2015

- Academy of Natural Sciences Discovered Life Around the World in 2015
  
  December 14, 2015
  
  From elusive, rare fish to the potential key to the evolution of river-based plants, scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University played a significant role in adding to the rolls of known species this year.
  
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- Do You Think Before You Breathe? Drexel Survey Finds Broad Misperceptions About Impact of Cleaner Indoor Air
  
  December 07, 2015
  
  Do you know how easy it is to improve the quality of the air you breathe every day? Or how much indoor air quality affects your health and productivity? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey by a group of Drexel University environmental and architectural engineering researchers, there is quite a bit of confusion about the costs and benefits of indoor air quality improvement—even among building owners, designers, managers and tenants.
  
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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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- Drexel and Penn Join White House Smart Cities Initiative
  
  September 15, 2015
  
  Experts from Drexel University and The University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research will join others from cities around the country as participants in a White House initiative to make universities and their host municipalities partners in using technology to solve the challenges that face our nation’s growing urban areas.
  
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- Diagnosing 'Sick' Buildings to Save Energy
  
  September 09, 2015
  
  Are you feeling too cold right now? Too warm? Is your office's air a little stale today? On average, Americans spend 90 percent of the day indoors, in a controlled environment. Controlling that environment, at least in the workplace, is the Sisyphean labor of building operators. “Operating” a building requires not only striking the perfect balance between heating, cooling and ventilation, but also repairing and maintaining all of the equipment and systems that allow this magical equilibrium to exist. Endlessly pushing a boulder up a hill might actually be less work. As part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, researchers from Drexel University are working on a cloud-based data analysis tool that could help consolidate these labors while also spotting undetected problems that lead to wasted energy and poor indoor environmental quality.
  
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- As Demand for African Timber Soars, Birds Pay the Ultimate Price
  
  September 08, 2015
  
  A new study co-authored by scientists at Drexel University reveals the devastating impact of illegal logging on bird communities in the understory layer of Ghana’s Upper Guinea rain forests, one of the world's 25 “biodiversity hotspots."
  
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- Collaborative Research Reveals Ebola May Survive in Wastewater Longer Than Expected
 
 August 25, 2015
 
 The historic outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa that began in March 2014 and has killed more than 11,000 people since has raised new questions about the resilience of the virus and tested scientists’ understanding of how to contain it. The latest discovery by a group of microbial risk-assessment and virology researchers suggests that the procedures for disposal of Ebola-contaminated liquid waste might underestimate the virus’ ability to survive in wastewater.
 
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- New Book Argues that Social Sciences Are Critical to Climate Conversation
 
 August 20, 2015
 
 According to the new book “Climate Change and Society: Sociological Perspectives,” engaging the social – and not just natural – sciences in the climate conversation is essential for effecting large-scale change.Edited by environmental sociologists Robert J. Brulle, PhD,a professor in Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences, and Riley E. Dunlap, a professor at Oklahoma State University, the book breaks new ground by presenting climate change as a thoroughly social phenomenon, embedded in behaviors, institutions and cultural practices.
 
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- Drexel Engineers' Recipe For 'Sandwiching' Atomic Layers Expands Possibilities For Making Materials That Store Energy
 
 August 14, 2015
 
 The scientists whose job it is to test the limits of what nature—specifically chemistry— will allow to exist, just set up shop on some new real estate on the Periodic Table. Using a method they invented for joining disparate elemental layers into a stable material with uniform, predictable properties, Drexel University researchers are testing an array of new combinations that may vastly expand the options available to create faster, smaller, more efficient energy storage, advanced electronics and wear-resistant materials.
 
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- Drexel Experts Available to Comment on Pope's Visit to Philadelphia
 
 August 04, 2015
 
 Pope Francis – and an estimated 1.5 million people – will descend upon the city of Philadelphia in late September as the capstone to the weeklong, international World Meeting of Families event, during which the Pope will deliver a public mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. From concerns about security measures to transportation, anxiety is already on the rise among Philadelphians regarding how the city will handle the influx of tourists expected to double the city’s population. Drexel University experts are available to comment on a range of issues related to the visit including safety, public health, environmental impact, infrastructure preparedness and tourism. Experts also are able to weigh in about what this once-in-a-lifetime event – and the Pope’s progressive views – mean for the Catholic church.
 
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