The John E. Gordon Dissertation Award ($1500) is co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Neuropsychology Society and Clinical Neuropsychology Associates.

Aimee Hildenbrand, a doctoral student working under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Daly, was awarded the Graduate Student Spotlight Award by the Society of Pediatric Psychology (APA Division 54) in recognition of her commitment to the field.

Hallie Espel, a second year doctoral student advised by Drs. Evan Forman and Michael Lowe, was selected to receive the Fall 2014 Psi Chi Graduate Research Grant.

Eli Gilman, MS public policy '11, was appointed to the Governor-elect's Transition Review Team for Emergency.

Preeti Sunderaraman is a fifth year Ph.D. student and is currently an intern at the Mount Sinai Hospital, NYC.

Mark McCurdy, a second year doctoral student advised by Drs. Brian Daly and Douglas Chute, was selected to receive the 2015 Thesis Award granted by the Education Advisory Committee of the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology.

PhD student Elizabeth Nicholls and mentor Brian Daly examined depression and anxiety in children with spina bifida living in Colombia, South America, in the first study investigating these topics in a developing area.

Joyce talks about her first three years as Director of the Center, highlighting the collaborations it has fostered, as well as what is on the horizon. Joyce also recounts what she has gleaned from her STS students, Drexel faculty and Drexel’s community.

Third year clinical psychology doctoral student, Stephanie Manasse, MS (mentor: Evan Forman) was awarded the 2014 Early Career Investigator Grant from the Obesity Society.

Elizabeth Nicholls, MS won the 2014-15 Student Spotlight Award from the Society for Pediatric Psychology (APA Division 54).

Hallie Espel was recently awarded the Obesity Society's Pat Simons Travel Grant, which is awarded to presenters at the Annual Meeting of the Obesity Society, based on the quality of the abstracts they submit.

Congratulations to Stephanie Kerrigan (mentor: Meghan Butryn), doctoral candidate, the recipient of two awards for her abstract titled, "Distress Tolerance as a Predictor of Physical Activity Intentions and Engagement," to be presented at the 2014 meeting of the Obesity Society.

Ambassador Joseph M. Torsella (Ret.) has been named Drexel University Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Public Policy for the duration of this academic year. He will contribute to the teaching and scholarship undertaken by Drexel’s Center for Public Policy, and in particular help advance the Center’s efforts to facilitate public policy discussion and debate in the region.

John A. Fry, President of Drexel University, announced that "Ambassador Joseph M. Torsella (Ret.) has been named Drexel University Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Public Policy for the duration of this academic year.

Congratulations to Evan Forman, PhD, of Drexel University, the recipient of the 2014 Weight Watchers Karen Miller‐Kovach Research Grant.

A first-authored paper by Aimee Hildenbrand (mentors: Brian Daly and Doug Chute) entitled "Increased risk for school violence-related behaviors among adolescents with insufficient sleep" was selected as a 2013 Top School Health Paper by the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health (COSH).

Gwen Ottinger, assistant professor in the Center for STS, has been awarded a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for her project, "Environmental Justice and the Ethics of Science and Technology."  The study focuses on the efforts of community groups, non-profits, regulators, and oil companies to expand ambient air monitoring at refinery fencelines, asking: does the choice of monitoring technologies and/or the structure of collaboration among these groups affect the ethical claims that are made?

Stephanie Goldstein, a doctoral student in clinical psychology (mentor: Evan Forman), is a winner of the 2014 American Psychological Association/Psi Chi Junior Scientist Fellowship, which comes with a $1000 grant to fund her research (Developing and evaluating a smartphone app to predict and prevent dietary lapses among those in a weight loss program).

More than a thousand residents and visitors to southern New Jersey will dig their own fossils and learn from the Drexel University paleontologist and students who conduct globally significant scientific research at Mantua Township's third annual Community Fossil Dig Day.

The new Psychological Services Center on Drexel's campus now offers high-quality, scientifically informed, affordable psychological services for the community and clinical training opportunities for doctoral students.

Elizabeth Whipple, MS was recently awarded the first Emily Reid O’Connor Memorial Fellowship.

A Drexel-led team has described a new dinosaur species with the most complete skeleton ever found of one of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. At 85 feet (26 m) long and weighing about 65 tons (59,300 kg) in life, Dreadnoughtus schrani is the largest land animal for which a body mass can be accurately calculated.

The Department of Psychology is delighted to introduce new faculty members: Cathy Bolton, Paige Davis, Fengqing Zoe Zhang, and Nancy Raitano Lee!

Aimee Hildenbrand (term 2013-2015) and Elizabeth Nicholls (term 2014-2016), advanced doctoral students in the Daly/Chute lab, were elected to the Student Advisory Board for the Society of Pediatric Psychology, Division 54 of the American Psychological Association.

Casey LaDuke, an advanced doctoral student in Drexel’s clinical psychology program mentored by Dave DeMatteo and Kirk Heilbrun, has been awarded an American Psychological Foundation Visionary Grant in the amount of $9,860.

In the first pilot study asking adults on the autism spectrum about their experiences with driving, researchers at Drexel University found significant differences in self-reported driving behaviors and perceptions of driving ability in comparison to non-autistic adults. As the population of adults with autism continues growing rapidly, the survey provides a first step toward identifying whether this population has unmet needs for educational supports to empower safe driving – a key element of independent functioning in many people’s lives.

Dr. Ingrid Daemmrich is retiring from the English and Philosophy Department after 30 years of service.

Senior Project Presentations were held on June 10th, 2014. Projects ranged from "The History of the Drexel University Rifle Team" to "Bella's Inner Vampire" and "Myths of the English Major."

Meghann Galloway was awarded the 2014 Student Travel Award in the amount of $300 on behalf of the American Psychological Association to facilitate her attendance at the annual convention in Washington, DC.

In a study that began as a sixth-grade science fair project, researchers at Drexel University have found that a popular non-nutritive sweetener, erythritol, may be an effective and human-safe insecticide. Erythritol, the main component of the sweetener Truvia®, was toxic to Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies in a dose-dependent manner in the Drexel team’s study, published in PLOS ONE. The flies consumed erythritol when sugar was available and even seemed to prefer it. No other sweeteners tested had these toxic effects.

Eight Drexel faculty members will be promoted to full professor effective Sept. 1. And with expertise ranging from architecture to photography, research covering everything from overeating to solar energy and international connections stretching to India, Japan, Ireland and beyond, they’re a diverse group. 

Associate Professors Brigita Urbanc and Luis Cruz Cruz have been awarded tenure at Drexel University. Congratulations Brigita and Luis on this great achievement!

More than 5,000 students will graduate from Drexel University at its 127th Commencement on June 13 and 14 in five separate ceremonies. Drexel will award 20 honorary degrees to prominent individuals distinguished in their fields including NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, legendary architect Robert A.M. Stern and MIT professor Robert Langer—the most cited engineer in history.

Congratulations to Physics majors Leo Bellefleur, Jeremy Gaison, Robyn Smith, Joseph Tomlinson and Charles Unruh who won awards at the CoAS Honors Day event, held on May 22, 2014, at Behrakis Grand Hall.

Arthur Nezu will provide the 2014 Commencement Address for the Graduate Programs of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and he has also been invited to be a faculty member of the week-long 14th Annual Summer Institute on Randomized Behavioral Clinical Trials.

The Week of Writing, hosted by the Department of English and Philosophy, kicks off on Monday, May 12. Highlights include student readings, workshops, story slams and panel discussions including “Writing Lyrics,” “Storytelling in Unexpected Places” and “Writing about Sex.” Presenters will include students, faculty, journalists, playwrights, publishers, editors, poets, authors, songwriters and other noted guests.

Mark McCurdy was awarded the 2014 Student Travel Award on behalf of the American Psychological Association to support his attendance at the annual convention in Washington, DC, where he will be presenting his research examining predictors of neuropsychological outcome in survivors of pediatric brain tumor.

Heidi Strohmaier, a fourth-year doctoral student in clinical psychology, was recently awarded research grants from the American Academy of Forensic Psychology ($1,000) and the American Psychology-Law Society ($750).

The United States needs more science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers. And Drexel has a wealth of bright students studying in those same fields. Now, a new program will connect Drexel’s strength with the nation’s need.

On April 15, 2014, a poster co-authored by PhD student Alexandra P. Greenfield, Masters student Elise M. Turner, PhD student Kristina E. Patrick, MS, BCBA, and Douglas L. Chute, PhD won first place in a competition at the Center for Academic Excellence’s Second Annual Showcase of Teaching.

David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, is now board certified in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and he is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology.

Aluminum shaped the twentieth century. It enabled high-speed travel and gravity-defying flight. It was the material of a streamlined aesthetic that came to represent modernity. And it became an essential ingredient in industrial and domestic products that ranged from airplanes and cars to designer chairs and artificial...

The Center for Mobilities Research and Policy is pleased to announce the publication of The Routledge Handbook of Mobilities, edited by Peter Adey, David Bissell, Kevin Hannam, Peter Merriman, and Mimi Sheller.

Mimi Sheller, PhD, Director of the Center for Mobilities Research and Policy, will be undertaking a study of visions for high speed rail development on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor as part of a multi-site comparative study.

Jeremy Gaison, physics and mathematics junior, has achieved national distinction as a recipient of the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. The Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. Jeremy plans on earning a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics and to conduct research in particle cosmology and mathematical physics while teaching at the university level.

Best-selling author and religion scholar Reza Aslan will join Drexel University on Wednesday, May 7, as the fourth lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Lecture Series. Previous lecturers in the series include neuroscientist David Eagleman, acclaimed author Sir Salman Rushdie and media maven Arianna Huffington.

College of Computing and Informatics Assistant Professor Michael Khoo, PhD, along with co-investigator Gary Rosenberg, PhD, Pilsbry Chair and Curator of Malacology at the Academy of Natural Sciences, was awarded a $13,000 grant from the Social Science Research fund (SSRF) for the project “From ‘Bug Data’ to Big Data: Communities of Practice, Networks of Practice, and Information Systems at the Academy of Natural Sciences.”

During World War II, more than a million African Americans fought in a segregated and discriminatory U.S. military. A landmark new documentary, “Choc'late Soldiers from the USA,” produced by Drexel University writing professor Gregory Cooke, tells the compelling, previously untold story of 140,000 of these African American men and women who were stationed in Great Britain, and how they crossed a racial divide to forge an unexpected bond.

The film will make its Philadelphia debut at Drexel on Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium of the Bossone Research Center (3120 Market St.). A question-and-answer session and reception will follow the screening from 8 – 9 p.m.

Second-year health and neuropsychology doctoral student Caterina Mosti's research regarding cutting healthcare costs with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) was recently covered by the Huffington Post and NPR.

The Psychology Department Spring Colloquium, "Men Are from Earth, Women Are from Earth: Science vs. the Media on Gender Differences", sponsored by the Master of Science in Psychology program, will be held on Monday, April 14th 2014 in Behrakis Hall.

Dr. Christian Hunold, Associate Professor, Department of History and Politics and Dr. Franco Montalto, Associate Professor, Civil Architectural, and Environmental Engineering were recently awarded a  Social Science Research Fund (SSRF) grant in the amount of $7,600 for the project  “Cities and Climate Change: Comparing Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego.”

Dr. Eric Zillmer was interviewed on C-Span about the Olympics.