As part Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code activities planned for this week, TechGirlz shared findings from a new survey of its program participants and their parents. Conducted in partnership with Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, this marks the first time a survey has matched responses from girls and their parents in order to gain a deeper understanding of the role parents play in female engagement in technology.

New collaborative initiative by Drexel, Jefferson and the Science Center fosters groundbreaking research on inclusion and equity in Philadelphia.

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.

Studio 54, Rocky Horror Picture Show, 19th century circuses, and botanicals in urban environments are the inspiration for a handful of student designers whose collections will be featured in Fashion ’18, Drexel University's annual fashion show, presented on Saturday, June 2 by the Fashion Design and Design & Merchandising programs in the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design.

Hisham Abdel-Aal, PhD, an associate teaching professor in Drexel University’s College of Engineering who is studying snake skin to help engineers improve the design of textured surfaces, such as engine cylinder liners, prosthetic joints — and yes, maybe even footwear.

Recently published research from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania, shows a new technique for manipulating two-dimensional materials that allows them to be shaped into films of a practically usable thickness, while maintaining the properties that make them exceptional candidates for use in supercapacitor electrodes. 

Drexel University’s School of Education is partnering with the School District of Philadelphia to support Drexel’s Philadelphia Teacher Residency program, which will provide salaries, benefits and scholarships to aspiring STEM teachers.

Cornell William Brooks, JD, MDiv, dedicated civil rights leader, attorney and minister, will address the graduates of the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law at commencement on Friday, May 18, at 3:30 p.m. The law school will celebrate 163 graduates during its 10th commencement ceremony, held at the Kimmel Center, in Verizon Hall (300 S. Broad Street). The event will celebrate 125 graduates who will receive a JD, 30 who will receive a Master of Legal Studies and eight who will receive an LLM in American Legal Practice.

SOUND MACHINES: an exhibition that will explore the interplay between sound and object, performance and sculpture, and the changing experience of sound in an age of digital reproduction is coming to Drexel University’s Pearlstein Gallery. The exhibit will feature Mauricio Kagel's Zwei Mann Orchester, a large-scale kinetic sound sculpture that utilizes orchestral instruments, household and found objects, connected through a network of levers and strings to produce an orchestra.

When Chase, a retired Drexel University fashion design professor, heard that Drexel’s Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life was in need of artwork to accompany its newly donated Torah, she knew the project was meant for her.

CNN anchor, chief Washington correspondent and noted author, Jake Tapper, will visit Drexel University on May 24 to talk about his new novel, “The Hellfire Club,” and the challenges he faces as a journalist during one of the most trying times in the history of political reporting. 

Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business is once again at the forefront of preparing organization leaders to govern better. With the help of a $5 million gift, the College will establish the Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute.

Hollywood legend M. Night Shyamalan will address the class of 2018 at Drexel’s University-wide commencement ceremony on June 15 at Citizens Bank Park. The director, producer, screenwriter and actor — whose breakout hit, “The Sixth Sense,” appeared nearly 20 years ago — is known for filming and setting his movies in and around Philadelphia, hiring locally and utilizing area vendors, and showcasing some of the region’s best-loved attractions and locales.

There are more than 2,300 nonprofit organizations in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, and Philadelphians know – regardless of the world’s opinions of our character – that our city pride is an integral part of our community fabric. Neville Vakharia, an assistant professor and research director in Drexel's graduate Arts Administration program in the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, created ImpactView Philadelphia, an online tool and resource that uses the publicly available data on nonprofit organizations to present an easy-to-access snapshot of Philadelphia’s nonprofit ecosystem.

Tower Health and Drexel University have announced plans to jointly develop a branch medical school campus of Drexel University College of Medicine in West Reading near the campus of Reading Hospital, subject to the appropriate accreditation approvals. It is expected that upon approval of the regional accreditor, the branch campus will be operational for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Sattriya has historically been a hidden form of dance. Cultivated by Hindu monks as a way to worship the supreme deity, Krishna, it originated in the monasteries of Assam, India. This spring the public will have the opportunity to experience the ancient ritual for the first time in Philadelphia.

A panel of business experts say the latest fight between FedEx and UPS over their relationship with the National Rifle Association (NRA) won’t help either company win over the public. FedEx has stated it will keep its discount for NRA members, breaking with other companies who eliminated such discounts after the Parkland School shooting. While UPS has never had a discount for NRA members, the company has said it will continue delivering NRA products.

We welcome and respect student activism and citizenship, and can assure our college applicants that there will be no repercussions for peaceful, thoughtful and meaningful protests.

The Lenfest Foundation has awarded a three-year $5 million grant to University City District, the University City Science Center and Drexel University to accelerate career opportunities for local residents. The grant will benefit a partnership between the three organization that leverages University City's explosive economic growth to train and place unemployed West Philadelphia residents in family-sustaining jobs today, while equipping the community's workforce with the skills and certifications needed to connect to the jobs of the future.

Now in its fifth year, the 2018 Philly Chef Conference will once again convene the regional and national food community to discuss the latest food and beverage industry issues and trends with demonstrations on current professional techniques. Experts from coast-to-coast will talk trends in food styling and beverage programs, as well as sexism in the kitchen and wellness for chefs. The conference hosted by Drexel University’s Center for Food and Hospitality Management will take place Sunday through Monday, March 11–12, 2018.