Striking 'Gold' with Public Health Entertainment-Education
Apr 30, 2015
Amy Henderson Riley, a doctoral student in the School of Public Health, wants to change the way the public learns about health. Right now, she's researching whether love triangles and radio drama on a program called "Black Gold" helps inform the people of Mozambique about maternal and child health.
In Photos: Drexel Celebrates Earth Day 2015
Apr 27, 2015
Drexel held its annual Earth Day Block Party last week, the culmination of events across the University that highlighted sustainable living and the environment.
Why Reforming the United Nations Is So Hard But So Important
Apr 24, 2015
As the United Nations celebrates its 70th anniversary, DrexelNow checked in with Ambassador (Ret.) Joseph M. Torsella, distinguished visiting fellow in the Center for Public Policy in Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences, who formerly servedas the U.S. Representative to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform. From 2011-2014, he was responsible for leading efforts to make the U.N. a more efficient, accountable, respected and effective organization. On Wednesday, May 13, Torsella will give a public discussion at Drexel on “The U.S., the U.N. and U.N. Reform: Why its So Hard...and So Important.” The event will take place from 1:30 – 3 p.m. in the Bossone Research Enterprise Center’s Mitchell Auditorium (32nd and Market Streets, Philadelphia).
Speaking Out with Silence
Apr 24, 2015
Drexel students, faculty and staff again participated in the National Day of Silence earlier this month, using their silence to speak volumes against the discrimination and bullying of LGBTQ individuals.
A Q&A With School of Education Dean Nancy Songer
Apr 24, 2015
Nancy Songer has big plans for the newly independent School of Education. Drawing on extensive experience helping Detroit improve its public schools, Songer hopes to establish new education initiatives in the Philly community.
Employee Spotlight: Miriam Kotzin
Apr 24, 2015
Miriam Kotzen has been teaching at Drexel for 45 years. She's written a history of the University, led departments and creating groundbreaking online literary magazines. But what does she feel is her greatest legacy?
How to Make a Collective Impact on Urban Education
Apr 23, 2015
Drexel University’s School of Education will host an interactive event to explore the emerging strategy of "collective impact" for change in urban education on Thursday, May 7, from 5 – 7:30 p.m. The discussion is part of the Schools’ Critical Conversations in Urban Education Series.
Can Churches and Artists Save Each Other?
Apr 23, 2015
Creating a symbiotic relationship in which historic sacred spaces, such as churches, help to alleviate performing artists’ need for space could benefit both groups and better integrate them into the community, according to a new study from Drexel University.
Drexel Joins Philadelphia Science Festival's Weeklong Celebration of Science and Technology
Apr 22, 2015
Students, faculty and staff from Drexel University will help make the fifth anniversary of the Philadelphia Science Festival one of the biggest citywide celebrations to date. More than 200 regional partner organizations from museums to cultural centers and educational institutions will present over 100 events across the city during the nine-day celebration intended to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Putting a New Spin on Computing Memory
Apr 22, 2015
Ever since computers have been small enough to be fixtures on desks and laps, their central processing has functioned something like an atomic Etch A Sketch, with electromagnetic fields pushing data bits into place to encode data. Unfortunately, the same drawbacks and perils of the mechanical sketch board have been just as pervasive in computing: making a change often requires starting from the beginning, and dropping the device could wipe out the memory altogether. As computers continue to shrink—moving from desks and laps to hands and wrists—memory has to become smaller, stable and more energy conscious. A group of researchers from Drexel University’s College of Engineering is trying to do just that with help from a new class of materials, whose magnetism can essentially be controlled by the flick of a switch.
Will Social Media Kill Branding? Researchers Evaluate How Social Media has Transformed Traditional Marketing
Apr 21, 2015
For decades, corporations used a steadfast formula in branding a product: big advertising investments that produced customer awareness and built a positive product reputation. By investing heavily in and tightly managing a product’s image via controlled communications, dominant brands could be leveraged to cultivate loyalty and a long-term stream of profits. But social media’s meteoric rise in popularity may be killing the old, reliable branding formula and changing how consumers interact with brands.
Drexel Announces 2015 Honorary Degree Recipients
Apr 20, 2015
Drexel University will award 15 honorary degrees to recipients including tennis legend and activist Billie Jean King, MIT Professor Emeritus and linguistics expert Noam Chomsky, 2011 Nobel Prize winner Dan Shechtman and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
Zom(bie) Con: Feed Your Brrraaiins at Drexel’s Symposium on the Undead
Apr 20, 2015
Zom(bie) Con: Feed Your Brains, a day-long symposium at Drexelon Thursday, May 14 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., will offer a multiplicity of perspectives on the figure of the zombie. Guest speakers will discuss the zombie in relation to film and videogames, Jewish studies, history, literature and the health sciences, among other fields. It is free and open to the public.
Mapping Language in the Brain
Apr 16, 2015
Aphasia, an impairment of language common after stroke or other brain injury, can make it difficult to return to work and maintain social relationships. A new study published provides a detailed brain map of language impairments in aphasia following stroke.
Veteran Employee Resource Group Formed at Drexel
Apr 14, 2015
Rocky Rockstraw, a professor of nursing & assistant dean in the College of Nursing and Health Professions as well as an Air Force veteran, formed a group to help other veterans join the Drexel employee community as easily as possible.
Painting Prehistoric Beasts
Apr 13, 2015
When he’s not helping discover new dinosaurs and fossils, the Academy of Natural Science’s Jason Poole uses the prehistoric beasts as inspiration for his art.
Putting on a Show, and Then Some
Apr 9, 2015
For his senior project, communications major Nick Stropko set out to host a concert that encapsulates what he learned Drexel student both in and out of the classroom.
Study of African Birds Reveals Hotbed of Malaria Parasite Diversity
Apr 8, 2015
A new study published this week in the journal PLOS ONE explores the scope of malaria parasite diversity in southeast African birds, and provides insight into how lifestyle characteristics of birds can influence their association with different parasite genera.
What Can Brain-Controlled Prosthetics Tell Us About The Brain?
Apr 8, 2015
The ceremonial opening kick of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which was performed—with the help of a brain-controlled exo-skeleton—by a local teen who had been paralyzed from the waste down due to a spinal cord injury, was a seminal moment for the area of neuroscience that strives to connect the brain with functional prosthetics. The public display was a representative of thousands of such neuroprosthetic advances in recent years, and the tens of years of brain research and technological development that have gone into them. And while this display was quite an achievement in its own right, a Drexel University biomedical engineer working at the leading edge of the field contends that these devices are also opening a new portal for researchers to understand how the brain functions.
150 Years Later, Following In Civil War Footsteps
Apr 7, 2015
The Drexel English Language Center’s Tobie Hoffman will follow the path of the retreating Army of Northern Virginia to cap two years of dedicated personal learning about one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. history.
The Upworthy Don: Formulas That Drive Google, Klout, Facebook Help Drexel Researchers Understand Organized Cybercrime
Apr 3, 2015
Notorious gangsters Al Capone and Carlo Gambino were famously done in by tax evasion charges. John Gotti, the “Teflon Don” was given up by a confidant. While the criminal masterminds of today are conducting their nefarious business online, the key to taking them down depends on understanding how they organize and where to squeeze them. Researchers from Drexel University’s Privacy and Security Automation Lab are searching for that pressure point by studying the activity of cybercrime forums. Their findings could guide the next generation of “Untouchables.”
“Before I Die…” Artist Candy Chang to Speak at Drexel
Apr 2, 2015
On Thursday, April 30 from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., Taiwanese-American artist Candy Chang will speak on “Better Cities: Transforming Public Spaces Through Art & Design” at Drexel University’s Mandell Theater (33rd and Chestnut Streets) as the fifth lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences' annual Distinguished Lecture Series.
Fry Discusses Drexel’s Future in Year’s First Town Hall
Apr 2, 2015
President John Fry discussed increasing engagement with Philadelphia, expanding the University’s global reach and implementing a new recruitment philosophy in the first town hall to discuss a refresh of Drexel’s strategic plan.