Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as those used by the military for surveillance and reconnaissance, could be getting a hand –and an arm– from engineers at Drexel University as part of a National Science Foundation grant to investigate adding dexterous limbs to the aircrafts. The project, whose subject harkens to the hovering android iconography of sci-fi movies, could be a step toward the use of UAVs for emergency response and search and rescue scenarios.

In the aftermath of the recent United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, the focus of many industrialized nations is beginning to shift toward planning for a sustainable future. One of the foremost challenges for sustainability is efficient use of renewable energy resources, a goal that hinges on the ability to store this energy when it is produced and disburse it when it is needed.

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.

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).

A robotic fish, developed in Drexel University’s College of Engineering, could soon be leading the way for development of unmanned, automated marine vehicles according to researchers in the Laboratory for Biological Systems Analysis. Dr. James Tangorra, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics, who heads the lab, is using the robotic fish model to understand the movement and sensory abilities of fish fins and attempting to translate this information into making more sophisticated marine systems for the Office of Naval Research.

Researchers are bringing the latest technological advancements in 3-D printing to the study of ancient life. Using scale models of real fossils, for the first time, they will be able to test hypotheses about how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals moved and lived in their environments.

Drexel University has named Dr. Joseph B. Hughes, the Karen and John Huff  School chair and professor of civil, environmental and materials science engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, as dean of the University’s College of Engineering. Drexel President John A. Fry has announced that Hughes will begin his tenure at Drexel on January 15, 2012.