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Organization Spotlight: Drexel University Email | Print  Drexel University
The mission of Drexel University is to serve students and society through comprehensive integrated academic offerings enhanced by technology, co-operative education, and clinical practice in an urban setting, with global outreach embracing research, scholarly activities, and community initiatives.
Links: - Drexel University Interview:  | Model of folded graphene sheet.
Image Credit: Slava Rotkin and Yury Gogotsi, Drexel University |
Q: In which Countries does your organization have a presence? The Drexel University campus is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Drexel offers a variety of educational and employment opportunities to students through study and internship programs in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and the co-operative education ("co-op") program. Q: How large is your organization? Drexel has 12,906 undergraduates and 6,976 graduate and professional students enrolled (2006-07). Q: Please provide a short paragraph outlining the history of your organization.  | Transmission electron microscopy of nanodiamond.
Image Credit: Gleb Yushin, Drexel University |
Drexel University was founded in 1891 as the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry by Philadelphia financier and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel to provide educational opportunities in the "practical arts and sciences" for women and men of all backgrounds. Drexel University has long been recognized as a leader in innovative engineering and science education. Drexel’s cooperative education program is among the oldest and largest in the nation. The introduction of technology into the learning process has been a hallmark of the institution for decades. In 1984 Drexel was the first University to require all students, regardless of academic major, to have a computer to be used in the entire span of the academic curriculum. Associated with this was a significant investment in changing the manner of instruction to incorporate the computer. Drexel, through its lead of the NSF sponsored Gateway Engineering Education Coalition in the 1980’s, led significant systemic changes across institutional boundaries for undergraduate educational developments. In 2000, the University became a fully wireless campus community with associated changes in curriculum and communications that followed. The official brief history can be found online. Q: Explain the role of nanotechnology in the development of your organization or department. Although much has changed since Drexel University was founded in 1891, the original mission of the university still rings true today, and the introduction and use of new technologies is at the forefront of Drexel University initiatives. As such, nanotechnology provides a platform for students and faculty to explore new interdisciplinary research, maintain a cutting-edge knowledge-base in curriculum development, and further opportunities for regional as well as international collaboration.  | Transmission electron microscopy of etched SiC whiskers.
Image Credit: Z. Goknur Cambaz and Gleb Yushin, Drexel University |
Q: What key markets do you serve? As a University, we service the academic market, educating undergraduate and graduate students in the technologies and skillsets required for the future. Q: How has nanotechnology impacted the products or services you provide? The rise of nanotechnology has enabled new collaborative and team research projects, and invigorated our Engineering curriculum. Nanotechnology has become integrated with many of our research activities, curriculum, and faculty interests. Q: Has your organization made any significant contributions to nanotechnology? Drexel University is focused on two main nanotechnologimplementations: conducting research and development and enhancing education to include research results and advances. In the past few years, we have come to be recognized as leaders in this field.
 | Transmission electron microscopy of etched SiC whiskers.
Image Credit: Z. Goknur Cambaz and Gleb Yushin, Drexel University |
Recently, Drexel University College of Engineering researchers developed Drs. Adam Fontecchio and Gennady Friedman, both of Drexel’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dr. Yury Gogotsi, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and three Ph.D. students have successfully developed carbon nanotube-tipped pipettes that could become key to cell biology in-situ DNA sequencing and organelle-targeted drug delivery. This work was published in a March 2007 paper, “Magnetically assembled carbon nanotube-tipped pipettes,” published in Applied Physics Letters, (Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 103108 2007). This development makes it possible to perform injections or probe the fluid, not just inside a cell, but in specific regions inside the cell, maybe even specific organelles. The probe has the possibility of transferring fluids through the carbon nanotube (CNT) into and out of the pipette, thereby bridging the gap between existing microscale technologies and nanoscale interactions. Another groundbreaking contribution is nanotube shish-kebabs invented by Dr. Christopher Li, a Materials Science Professor at Drexel. Dr. Li’s paper on this topic appeared in a recent issue of Nature Nanotechnology. “Nanoplasma in liquid” serves as another major fundamental discovery that received full-page coverage in Nature magazine (D. Staack, A. Fridman, A. Gutsol, Y. Gogotsi, G. Friedman, Nanoscale Corona Discharge Probes for Optical Emission Spectroscopy in Liquids, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 47, 8020 8024, 2008). In nanotechnology education, an article about an NSF IGERT student advised by Prof. Yury Gogotsi, Mr. John Chmiola, was featured as #2 among 2008 Readers' Favorites in the January/February 2009 issue of the NSF newsletter. Mr. Chmiola worked on carbide-derived carbons for supercapacitors and was the first author on a paper in Science. This work was also invited for a review article for Nature Materials.  | Scanning electron microscopy of nanoindentation.
Image Credit: Adrian Gurga, Drexel University |
Two grants from NSF in the area of Nanoscience Undergraduate Education (NUE), with Drs. Adam Fontecchio (NSF EEC-0532499) and Chris LI (EEC-0304024) as the Principal Investigators, were instrumental in inserting nanotechnology into the mainstream engineering education of the Drexel undergraduates. These projects have resulted in an interconnected curriculum that introduces nanotechnology across the undergraduate engineering curriculum and additionally serves as a basis for outreach activities to Middle and High School students. Furthermore, Dr. Yuri Gogotsi’s Nanomaterials Handbook (Y. Gogotsi (Ed.), Nanomaterials Handbook, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2006, 800 pp.), is a CRC Press bestseller; it has had 2 spin-offs (Carbon Nanomaterials and Nanotubes and Nanofibers, both published in 2006 by CRC Press) and received excellent reviews in journals such as Nature Nanotechnology. These items are particularly of interest for IEEE not only because this is electrical engineering as related to nanomaterials for electrical energy storage but also because it represents the high quality of work done in Academia.  | Scanning electron microscopy of nanofibers.
Image Credit: Kristopher Behler, Drexel University |
Q: Briefly describe a current project involving nanotechnology, and what your anticipated outcome will be (new process, new product, etc.) In the Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept., Prof. Adam Fontecchio and his graduate student Jared Coyle are developing a photovoltaic paint composed of nano sized droplets of liquid crystal dispersed in a polymer. This ‘Solar Paint’ has the potential to revolutionize how we power our homes and vehicles in the future. We are currently explring methods for incorporating the photovoltaic material into commercial and residential paints, roofing shingles, and transparent coatings for windows on both homes and vehicles. When applied, the products will transform surfaces that are currently aesthetic into active components that better all of our lives. Q: Where do you see nanotechnology applications leading in the future?  | Transmission electron microscopy and models showing graphite vs. nanotube structure.
Image Credit: Slava Rotkin, Joseph Libera, Yury Gogotsi, Drexel University |
The opportunities for nanotechnology are endless, spanning traditional disciplines, inter-disciplinary activities, and projects involving unique combinations of skills not yet envisioned. In the next 20 years, we should expect to see innovations in renewable energy, clean water, computer technologies, and biomedicine, to name just a few. Q: What advice would you offer to someone who wanted to work at your organization in 3-5 years? Anyone interested in nanotechnology would do well to take courses in math, physics, and chemistry. In addition, participating in research activities related to nanotechnology can provide a good background for graduate work in the area. I would also suggest to students that they keep up with current trends in technology – there are plenty of sources of information that are accessible to everyone regardless of background or technical education, and a few of my favorites to recommend include Wired magazine, The New York Times technology section, and Science Friday on National Public Radio (available as a podcast as well as live on the radio).  | Scanning electron microscopy of SiC whiskers.
Image Credit: Katya Vishnyakova and Gleb Yushin, Drexel University |
Q: What industry do you think has been impacted the most by nanotechnology thus far? Why? At this point the biggest impact has been in the biomedical field. New pharmaceuticals to fight cancer, viruses, and many other diseases have stemmed from nanotechnology research. In addition, nanocharacterization methods such as Scanning Probe Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-Ray Spectroscopy and Diffraction are providing clues as the fundamental processes of biological systems. We are currently experiencing breakthroughs in DNA analysis and sequencing of the Human Genome, which will offer new possibilities in individualized medicine. Q: What industry do you think has the greatest future potential to be impacted by nanotechnology? Why? The growth in biomedical nanotechnology will continue to grow and impact all of our lives. At the same time, alternative energy generation and storage is seeing advances in basic research and development that will grow to impact the whole world. The current world economic difficulties in addition to the finite petroleum reserves force us to consider new ideas and techniques to provide electric power through photovoltaics; energy scavenging systems based on thermal gradients, vibrational energy, and waste thermal discharge. These breakthroughs will be driven be global necessity, and the impact of nanotechnology on alternative energy will be as great as we are currently seeing in the biomedical field.
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