Dragons on Fire: Kudos for Student Achievement: Spring 2026

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Dragons on Fire: Kudos for Student Achievement: Spring 2026

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• Drexel Joins Statewide Initiative to Support Manufacturing Innovation
• Q&A: Novelution, Drexel's New Electronic Research Administration System
• The Cognitive Neuroscience of the 2026 World Cup

Here's a snapshot of awards, scholarships, publications and fellowships Drexel University students have earned in the past term, courtesy of the Office of the Provost, Pennoni Honors College and others.

Scholarships, Fellowships and Publications

Christopher Rauch, PhD candidate in information science, and Rosina Weber, professor of information science, from the Nick Howley College of Engineering and Computing, presented the paper "ProEthica: A Professional Role Based Ethical Analysis Tool Using LLM-Orchestrated, Ontology Supported Case Based Reasoning" at the 40^th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), held at the Singapore EXPO in January 2026.

Sanonda Datta Gupta, PhD candidate in information science from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, had two journal articles accepted in April 2026. The first, titled "Sleep-trackers in the Wild: A Faceted Taxonomy for Information and Interaction Design," will appear in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIS&T). The second, titled "Sleep by the Numbers: Human-Centeredness and the Immanent Posthumanism of Users" is to appear in AI & Society.

Dejenae Smith, biological sciences '27, Honors, from the College of Arts and Sciences, was selected as a 2026 Goldwater Scholar. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation supports undergraduates in science, math and engineering fields who are planning to pursue research careers and have the potential to be leaders in their fields. Smith currently studies urbanization's effects on pollinators and flowering plants. She was also named a Truman Scholarship finalist.

Twelve Drexel students and alumni were selected as 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Student Program semi-finalists. Four were awarded grants and three were selected as alternates. The program funds one academic year of graduate study, research, creative projects or teaching English around the world. Two students declined publicity.

• Alessandra Cabreba, materials science and engineering '26, Honors, from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, will be an English Teaching Assistant in Kazakhstan.
• Maven Mercado, environmental science '26 from the College of Arts and Sciences, received a study/research grant to Canada.
• Matthew Soesanto, biological sciences '26 from the College of Arts and Sciences, received a study/research grant to Indonesia.
• Alumna Becca Newman, global studies '25, Honors, from the College of Arts and Sciences, is an alternate to be an English Teaching Assistant to Cameroon.
• Alumna Katelynn Rudolph, psychology '24 from the College of Arts and Sciences, is an alternate for a study/research grant to the Netherlands.
• Benjamin Rosenfeld, chemical engineering '26, Honors, from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, was a semi-finalist for Fulbright-LUT University Graduate Award to Finland.

Faith Echiejile, PhD candidate in environmental science '26 from the College of Arts and Sciences, was a 2026 Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in Washington, D.C. The fellowship provides a unique experience to graduate students interested in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources, and matches graduate students with "hosts" in the legislative and executive branches of government.

Daphna Fertil, PhD candidate in bioengineering from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, received a three-year, $114,000 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) fellowship for her project titled "Characterization of Pegylated Cyclodextrin Nanoparticle for Neutrophil Modulation," along with a $16,000 per year cost-of-education allowance.

Julia Cano Matthews, PhD student in ecology, evolution and earth systems from the College of Arts and Sciences, received an NSF GRFP Honorable Mention.

Tofunmi Oteju, a PhD student in pharmacology, and Yash Agarwal, an MD/PhD student in pharmacology and physiology, both from the College of Medicine, were awarded research fellowships from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Their projects were titled "Uncovering Mechanisms Contributing to Enhanced NeuroHIV with Cocaine Use" and "Dopamine D1-Like Receptor Stimulation Promotes HIV Neuroimmune Pathogenesis in Ipsc-Derived Human Cortical Assembloids," respectively.

Nichole Yakas, a PhD student in neuroscience from the College of Medicine, was awarded a one-year, $49,538 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for the project "Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation Improves Spasticity After Spinal Cord Injury by Increasing Motoneuronal KCC2 via Activation of Primary Afferents."

Jazzy Nkala '27, Launa Changnon '27, Sara Haggerty '27 and Shruti Subramoni '28, all art therapy and counseling students from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, are featured in the Mütter Museum's year-long exhibition, "Creative Processing: Art in Therapy," which highlights the history and therapeutic power of creative arts within and beyond clinical practice.

Vivian Tran, MD '28, and Vivian Bui, MD '28, both from the College of Medicine, helped to establish a new student-run free clinic based at the Penn Asian Senior Services Evergreen Center in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. The resulting program - Health Advocacy for Asians and Pacific Islanders - provides free blood pressure and blood glucose screenings, and wellness visits with onsite physician adviser Stephen Pagkalinawan, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the College of Medicine.

Tzu-Yu (Chloe) Weng, a first-year PhD student in information science from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, received an honorable mention at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026) for her paper "A Blessing and a Challenge: Unpacking Boundary Ambiguities Experienced by Caregivers of Older Adults" that she wrote with her adviser. Weng and Christine D. Ikponmwonba, another PhD student in information science, also presented at the conference.

Lindsay N. Barger, PhD candidate in microbiology and immunology from the College of Medicine is among the authors of "Population Analysis and Immunologic Landscape of Melanoma in People Living With HIV," which was published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research on March 2, 2026.

Victor Chai, MD '27, and Skandha Ramakrishnan, PhD candidate in molecular and cell biology, both from the College of Medicine, along with recent alumni, current faculty and faculty from other universities, published "Modeling Spastic Paraplegia 4 with Corticospinal Motor Neuron-Enriched Cortial Organoids Reveals Genotype-Phenotype and HDAC6-Targetable Pathology" in the journal Cell Reports on March 24, 2026.

Saffron Buscemi, custom-designed major in textile science and technology '27, Honors, from the Pennoni Honors College, and Madison Klak, BS/MS environmental engineering '28, Honors, from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, were nominated for the 2026 Udall Scholarship, recognizing their outstanding academic achievements and commitment to careers related to the environment.

Rei Bui, international business '29, Honors, from the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business, received a 2026 Freeman Awards for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA) Scholarship, which provides grants of up to $7,000 to support American undergraduates who are planning to study overseas in East or Southeast Asia. Bui will be studying abroad in South Korea.

Nine students were named Gilman Scholars and will receive funding from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program to support their study abroad. Several students were also awarded supplemental funding for language study and STEM coursework. This does not include one recipient who declined publicity.

• Aneesah Brown, health services administration '28 from the LeBow College of Busines, is a Gilman Scholar to South Korea and also received the Critical Need Language Award for Korean.
• Vineet Kaur, computing and security technology '27, Honors, from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, is a Gilman Scholar to South Korea and will study at Seoul National University.
• Dominic Rivera, business and engineering '28 from the LeBow College of Business, is a Gilman Scholar to Spain and will study at the Universitat Pomepeu Fabra in Barcelona.
• Taslim Sabil, teacher education '28, Honors, from the College of Arts and Sciences, is a Gilman Scholar to Ghana and will study abroad through Drexel's Culture & Community Development program.
• Sophia Senh, management information systems '27, Honors, from the LeBow College of Business, is a Gilman Scholar to Hong Kong and a Gilman STEM Awardee. She will study at the City University of Hong Kong.
• Chetanna Tony-Ogbata, criminology and justice studies '27 from the College of Arts and Sciences, is a Gilman Scholar to South Korea and will study at Seoul National University in the Department of Sociology.
• Khansa Vedda, nursing '28 from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, is a Gilman Scholar to Spain. She will study at Universidad Nebrija in Madrid.
• Sudi Yang, finance and business analytics '28, Honors, from the LeBow College of Business, is a Gilman Scholar to Spain. He will study at Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid.

Andy Zhang, mechanical engineering '28 from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, was named a 2026 Astronaut Scholar. He is Drexel's second-ever Astronaut Scholar and will receive a $15,000 scholarship and connections for mentorship, professional development and networking through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF).

Academic Accolades and Other Achievements

Andria Beridze, computer science '29; Bao Vuong, computer science '29, Honors; and Teiji Schoyen, computer science '26; all from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, won first place at the Swarthmore Spring Programming Competition in April 2026, beating out 11 other teams from Philadelphia-area colleges and universities.

The 10^th annual Drexel Emerging Graduate Scholars Research Showcase (DEGS) occurred on April 14. More than 70 students presented research and 17 total received first- and second-place awards as a result of the judging during the conference; their posters were in the top 10% and 20% of scores.

• First place
  • Alexander Osidach, PhD student in biomedical sciences from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "Injectable, shear-thinning hydrogels for localized cell therapy."
  • Shreya Patel, PhD student in epidemiology and biostatistics from the Dornsife School of Public Health, for the project "Extreme Heat and Emergency Department Visits During the Postpartum Period in Philadelphia."
  • Hashwin Panjwani, MS design research from the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, for the project "Circular Weft Insertion."
  • Giancarlo Anfuso, MS biostatistics from the Dornsife School of Public Health, for the project "A Bayesian Approach to Estimating Changes in Small Area Life Expectancy Disparities in Philadelphia."
  • Shu Huang, PhD student in biomedical engineering from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "Instant Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test (iAST) Directly From Positive Blood Culture to Results in 1 Hour."
  • Ben Senderling, PhD student in health and rehabilitation sciences from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, for the project "Influence of dementia on movement biomechanics: a scoping review."
  • Phoebe Millspaugh, MS interior architecture and design from the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design for the project "The Reauthored Home: Placemaking, Agency, and Identity in a Commodified Housing Landscape."
• Second place
  • Ted Keunsil Kang, PhD student in chemical and biological engineering from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "HIV Virion Capturing Liposomes for Therapeutic Vaccination."
  • Giselle Matlis, PhD student in biomedical engineering from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "Hemolytic Evaluation of the Drexel Dragon Heart: a Magnetically Levitated Pediatric Total Artificial Heart."
  • Matt Namvarpour, PhD candidate from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "Real-Time Monitoring of AI Responses in Social Support Conversations."
  • Festus Ewakaa Kahunla, MS machine learning engineering from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "Hierarchical Contextual Bandits for Adaptive Discrete Trial Training in Autism Intervention.:
  • Ashik Sarker Lifat, PhD student in biomedical engineering from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "Hierarchical Deep Learning Approach for Automated Vertebral Landmark Detection in Frontal and Lateral Chest Radiographs."
  • Ankita Sunil Agawane, MS interior design from the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, for the project "Sensory Pathways to Stillness: Designing Interiors that Guide the Body from Activity to Rest."
  • Sanonda Datta Gupta, PhD student in information science from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, for the project "Strange Bedfellows: Sleep-Tracking and Elements of Epistemic Agency."
  • Amy Kwok, PhD student in health and rehabilitation sciences from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, for the project "Clinical Perspectives on Caregiver Involvement in Tailored Exercise for Pain Management in Older Adults with Dementia."
  • Haila Jiddou, MS psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences, for the project "Executive Function Skills in Adults with Smith-Magenis Syndrome."
• People's Choice Award
  • Faustina Boakye, PhD student in nutrition from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, for the project "Sweet and Savory: A Protocol Paper on Unpacking Sweet and Umami Interactions in Application for Potential Culinary Impact, Public Health and Sustainability Outcomes."

Brianna Palmer and Marissa Cuka, third-year law students at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law, won the Online National Championship (ONC) tournament, a mock trial competition. This is the fourth tournament the team has won this year.

Lorelei Booth '26, Giselle Dickinson '26, Madhu Karuppiah '26, Eyob Kebede '26 and Diya Patel '26, all biomedical engineering students from the Howley College of Engineering and Computing, were part of Senior Design Team #6 and won first prize in Northeast Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC)'s Undergraduate Design Competition for their project titled "Drawing Smiles; Tattoo Pens for Surgical Skin Marking During Pediatric Plastic Surgery."

Michael DiCalogero, PhD student in clinical psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences, won the Anne McAleer & Lenore Potter Memorial Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Foundation.

Matt Schaffner, MS culinary arts and food science '26 from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, developed an apple-based habanero hot sauce for boutique New York City hotel Nine Orchard. Schaffner just wrapped up a graduate co-op at Campbell's, where he conducted research and development (R&D) in snacks.