April 18, 2014

Of the more than 400 student projects on display at Drexel University’s annual Research Day, 44 presentations were from Westphal College graduate and undergraduate students representing 9 programs, including Product Design, Graduate Arts Administration, Design & Merchandising, Architecture, Interior Design, Digital Media, Graduate Digital Media, Dance, and Screenwriting & Playwriting.

Nine awards were given at the University level. One third of these were granted to Westphal students, including Product Design student Nnaemeke Offodile for “Helping Arthritic Hands,” (advised by Prof. Mike Glaser); Graduate Digital Media student James Lee for “Realistic Avatar Creation and Player Choice” (advised by Dr. Stefan Rank); and Graduate Arts Administration Online (AADM) student Emily Ambash, for “Meet Your Seat: Performing Arts Accessibility for Audiences on the Autism Spectrum” (advised by Arts Administration Online Program Director Jean Brody). Ambash was our first ever Online AADM student to participate in Research Day.

The College awarded first, second and third place prizes along with recognition of five honorable mention awards.  Graduate Digital Media student Daniel Newman received first place for “Animating Ancient Ontogeny,” which seeks to utilize Digital Interpretive Visualization (DIV) to make fossil collections and the important biology surrounding them more accessible to the public. The project was advised by Professors Dr. Stefan Rank and Dave Mauriello. Second place was awarded to Digital Media student Chelsea Myers for her online series, “Coffeebot,” which advances newspaper comics from a static, paper medium to online 3D-rendered animations. Myers’ research was co-authored by Digital Media students Eric Martin, Ian Suen and Ross Reagan, and advised by Professors Troy Finamore and Jeremy Fernsler. Product Design student Megan Peaslee received third place for “Reading with Arthritis,” a project consisting of a quilt that folds into itself and acts as a bookstand, aiming to decrease pain and the effects of limited dexterity for those affected by arthritis. Product Design Program Director Mike Glaser served as advisor to Peaslee’s project. Click here to read more about Research Day.

The Honorable Mentions recognized at the College level include Graduate Digital Media student Natalie Lyon, for her educational physics game; Product Design students Hanya Moharram and Jemma Frost for a modern medicine cabinet design; Product Design student Osman Cueto for an app-based asthma inhaler; Graduate Digital Media student Jason Kirk for 3D-printed cardiac imaging to improve doctor-patient communication; and Dance student Erica Henn, for her exploration of the psychological effects of choreographed movement.

In addition, three students from across Drexel received University-level awards for projects advised by Fashion Design professor Genevieve Dion involving their work with the Shima Seiki Haute Technology Laboratory. They include Kristy Jost (Fashion Design alum and Graduate student, College of Engineering); Stephen Watt (Undergraduate student, College of Engineering); and Michael Koerner (Undergraduate student, School of Biomedical Engineering).