• Drexel Materials Scientists Aid Australian Institution in Developing Super-Absorbent Material That Can Soak Up Oil Spills

    November 30, 2015

    In hopes of limiting the disastrous environmental effects of massive oil spills, Materials scientists from Drexel University and Deakin University, in Australia, have teamed up to manufacture and test a new material, called a boron nitride nanosheet, that can absorb up to 33 times its weight in oils and organic solvents—a trait that could make it an important technology for quickly mitigating these costly accidents.

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  • Bioprinting Stem Cell 'Building Blocks'

    November 19, 2015

    Using a special designed extrusion printer he created to squeeze out a mixture of hydrogel and stem cells, Wei Sun, PhD, Albert Soffa chair professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering, is making strides toward rapid prototyping the building blocks of life. His process, which was recently published in Biofabrication gives scientists a head start at growing living three-dimensional tissues and could one day be used to create micro-organs for research purposes.

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  • A.J. Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment Plots a Course for Philadelphia to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    November 04, 2015

    Researchers from the A.J. Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment issued a 97-page report to the City of Philadelphia that plots a detailed course for how the city can reduce its emission of greenhouse gasses—with the goal of an 80 percent reduction by the year 2050. Among its suggestions are retrofitting hospitals, grocery stores, schools and retail stores with better windows and insulation; drawing electricity from low-carbon sources like nuclear, wind and solar power; and encouraging the use of electric vehicles, public transportation, walking and cycling.

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