A new way of measuring the relative habitability of freshwater environments for fish and aquatic insects suggests that New Jersey’s water monitoring and treatment standards could use a boost.

A new approach for making cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries, reported by researchers in the College of Engineering, could help to prevent a performance-sapping phenomenon that has been preventing their progress toward commercial use. Their method for infusing sulfur into the cathode cuts a time-consuming process down to just five seconds and does it without using toxic chemicals which are often a necessary part of production.

Drexel University’s Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection (FHCC) of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design is opening its new, custom-built gallery space with the presentation of The Fox Collection, 2008-2018: A Decade of Renewal. The exhibition honors Robert (Hon. ’13) and Penny Fox (Hon.’13) for their generous support, which made the new gallery possible. It will open to the public on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 and run through March 23, 2019.

PECO and the Exelon Foundation awarded a $300,000 grant to the Drexel Exelon Foundation/PECO Community Education Collaborative – a program that supports and enhances the work of the School District of Philadelphia at the Morton McMichael and Samuel Powel elementary schools in West Philadelphia. The purpose of the program is to improve educational outcomes for local students with a particular focus on STEM education.

A group of researchers from the College of Engineering recently reported a method for spraying invisibly thin antennas, made from a type of two-dimensional, metallic material called MXene, that perform as well as those being used in mobile devices, wireless routers and portable transducers. 

The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection (FHCC) of Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design will present a retrospective exhibition of work by renowned fashion designer James Galanos. The exhibition, James Galanos: Design Integrity (October 19-December 8, January 8-27 2019), will celebrate the artistry of James Galanos, considered by his peers to be one of the greatest and most creative of American designers of the 20^th century.

Four years after the Dana and David Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships opened its doors to the Powelton and Mantua communities, Drexel University announced plans to expand the programming offered to the community with the purchase in June 2018 of the West Philadelphia Community Center.

New digital enhancements will take online education to new and far more expansive heights at Drexel University. VRtifacts+, a first of its kind repository, will empower faculty and instructional designers to seamlessly incorporate 250,000 augmented, virtual and mixed reality learning objects across a wealth of disciplines into the University’s online coursework.

A new study by Drexel environmental sociologist Robert J. Brulle, PhD, shows that between 2000 and 2016, lobbyists spent more than two billion dollars on influencing relevant legislation in the US Congress. As the first peer-reviewed, comprehensive analysis ever conducted of climate lobbying data, Brulle’s research confirms the spending of environmental groups and the renewable energy sector was eclipsed by the spending of the electrical utilities, fossil fuel, and transportation sectors.

More Drexel University undergraduate students will have the opportunity to earn teacher certification in science and mathematics thanks to the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Scholarship program, which recently awarded Drexel’s School of Education a 5-year, $1.2 million grant. The new grant will allow 24 Drexel students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a major related to science, technology, engineering or mathematics to earn pre-service teacher certification in middle grades (4-8) science or mathematics through Drexel’s DragonsTeach Middle Years program.

In an exciting development for the field of aerospace engineering, the lightweight materials of airplanes and rockets might soon be getting stronger. A new method for making ceramic materials — which are used in propellers and heat shields — has enabled the introduction of chemical compounds to bolster their strength and could also imbue them with other useful properties. The discovery was recently reported by researchers at Drexel University and Penn State University.

“If you build it, they will come” seems to be the mantra of top football programs around the country that have invested in the creation of exclusive player-only villages. Coaches are behind the concept of the “Athletic Village,” believing it will enhance the togetherness of their team. However, researchers are raising caution to the exclusivity of these compounds – which may support the further segregation of athletes from the campus population that can cause significant social and personal drawbacks.

Is there anything MXene materials can’t do? Since the discovery of a large new family of two-dimensional materials by Drexel University researchers in 2011, continued exploration has revealed their exceptional ability to store energy, block electromagnetic interference, purify water and even ward off bacteria. And, as recent research now suggests, MXenes are also very durable — the strongest material of its kind, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances.

The ExCITe Center at Drexel University released Making Culture, the first in-depth examination of K-12 education makerspaces nationwide, revealing the significance of cultural aspects of making that enable learning.

The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation is expanding its partnership with Drexel University’s Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies (ExCITe) Center and Lindy Center for Civic Engagement  to offer a summer camp for local students to learn, experiment and experience the interplay between science, technology, engineering, arts, athletics and mathematics (STEAM).

A dedication ceremony on June 6 officially marked the opening of the addition to Drexel’s Korman Center and surrounding “Quad.” Located at the heart of Drexel’s campus, the Korman Center and its surrounding green space have served as a University landmark for decades.

Algorithms aren’t just deciding the content of social media feeds and online advertising anymore. To guard against bias creep and streamline decisions about the allocation of resources, many urban areas across the country are turning to these automated decision systems. But how do we ensure that the algorithms are the impartial arbiters we expect them to be? Drexel University professor Julia Stoyanovich is part of the first group in the nation helping to answer this question in the biggest urban area in the world. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tapped Stoyanovich to serve on the city’s Automated Decision Systems Task Force, a team charged with creating a process for reviewing algorithms through the lens of fairness, equity and accountability.