News

2022
- Following the Thread: Drexel’s TopoKnit System Lays the Groundwork for Universal Design of Functional Fabrics
  
  February 24, 2022
  
  Before 3D printing, CNC routing, laser cutting and the tools of ubiquitous “making,” there was yarn and needle. For centuries, the earliest makers knitted things into being. Blankets, sweaters, gloves – all took shape by combining just a handful of basic stitches. Now a team of researchers at Drexel University is translating those loops and twists into a digital architecture of knitting — a key step in the process of incorporating new technologies into textiles.
  
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2021
- A Stitch in Time
  
  September 16, 2021
  
  Drexel’s Center for Functional Fabrics had just settled into its new state-of-the-art research facility on Drexel’s campus when the pandemic arrived. In a rapid pivot, the center’s 3D knitting machines and cutting-edge textiles became a lifeline to frontline workers in need of protective masks.
  
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2020
- 19 Ways Dragons Came to the Rescue During COVID-19
  
  July 07, 2020
  
  When a crisis hits, everyone looks for the cavalry. This spring, it wasn’t Washington, D.C., or the Army Corps or the National Guard. Instead, almost immediately, ordinary people stepped up. Our tremendous community of faculty, staff, students and alumni leapt into action, bringing information, aid and gear to those impacted.
  
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- Numerous Drexel urgent-action research teams working to defeat the pandemic
  
  May 15, 2020
  
  . . . around 20 urgent action research and development projects focused on COVID-19 are being held by university staff after the Office of Research and Innovation developed Drexel’s Rapid Response Research & Development Fund.
  
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2019
- Co-Ops at the Cutting-Edge of Technology and Design
  
  December 12, 2019
  
  Drexel students contribute regularly to the transdisciplinary work of the center, which employs undergraduate co-ops from a variety of disciplines. For Carly Kandler (CK), design and merchandising ’19, and Keith Taylor (KT), mechanical engineering ’19, their Drexel-funded co-ops at the center provided opportunities to innovate, be inspired and gain hands-on experience at the cutting-edge.
  
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- That New Yarn?! — Wearable, Washable Textile Devices Are Possible With MXene-Coated Yarns
  
  October 10, 2019
  
  Drexel University researchers have figured out how to add more conductivity into functional fabric devices, by coating yarns with a two-dimensional carbon-based material called MXene, to make conductive threads. The group has developed a dip-coating method, similar to the dyeing process, that can produce a conductive yarn strong enough for use in industrial knitting machines and durable enough to make it through wash cycles without degrading.
  
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- Drexel Opens New Center to Study Fabrics of the Future
  
  September 30, 2019
  
  The new Center for Functional Fabrics and the Pennsylvania Fabric Discovery Center is set to become a cornerstone of the Schuylkill Yards innovation hub.
  
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2018
- President Fry’s Contract Extended to Lead Drexel Into the Next Decade
  
  May 23, 2018
  
  At a recent meeting, the Board of Trustees extended President John Fry’s contract through 2023.
  
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2017
- Top Drexel Stories of 2017
  
  December 20, 2017
  
  2017 was a big year for Drexel University, which made strides in research and developments that could impact all of our futures.
  
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- Drexel to Host Pennsylvania's Center For Advanced Fabric Manufacturing Innovation
  
  November 14, 2017
  
  The Department of Defense’s effort to bring America to the forefront of textile technology manufacturing and innovation is gaining a strategic foothold in the region. Drexel University, in collaboration with DoD-supported Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), is establishing a statewide center that will help companies, entrepreneurs and innovators take their advanced-textile concepts from prototype to product and prepare America’s workforce for the quality jobs this growing sector is generating. Called the “Pennsylvania Fabric Discovery Center,” this statewide resource is the first hub located outside of AFFOA’s home state of Massachusetts. It will be part of a national network intended to lower the barrier to commercialization for functional fabrics, resulting in advanced textiles that do things like see, hear, sense, communicate, generate and store energy.
  
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- 7 Reasons to Cheer for Drexel's New Fundraising Campaign
  
  November 13, 2017
  
  The new fundraising campaign is designed to benefit current and future Drexel students alike, providing funding for everything from scholarships to study abroad.
  
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- Drexel Researchers Make a Carbon Nanofiber Supercapacitor (Without The Flammable Ingredients)
  
  September 20, 2017
  
  A group of Drexel University researchers have created a fabric-like material electrode that could help make energy storage devices — batteries and supercapacitors — faster and less susceptible to leaks or disastrous meltdowns. Their design for a new supercapacitor, which looks something like a furry sponge infused with gelatin, offers a unique alternative to the flammable electrolyte solution that is a common component in these devices.
  
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- In Summer Showcase, Drexel Research STARs Set to Shine
  
  August 28, 2017
  
  Since 2007, the STAR Scholars Program has held a showcase to highlight the research Drexel students do over the summer. This year’s edition on Aug. 31 will include several Dragons who went off-campus — some as far as India — to learn more after their freshman year.
  
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- Final 125th Anniversary Lecture Offers a Fond Reflection on Big Drexel University Moments
  
  June 09, 2017
  
  The last in a year-long series of public lectures celebrating Drexel’s 125th anniversary brought President John Fry together with several generations of students, faculty, staff and alumni to look back at the personal experiences that define the University.
  
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- Brookings’ Innovation District Report Highlights Drexel’s Involvement in Strengthening Neighborhood
  
  May 18, 2017
  
  A new report from the Brookings Institution conducted an assessment of Philadelphia’s emerging innovation district, highlighting Drexel University’s efforts to encourage and strengthen the area surrounding its campus.
  
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- New Research Labs Foster Collaboration at Drexel’s 3101 Market St.
  
  April 10, 2017
  
  Professors in the College of Engineering and the LeBow College of Business worked with architects to design a shared research laboratory space that would encourage collaboration between themselves and their students.
  
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2016
- Top Drexel Stories of 2016
  
  December 05, 2016
  
  Relive the moments and exciting headlines that sparked the most conversation and interest during 2016 through this annual review of the year’s top Drexel stories.
  
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- Drexel's History Is Alive in the Present, President John A. Fry Says at Lecture
  
  December 05, 2016
  
  The University's leader looked forward while keeping an eye on the past at a lecture on the first 125 years of Drexel history and its next 25.
  
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- Q&A With Senior Vice Provost for Research Aleister Saunders
  
  August 11, 2016
  
  University research typically is a fairly insular endeavor, played out at the department level with little cross-pollination among the various disciplines. Senior Vice Provost for Research Aleister Saunders is trying to widen that view. He has been advocating a university-wide approach to research, looking for those areas where Drexel can support and encourage investigations that cut across departments and disciplines.
  
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- President Fry’s Second and Third Town Halls Highlight the Importance of Communication
  
  April 08, 2016
  
  In town hall meetings at Drexel’s Center City and Queen Lane campuses, President John A. Fry said communication between colleges sparked the successes of the past year and detailed how it will be even more important in the years to come.
  
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- A Toast to the Future of Drexel at President Fry’s First Town Hall of 2016
  
  April 04, 2016
  
  President John A. Fry raised a glass to the individuals and colleges involved in bringing Advanced Functional Fabrics of America to Drexel in the first of three town halls this spring. He also delved into Schuylkill Yards, civic engagement and expanding online education.
  
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- Drexel Brings National Network for Advanced Functional Fabrics Manufacturing to Philadelphia
  
  April 01, 2016
  
  The U.S. Department of Defense has tapped Drexel University as a key leader in the creation of a $75 million national research institute that will support American textile manufacturers in bringing sophisticated new materials and textiles to the marketplace. The institute, called Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, will be a national manufacturing resource center for industry and government to draw on academic expertise in new fibers and textiles. The result will be fabrics engineered to see, hear, sense and communicate; serving an array of industries including aerospace, apparel, architecture and health.
  
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2015
- Convocation 2015: Making This Drexel’s ‘Best Year Ever’
  
  September 17, 2015
  
  At the ceremonial start to the 2015–16 school year, keynote speaker Youngmoo Kim told those gathered that all signs point to this being Drexel’s finest year.
  
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- Holding Energy By The Threads: Drexel Researchers Spin Cotton Into Capacitive Yarn
  
  March 05, 2015
  
  While the pattern for making a wearable fabric battery has already been laid out, it’s now time to select the threads that will turn a textile into an energy storage device. That process is being driven by Drexel University doctoral student Kristy Jost, who’s threaded her way into the forefront of research on conductive yarns.
  
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2014
- Drexel Researchers Develop Smart Fabric Belly Band
  
  May 19, 2014
  
  Tummy snugging maternity wear could soon be giving expecting parents peace of mind in addition to stylishly securing waistlines. Researchers at Drexel University are combining fashion design with wireless technology to produce a belly band that will be able to monitor uterine contractions and fetal heart rate in real time.
  
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- How-To Meets High-Tech In Drexel Engineers' Award-Winning Graphic
  
  February 06, 2014
  
  The team of Drexel University engineers who came up with a way to knit an energy storage device have now been recognized by the National Science Foundation for their skill in showing how they did it.
  
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