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As a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983, Dr. Guion S.Bluford became the first African-American to travel into space. He was also the first African-American to return to space for a second, third, and fourth time. Bluford will deliver a lecture titled “Freefall: Flying in Space,” on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus on Wednesday, Nov.16. The event, hosted by the School of Science and the Student Success office, will be held in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) Concert Hall, beginning at 7 p.m. The event is open to members of the Rensselaer campus and local community.

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Most people think of “hacking” as a computer security issue. But, to the members of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student hackathon organization, dubbed “HackRPI,” it simply means using technology to develop or create something that’s never been used before, which for students is part of the excitement and challenge. Plans are underway to host the third annual 24-hour “hackathon” event on the Rensselaer campus Nov.12-13.

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With support from the National Science Foundation, The Jefferson Project at Lake George is poised to complete the most powerful aquatic monitoring sensor network in existence. Spanning the full 32-mile length of the lake, 41 separate smart sensor platforms will collect roughly 9 terabytes of data per year, creating a real-time digital view of the state of the lake.

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Two faculty members at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have been invited to join the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Future Councils. Cynthia Collins, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, has been selected for the Global Future Council on Biotechnologies, and Heng Ji, the Edward P. Hamilton Development Chair and associate professor of computer science, has been selected for the Global Future Council on the Future of Computing.

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It’s a small change that makes a big difference. Researchers have developed a method that uses a one-degree change in temperature to alter the color of light that a semiconductor emits. The method, which uses a thin-film semiconductor layered on top of a heat-sensitive substrate material, offers a path to electronically triggering changes in the properties of semiconductor materials.

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To infect its victims, influenza A heads for the lungs, where it latches onto sialic acid on the surface of cells. So researchers created the perfect decoy: A carefully constructed spherical nanoparticle coated in sialic acid lures the influenza A virus to its doom. When misted into the lungs, the nanoparticle traps influenza A, holding it until the virus self-destructs.

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Biology, at the nitty-gritty level of motor proteins, DNA, and microtubules, takes its cue from physics. But while much is known about the biological components that form such cellular structures, researchers like Scott Forth are only beginning to explore the physical forces between those components.

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Jennifer Pazour, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named the recipient of a 2016 Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellowship.

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This year, as part of the National Manufacturing Day program hosted by the School of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, members of the campus, area students, and the local community will have an opportunity to view the arrival of the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter on Friday, Oct. 14. Prior to the start of the program, the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter (weather permitting) will make its debut on the Rensselaer campus with a 7:15 a.m. landing on ’86 Field in the center of the Rensselaer campus.

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Nearly 300 high school students from around New York’s Capital Region will visit the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) campus to attend the National Manufacturing Day program on Friday, Oct. 14. This marks the fifth year that Rensselaer has participated in the event, which aims to inspire young people to pursue careers in technology and advanced manufacturing. The opening program will be held on the Rensselaer campus in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) Theater, beginning at 9 a.m.

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A comet strike may have triggered the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a rapid warming of the Earth caused by an accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide 56 million years ago, which offers analogs to global warming today.

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The bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa can thrive in environments as different as the moist, warm tissue in our lungs, and the dry, nutrient-deprived surface of an office wall. Such adaptability makes it problematic in healthcare – where it causes infections in cases of cystic fibrosis, cancer, HIV, and other immune-compromised conditions – but also makes it a fascinating subject for study.

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The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC), the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, history, and culture, will officially open its doors on Sept 24. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson is one of several notable guests who will speak during the grand opening dedication ceremony for the museum.

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Building panels made of upcycled coconut husks made a statement at the Chalewote Street Art Festival in Accra, Ghana, this summer. A kiosk constructed of the panels was featured in an online video report by MeshTV in Ghana.“People have been amazed that coconut (husk), which is a material they think they know, can be used as a structural material, a brick, something that feels stronger than plywood, something that has resistance and strength,” Demetrios Comodromos told MeshTV.

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Troy, N.Y. — More than a century after black Civil War veterans began imagining a monument to honor the civic contributions of African-Americans, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, history, and culture, will officially open its doors. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson is one of several notable guests who will speak during the Sept. 24 grand opening dedication ceremony for the museum. NMAAHC was established by an act of Congress in 2003, establishing it as part of the Smithsonian Institution, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African-Americans. The outdoor ceremony begins with a “gathering and musical prelude” at 8 a.m. The dedication of the newest museum is set for 10 a.m. The ceremony will be live-streamed on the Internet at nmaahc.si.edu. President Barack Obama and fi

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Six universities including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have joined with IBM Research to launch the Cognitive Horizons Network, a network committed to accelerating the development of core technologies needed to advance the promise of cognitive computing.The Cognitive Horizons Network – which includes Rensselaer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the University of Michigan, and the University of Montreal – was announced as part of the fifth annual IBM Research Cognitive Colloquium held September 18-20 at IBM’s T.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been awarded $2.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop innovative ion conduction materials for next-generation renewable energy conversion and storage technology.The award is part of a $37 million package of funding from ARPA-E in support of 16 innovative new projects as part of the new Integration and Optimization of Novel Ion-Conducting Solids (IONICS) program.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) alumnus and serial entrepreneur, inventor, and technology executive Robert L. Godgart ’82 has been selected as the 2016 William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year.

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As global temperatures rise, how will lake ecosystems respond? As they warm, will lakes—which make up only 3 percent of the landscape, but bury more carbon than the world’s oceans combined—release more of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane?

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With support from NASA, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are exploring whether RNA could have formed on early Earth deep beneath the ocean's surface or deep underground.

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Dr. Kirk Johnson, the Sant Director of the world-renowned Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, whose noted career as a paleontologist has seen him lead expeditions in 11 countries and 19 states, resulting in the discovery of more than 1,400 fossil sites, has been invited by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson to speak to members of the campus and local community on Thursday, Sept. 1. He will deliver a lecture titled “Natural History Museums in the 21st Century,” from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.

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In a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, researchers are exploring the link between diet, obesity-linked Type 2 diabetes, and intervertebral disc degeneration.

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Savoy Magazine has named Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson among the “Power 300: 2016 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors” in its summer issue.

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Seismology geophysicist Steve Roecker is using a network of broadband seismometers to learn more about the complex overlap between tectonic plates that causes an 8.3 magnitude earthquake near Illapel, Chile in 2015.

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In late summer 2011, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee left extensive damage in the Capital Region, especially along creeks and riverbeds. In the aftermath, several communities, including the Village of Schoharie, worked to pick up the pieces, while dealing with the impact of extreme flooding, rainfall, and power outages. The impact was very personal for Lillian Spina-Caza, lecturer in the Department of Communication and Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who is a Schoharie resident. Today, with assistance from a $90,000 grant from the New York State Council of the Arts, Spina-Caza and Schoharie Area Long Term Inc., (SALT) are working to develop the “Geo to Go” interactive website and augmented reality (AR) arts, cultural, and heritage trails project.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today announced that university president Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson will co-chair the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China, June 26-28, 2016. In her role as co-chair, Jackson will participate in a debate on the role of corporate-led research in advancing scientific progress, a televised session in which she will discuss the key elements of an innovation ecosystem that translates research results into technological innovations and business opportunities. Jackson will also moderate a discussion among Rensselaer faculty of the role of big data in disrupting transmissible diseases.

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Recently, President Barack Obama announced that the the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC), will lead the new Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE). The winning coalition, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, brings together a consortium of nearly 200 partners from more than 30 states—and from across academia, including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), industry, and nonprofits—to spur advances in smart sensors and digital process controls that can radically improve the efficiency of U.S. advanced manufacturing.

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Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute used mathematical models to investigate how opinions spread when there is unusual dissent or diversity, as was the case for much of the 2016 Republican primary season, which began with 17 candidates seeking the party’s nomination.

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A team of researchers has found a new path to large improvements in the efficiency of materials for solid-state heating and cooling and waste energy recapture.

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A few snippets of protein extracted from the fossil of an extinct species of giant beaver are opening a new door in paleoproteomics, the study of ancient proteins.

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Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme Ertharin Cousin—leader of the world’s largest humanitarian organization—urged graduates to think first of others and be the first generation that embraces technology for all the right reasons at the 210th Commencement at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Saturday.

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The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D., President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been presented with the 2014 National Medal of Science, the highest honor for scientific achievement bestowed by the United States government.

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Discovery of rules that govern a variation of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing method makes it possible to use living cells to manufacture valuable metabolic compounds like pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals

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The Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has maintained its business accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer one, two, or all of the following programs: undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) President Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D., has announced that the Institute has received a significant gift from The Lemelson Foundation to establish the Burt Swersey Inventor’s Studio, reinforcing the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs. The studio will be formally dedicated on Friday, May 6, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on the Rensselaer campus.

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Researchers have developed a new method to quickly and accurately determine the orientation of phosphorene, a promising new material with potential application for semiconducting transistors in ever faster and more powerful computers.

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Extraordinary achievements in student innovation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) were recognized recently with several hallmark entrepreneurship awards—the 10 winning ideas for spring 2016 and the overall “Best of the Best” in the Change the World Challenge, and the Rensselaer Class of 1951 Student Entrepreneurship Awards.

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Suicide allows bacteria found in opportunistic infections to create an antibiotic tolerant biofilm, according to a team including researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). In work recently published in Current Biology, the researchers found that a molecule secreted by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes a breakdown in the respiratory chain, killing some of the population and triggering the creation of a biofilm among survivors, and thus conferring increased tolerance to antibiotics.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson today announced that Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, will address Rensselaer graduates on May 28, 2016, during the 210th Commencement Ceremony. Cousin will receive an honorary degree at the ceremony for her contributions as leader of the world’s largest humanitarian organization and her role in raising awareness of food insecurity and chronic malnutrition.

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Plasmons, quasiparticles arising from the collective motion of electrons on the surface of a metal, can strongly modify the behavior of nearby light, and could be instrumental in building some of the key components of a quantum circuit. But far more must be learned about their effects to develop them as a material.

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Graduates of the business school at Rensselaer, the Lally School of Management, are in strong demand.

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Rensselaer names the winners in the fall 2015 Change the World Challenge Student Innovation Competition.

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Federal investments in research are paying off in scientific breakthroughs that are “unleashing the power and potential of proteins” in humans, which, by 2034, will have a significant effect on aging, according to an essay published by the Washington, D.C.-based Science Coalition.

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To celebrate the launch of art_x @Rensselaer (art_x) members of the campus and community are invited to a series of concerts co-sponsored by the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) and the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS). The concerts scheduled for October 6 and October 20, beginning at 4:30 p.m., will take place in the CBIS auditorium on the Troy campus.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni and alumnae will gather from across the country and around the world Oct.1-4 at their alma mater with fellow Rensselaer graduates to participate in Reunion & Homecoming weekend festivities. This year, a series of events pay homage to the theme of space, and explore Rensselaer connections to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

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A new spectroscopy method is bringing researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) closer to understanding – and artificially replicating – the solar water-splitting reaction at the heart of photosynthetic energy production.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumnus and chief executive officer of OptumLabs Paul A. Bleicher, M.D., Ph.D. (B.S. ’76), has been selected as the 2015 William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year.

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Understanding the role of freshwater lakes and reservoirs in the global carbon cycle is central to the work of Kevin Rose, who recently joined the faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

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New research from an international team, including researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), has uncovered the mystery of why large Triassic dinosaurs took more than 30 million years to populate the tropics.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute business students and alumni and alumnae at the Lally School of Management are transforming the world every day. Two Lally students from the graduating Class of 2015, Chloe Hutchinson and Steven Moretti, are highlighted. They represent some of the many dedicated Rensselaer students who want to answer the challenges of a rapidly changing global economy, whether as innovative decision makers in existing companies, or as self-propelled entrepreneurs.