Evan Phillips (advisor: Michele Marcolongo) and Katie Van Aken (advisor: Yury Gogotsi) are both recipients of a Koerner Family Award. The Koerner Family Awards for Graduate Students in the College of Engineering support the research of Drexel Engineering graduate students. Founded by Robert M. Koerner, Ph.D. (’56, ’63) and his wife Paula Koerner, the awards provide funding for students from each of the engineering disciplines as well as students working with faculty in the A.J. Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment (IExE). To qualify for an award, students must be US citizens who are PhD candidates and exhibit exceptional qualifications in research and leadership.
Evan has received the Department of Materials Science and Engineering Koerner Family Award ($10,000). His research challenges the existing paradigm of lubrication mechanisms in arthritic articular joints and puts forth that osmotic pressure in the cartilage tissue itself is necessary to provide mechanical stability to the joint and, along with increased hydration of the synovial fluid in the joint space, better lubrication will result.
Katie is one of two recipients of the IExE Koerner Family Award ($5,000). Her research centers on the pore-ion size relationship for various carbon nanomaterials and ionic liquids, with an eye toward improving and developing new electrochemical energy storage systems.
Alicia Busenius-Kriete (advisor: Michele Marcolongo) is a recipient of the Leroy Resser Endowed Fellowship Fund ($1,250). The Resser Fund is used to provide financial assistance, in the form of awards, to graduate students in the College of Engineering, based on academic merit and financial need. Alicia’s research looks at implementing novel biomimetic proteoglycans to molecularly engineer the urethra as a treatment of stress urinary incontinence. She investigates the effect biomimetic proteoglycan injections has on tissue compliance and examines molecular tissue interactions. Biomimetic proteoglycans mimic the three dimensional bottlebrush architecture and hydrating properties of natural proteoglycans and may have the ability to restore degenerative tissue changes to a healthier state.
Chang (Evelyn) Ren (advisor: Yury Gogotsi) has received the George Hill, Jr. Endowed Fellowship Fund ($6,000). This fund is used to provide a stipend and/or tuition assistance to graduate students who will be partially supported by a research or teaching assistantship in the College of Engineering. Recipients have demonstrated excellence in their undergraduate and graduate careers and the potential to achieve academic excellence at the Ph.D. level. One award is made to each department. Evelyn’s research focuses on the investigation of MXene (two-dimensional transition metal carbides) membranes for their ionically selective applications, specifically water purification and electrochemical capacitors.
Hao (Diana) Zhou (advisor: Hao Cheng) has been awarded the Joseph and Shirley Carleone Endowed Fellowship Fund ($1,500). This fund is used to provide financial assistance to graduate students in the College of Engineering. Selection is based on academic merit and financial need. Diana’s research focuses on engineering nanocarriers with ultra-long circulation and tumor penetration to improve the clinical efficacy of drug nanocarriers. Under the guidance of Dr. Cheng, she has developed a platform technology to embed extracellular matrix-degrading enzymes in nanocarrier PEG shell for enhanced tumor penetration and a facile approach to functionalize cell membrane-coated nanoparticles. In her future research, she will apply the ultra-long circulating nanocarriers in cancer therapy and other biomedical applications.