August

Drexel University engineers are researching methods to establish the safe load capacity of aging concrete bridges in West Virginia.

Drexel will collaborate with the University of Michigan and Florida State University to transform the Internet Public Library into a virtual teaching and learning laboratory for digital reference.

The Smart Set From Drexel University is the new online publication of Drexel University’s Pennoni Honors College. The site’s Maxfield Parrish-style illustrations and iconoclastic tone hearken back to H.L. Mencken’s Smart Set, as does the mix of famous contributors such as Susan Orlean, alongside writing by new authors.

The W.M. Keck Foundation has awarded $1 million to Drexel University in establishing the Keck Institute of Attofluidic Nanotube-based Probes.

The first national resource center and clearinghouse on public health emergency preparedness for racially and ethnically diverse populations will be established with the help of two grants.

Drexel University will roll out the red carpet when USA Table Tennis brings the 2008 U.S. Olympic & National Team Trials in table tennis to Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center from Jan. 10 to 13, 2008.

Drexel University, a 116-year-old Philadelphia institution renowned for its leadership in higher education innovation, is exploring the possibility of establishing a four-year private university in Placer County, Calif., outside Sacramento, as reported in the Aug. 5 Sacramento Bee.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant to Drexel University chemistry professor Dr. Alan Bandy to conduct research on Earth’s cooling system. According to Bandy, the principal investigator in the Pacific Atmospheric Sulfur Experiment (PASE), the temperature of Earth’s atmosphere is determined by processes that heat it—such as absorption of Earth’s radiation by certain gases—and by processes that cool it –such as reflection of the sun’s radiation from Earth’s surface, aerosol and clouds.

Drexel University unveiled plans for a $60 million building that will include a “Bio Wall” or living biofilter for energy efficiency and improved indoor air quality.

As the Food and Drug Administration forges a plan to revamp its policy on the safety of imported food (it inspects less than 1 percent), a handheld sensor developed by researchers could help prevent deaths and illnesses caused by food contamination. A Drexel University professor’s millimeter-size cantilever biosensor can detect cells and proteins in trace samples and in only minutes.The sensor could have wide applications in medical diagnostic testing (prostate cancer), detecting contamination in food products (E. coli bacteria) and monitoring for biothreat agents (anthrax). In medical testing, the sensor can be used to analyze the four most widely tested fluids: blood, urine, sputum and spinal fluid.