As dean of the Drexel Engineering, I am gifted with countless opportunities to speak with our students, professors and alumni. And one of the questions that I often ask what drives their interest in engineering as a career. The usual answers I often hear — it leads to good-paying jobs, allows you to use your creativity. But one answer keeps coming up that, when I chose to study engineering years ago, was one of the first in my mind.
Engineers can change the world.
Here at Drexel Engineering, we have recently started a new strategic plan, built on four areas where engineers have significant impact: resource stewardship and sustainability; health, wellness and medicine; renewable energy and power; and smart cities and integration. In this inaugural issue of Dragon Discoveries, you will see how Drexel researchers are making a difference in each of these critical areas.
From protecting residents of Philadelphia’s hottest neighborhood and using microscopic materials to filter toxins from blood to wirelessly charging cars and monitoring the health of important pieces of infrastructure, these luminaries are doing what Drexel has done for more than 130 years: answering the world’s most pressing needs with innovation.
I hope you enjoy the pages that follow, and that they inspire you to take pride in the world-altering power of this incredible field that we call engineering.
Sharon L. Walker
Dean, College of Engineering