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.