations to place it in the top one percent of the academic field of psychiatry/psychology based on a highly cited threshold for the field and publication year.
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- Two Students, Alum Named 2021 NSF Graduate Research Fellows
  
  May 20, 2021
  Two CoAS graduate students and one recent alumni have received 2021 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships to promote research efforts in physics and clinical psychology. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program aims to encourage innovation and creativity in STEM fields by investing in outstanding graduate students through a five-year fellowship program. The fellowship includes three years’ worth of financial support, with an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 awarded to the researcher and their institution.
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April
- Drexel Names New Computing Cluster After Historic Alumna
 
 April 29, 2021
 Picotte, the University’s high-performing computing equipment, is named for Susan La Flesche Picotte, MD, who is believed to be the first Native American physician in the U.S.
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- 2021 Global Research Symposium: International Solutions for A Global Crisis
 
 April 20, 2021
 The University’s “Climate Year: Global Research Symposium” brought together Drexel faculty and international partners to present and discuss ways of studying, addressing and combatting climate change.
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- Defense Mechanisms in Aphids Can Become a Double-edged Sword, Sharpened by the Seasons
 
 April 20, 2021
 Evolution is unfolding in real time within many natural animal populations and researchers are now observing how this influences biodiversity in the field. In a newly published study in Molecular Ecology a team of Drexel University scientists examined the biological variations in pea aphids, insects that reproduce frequently enough to evolve before our eyes, by tracing the prevalence of their protective endosymbiont, Hamiltonella defensa, which the insects use to ward off parasitoid wasps.
  
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- Rivers in History Course Brings the Past into the Future with ArcGIS
 
 April 19, 2021
 
 Due to COVID-19, Associate Professor of History Debjani Bhattacharyya, PhD, re-envisioned her usually hands-on course Rivers in History, using the advanced technology of ArcGIS.
 
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- PhD Student Luis Grande Branger Tackles Aquaman and White Supremacy in New Publication
 
 April 15, 2021
 Communication, Culture and Media (CCM) doctoral student Luis Grande Branger has an essay on "Aquaman and the American White Supremacy" forthcoming in a new collection of critical essays on the work of movie director James Wan.
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- Undergraduate Research Leads to Lead Authorship in Biology Publication
 
 April 14, 2021
 Shivani Patel '20, Nicole Naranjo '18, and Kimheak Sao '16 conducted work as undergraduates in the Petrie Lab that led to a recent publication in Molecular Biology of the Cell.
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- The Future of Artificial Intelligence Requires the Guidance of Sociology
 
 April 13, 2021
 In the race to out-compete other companies– artificial intelligence (AI) design is lacking a deep understanding of what data about humans mean and its relation to equity. Two Drexel University sociologists suggest we pay greater attention to the societal impact of AI, as it is appearing more frequently than ever before.
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- Global Studies Students Draw Attention to International Human Rights Violations
 
 April 12, 2021
 For their senior capstone projects, Global Studies students worked with Scholars at Risk to raise awareness of human rights violations against four incarcerated or missing scholars.
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- Clinical Psychology PhD Student Fareshte Erani Awarded F31 Fellowship from National Institutes of Health
 
 April 08, 2021
 Clinical Psychology PhD student Fareshte Erani was awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, which supports the research training of predoctoral students from diverse backgrounds that are underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral or clinical research workforce.
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- Junior Medina Talebi Accepted to Prestigious Ralph Bunche Summer Institute
 
 April 05, 2021
 College of Arts and Sciences junior Medina Talebi has been accepted to attend the highly competitive Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI), which helps prepare undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities for an academic career in political science.
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March
- Global at Home: Drexel Study Abroad Goes Virtual During the Pandemic
 
 March 29, 2021
 Since March 2020, Drexel faculty and international academic partners have been pivoting planned study abroad trips to engaging remote learning opportunities.
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February
- Graduate Course Shifts Focus on Black Women Writers, Away From the ‘Single Story’
 
 February 26, 2021
 “Black Women Writing: Short Stories (CW T680),” which is being offered to graduate students this term, promotes anti-racism by disrupting the white literary cannon and shining a light on 19th century through 21st century Black women renegades.
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- Faculty Highlights: Recent Grants and Awards
 
 February 17, 2021
 This update offers a snapshot of recent activity, including Miriam Giguere, PhD, head of the Department of Performing Arts and professor in the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, who was awarded a $400,000 grant to create a citywide music-based project.
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- COVID Campus: How It Feels to Be Back for Dragons
 
 February 01, 2021
 DrexelNow spoke with undergraduate students on campus about this phase of Drexel University’s reopening, including health and safety protocols for residence halls and in-person learning, making new friends and staying connected, and their advice and hopes for the near future. 
 
 
  
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January
- Need an Impartial Sounding Board? Meet the Drexel Ombuds
 
 January 28, 2021
 Kirk Heilbrun, PhD, a professor of psychology, has been the Drexel Ombuds since 2018, and specializes in lending an ear and offering advice to any Dragons in need.
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- New Minor to Offer Co-Curricular, Collaborative Approach to Creating a Just World
 
 January 20, 2021
 Drexel’s Department of Criminology and Justice Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences is now offering a Justice Studies minor to all undergraduate students interested in viewing their disciplines through a social justice lens.
  
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