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Using Bacteria to Prevent Potholes Caused by Road Salt

Special bacteria that help form limestone and marble could soon have a new job on a road crew. Recent research from Drexel University’s College of Engineering shows how the bacteria, called Sporosarcina pasteurii, can be used to prevent the road degradation caused by ice-melting salt.

Drexel and Arizona State Researchers Look at Risk of Infection From Water in the Air at Home

Researchers from Arizona State University and Drexel University have developed a more detailed framework for understanding and managing the risk of transmitting a bacterial disease via water spray from sinks, showers and toilets. As continuous testing of indoor water is not always feasible, the guidelines can help to identify water use situations that could increase the risk of exposure.

'Non-Smoking' Doesn't Mean Smoke-Free — Drexel Study Finds Third-Hand Smoke Spreads Inside

Despite decades of indoor smoking bans and restrictions, new research from Drexel University suggests the toxins we’ve been trying to keep out are still finding their way into the air inside. Findings by a group of environmental engineers show that third-hand smoke, the chemical residue from cigarette smoke that attaches to anything and anyone in the vicinity of a smoke cloud, can make its way into the air and circulate through buildings where no one is smoking.

Back row, left to right: Dean Cohen, Amy Gottsegen, Kelly Weissberger (Associate Director, CSD), Ashleigh Jugan, Nicholas Barber, Vincent O’Leary, Provost Blake, Riki McDaniel, Ian Nichols, Caitlin Walczyk, Sam Buczek, Meredith Wooten (Director, CSD), Dean Van Bockstaele, Martha Meiers (Program Coordinator, CSD). Front row, left to right: Caitlin Cooper, Ana Monastero, Jacob Baron, Dylan O’Donoghue, Marina D’souza, Gabrielle Salib, Emily Coyle (Fellowships Advisor, CSD). Photo credit Jordan Stein.

Meet the Drexel Dragons up for the Biggest Awards This Year

Drexel University’s Center for Scholar Development recently hosted an event to recognize the hard work and initiative taken by those students who applied for major fellowships this year.

Drexel Joins Regional Effort to Reduce Carbon Emissions by Making Buildings More Energy-Efficient

Through its Institute for Energy and the Environment and breadth of research in environmental science and engineering, Drexel University has a longstanding commitment to sustainability and environmental preservation. The University recently reaffirmed this commitment by joining a regional partnership of property owners, utilities and energy service companies, and community organizations in Philadelphia that have pledged to help reduce energy and water use and transportation emissions by 50 percent by the year 2030.

CDC/WHO Ebola Guidelines Could Put Sewer Workers at Risk

Research from Drexel University and the University of Pittsburgh suggests that guidelines for safe disposal of liquid waste from patients being treated for the Ebola virus might not go far enough to protect water treatment workers from being exposed. In a study recently published in the journal Water Environment Research, a group of environmental engineering researchers reports that sewer workers downstream of hospitals and treatment centers could contract Ebola via inhalation — a risk that is not currently accounted for in the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention or World Health Organization Ebola response protocol.

Methane Levels Have Increased in Marcellus Shale Region Despite a Dip in Well Installation

Despite a slow down in the number of new natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale region of Northeast Pennsylvania, new research led by Drexel University finds that atmospheric methane levels in the area are still increasing. Measurements of methane and other air pollutants taken three years apart in the rural areas of Pennsylvania that have been the target of natural gas development over the last decade, revealed a substantial increase from 2012 to 2015.

Dalton George presents findings from the global climate change conference.

Climate Change Workshop Tackles Solutions to a Global Problem

The students and faculty who attended COP22 spoke to an audience eager for an update on the international efforts to address the damage humans are doing to the environment.

Could Low-Flow Create High Risk? EPA Taps Drexel to Study Water Quality Impact of Conservation Practices

As public awareness of the need for water conservation, and new water-saving technology, have become increasingly effective at stemming excess water use, new questions are surfacing about how our plumbing, which was built to handle a regular flow of water, might now be a risk factor for bacterial and chemical contamination. In hopes of preventing future public health crises related to the systems that carry and treat our water, the Environmental Protection Agency is tasking a team of researchers, led by Drexel University, with a $2 million project to bring together existing and new experimental data on building plumbing—the stretch of pipes that takes water from main to tap—into a risk assessment tool that can guide new water use and safety regulations.

People Aren't The Only Beneficiaries of Power Plant Carbon Standards

When the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Clean Power Plan in 2015 it exercised its authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions to protect public welfare. The Plan, now the focus of escalating debate, also put the nation on course to meet its goals under the Paris Climate Agreement. Given that other pollutants are emitted from power plants—along with carbon dioxide—research has shown that carbon emission standards for the power sector benefit human health. New research released today shows that they would also benefit crops and trees.

The central corridor at the COP22 conference in Morocco.

Climate Change Conference COP22 Energizes Drexel Faculty, Students

A group of 10 students and professors went to Morocco in November for the annual gathering of government delegates and climate researchers. They came back refocused and reinvigorated.

Urban Climate Change Research Hub Opens at Drexel

In the battle to adapt to and mitigate climate change caused by humans, most environmental engineers and climate scientists agree that cities are the front line. Due to the sheer density of their population, and the quantity of resources they consume, cities have the potential to most quickly and significantly affect—and be affected by—climate risks. They also have the ability to integrate climate resiliency into their plans for the future, according to environmental engineering professor Franco Montalto, PhD, who will direct a network of North American climate change researchers concerting their efforts via a new hub at Drexel University.