April

The robot, which was programmed by students in the College of Engineering, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Philadelphia Phillies' faced the Chicago Cubs on April 28.

Drexel held its annual Inspire a Child to Dream Day on the University City Main Campus on April 26.

Sony Electronics is teaming up with higher education institutions in a new program called Sony Digital Media Academy – collaboration between Sony and academic institutions to foster and fuel innovative approaches and facilitate new expressive applications of digital media technologies. Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design has been named a founding partner in the program and will develop a sustainable paperless studio.

A team of Drexel undergraduate computer science majors earned national acclaim for designing smartphone apps as part of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Competition. “Team Drexel Dragons” won the U.S. Championship for their design of a math learning program. Drexel sent two teams to the national final and now “Team Drexel Dragons” is among the field of competitors at the World Championship in Sydney, Australia in July.

Working mothers, poverty and opportunity are powerful themes in the national political conversation. On May 2, a public exhibit will display photos and videos from women whose voices are too often missing from this dialogue: those who have experienced poverty and hunger first-hand. These “Witnesses to Hunger” are participants in a powerful research and advocacy project developed at the Drexel University School of Public Health.

Fourteen colorful stained glass windows created by students from Germantown High School are currently on display as part of an exhibition entitled the “Hand-Eye Collaboration” at Drexel University’s James E. Marks Intercultural Center (33rd and Chestnut Streets). The exhibit symbolizes the power of art to bring together people of all races, religions, ages and backgrounds. It is free and open to the public, and will be on display through June 4.

Drexel University has named Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, as the recipient of the inaugural Westphal Award, one of the University’s highest honors, for her leadership at Burberry and for her humanitarian work through the Burberry Foundation. Ahrendts will be presented with the award on Wednesday, May 2, as part of an all-day program at Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design where she will also be the 2012 Distinguished Speaker of the Year.

The residency week and tour runs from May 28 until June 6 and points the way for a future of new collaborations.

For this month's From the Collection series, we highlight the “Delphos” dress from the Drexel Historic Costume Collection.

Drexel University and Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia announced a new partnership to support summer educational programming for low-income students from Philadelphia public schools who are transitioning to high school. In recognition of support from Drexel, the Breakthrough high school program has been renamed The Peggy and Richard Greenawalt Program, in honor of Drexel Board of Trustees Chairman Richard A. Greenawalt, and his wife, Peggy, a founding board member of Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia.

Voiced by Philadelphia teens, Briana and Damon are a pair of digitally animated street-smart characters with a Facebook page aimed at reducing urban youth violence.

Drexel University's Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento has announced the addition of an MBA in Healthcare Administration starting in September 2012.

Drexel University will take part in Philly Tech Week’s annual celebration of innovation and technology from April 23-28. The week of events, exhibitions, panels and celebrations brings technologists, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, educators, and enthusiasts together for a week of tech-related exhibits, demonstrations, discussions and gatherings throughout the city.

Drexel University President John Fry led a delegation of University administrators, faculty from Drexel’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems and College of Engineering, and representatives from Duke University and The Johns Hopkins University and industry partners through a five-day tour of Turkey’s epicenters for research and technological innovation. This Innovation Partnership Forum Delegation, spent time at some of the nation’s top universities, visited innovative “technoparks” and participated in a national biomedical engineering summit.

Art Attack, the innovative partnership between Drexel University’s Center for Cultural Outreach in the Pennoni Honors College and the Philadelphia Daily News to expand local arts exposure for the newspaper, is among three new models to receive up to $80,000 in funding through the Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge, which seeks innovative ideas for informing and engaging people in the arts.

Drexel University’sDr. James Rondinelli, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering, has developed a method of constructing new electrically switchable materials through a form of atomic alchemy that resembles microscopic sandwich making. The resultant material could find use in a variety of applications including video game consoles, transit passes and medical imaging technology.

Greek Week is two weeks of athletic, artistic, philanthropic and educational events created by the Drexel fraternity and sorority community.

Drexel University’s Pennoni Honors College announced today the establishment of a new entity, the Center for Cultural Outreach, which consolidates a variety of cultural endeavors within the Honors College and offers a platform for collaborative ventures with other units at Drexel.

Drexel was recognized by the EPA as the 2011-2012 Individual Conference Champion for using more green power than any other school in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Twelve members of Drexel's weServe program spent threlast week surviving on two dollars a day to raise awareness of poverty on a local and global level.

A Drexel graduate student's dream—the Roger Lee Dance Company—has officially become a reality.

The growing number of children and adults on the autism spectrum represent a growing need for quality health care that is sensitive to the issues they face. This is the premise and challenge behind a new text, Nursing of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence-based Integrated Care across the Lifespan (Springer, April 2012), edited by Dr. Ellen Giarelli, an associate professor in Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, with Dr. Marcia Gardner.

An Internet “fast” took place last weekend to increase awareness of Philadelphia's lack of digital literacy and access.

There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to get you going in the morning. Drexel’s Dr. Joanne Getsy offers some tips to jump start your body and mind.

The gift from the Drexel Hall of Famer will make it possible for Drexel to enhance its athletics program and upgrade the athletic center that already bears Daskalakis’ name.

Drexel University will play a big role in the celebration of science at the annual Philadelphia Science Festival. The festival, which runs from April 20-29, brings scientists and science enthusiasts together for a week of science-related exhibits, demonstrations and gatherings throughout the city. Drexel students, faculty and professional staff will take part in events each day during the festival. Click "read more" for a full schedule of all Drexel-related activities during the week.

DrexelNow was able to squeeze into her jam-packed schedule for a walk across campus to chat about what life has been like for her lately.

Internationally recognized toy designer and illustrator Emilio Garcia will travel from Barcelona, Spain, to host a 4-day workshop with students on making designer toys, along with a public lecture and demonstration for Drexel University’s Product Design program, part of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. Garcia is well known for his jumping brain toys and his design work with international companies such as Hitachi, Diesel, Inditex, Metro, Vans and The North Face.

Drexel Universitys Lauren Bilski, a junior majoring in dance and physical therapy, was crowned Miss Philadelphia at Drexels Mandell Theater on March 31. The Miss Philadelphia pageant serves as a preliminary round in the Miss America competition.

Rhinoceros beetles could play a big part in the next generation of aircraft design with the help of researchers in Drexel University’s Mechanical Engineering Department. Dr. MinJun Kim, an associate professor in Drexel's College of Engineering,is leading a team of engineers in National Science Foundation-funded research that examines the function and aerodynamics of the Allomyrina dichotoma beetle in collaboration with Konkuk University in South Korea.

Political strategists and social media/technology experts Maria Cardona, Andrew Rasiej, Daniel Sieberg, Alex Torpey and Todd Van Etten will join the National Constitution Center to take a hard look at the role of social media and its impact on the 2012 presidential campaign. Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post will moderate the discussion. The event takes place on Thursday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the National Constitution Center.

The Goodwin College’s School of Education at Drexel University will host a panel discussion to explore ways in which higher education partnerships can enhance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education for K-12 students in an urban setting. The discussion will take place on Monday, April 30, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Sheller studies how people move and how mobile communication changes how people move. She's designed the mCenter to cross boundaries within disciplines and within Drexel.

President John Fry’s vision to support and develop local West Philadelphia communities is coming to fruition through partnerships like Rebuilding Together Philadelphia.

The Future of Museums, featuring Brent Glass, director emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, will examine prospects and offer recommendations for successful museum management in the 21st century. The talk will take place Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m. at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, in collaboration with Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design.

Drexel has its very own chocolate lovers club. The Drexel Chocolate Terminators meet once or twice per quarter and have a taste for fair trade and organic chocolates.

Bryan Thomsonowak and Andrew Lee are tasked with maintaining the PISB biowall, the largest living biofilter in North America and the only such structure installed at an American university.

Four of Drexel's HUBO robots performed "Come Together" by The Beatles in a demonstration that combined cutting-edge engineering technology and research with creative expression. A video was produced by the Music & Entertainment Technology Laboratory (MET-lab).