An address by President Shirley Ann Jackson, presentations by world-leading academic researchers, and performances by the legendary Aretha Franklin and violin virtuoso Joshua Bell are among the highlights of the upcoming “Celebration Weekend: A Tribute to the Transformation of Rensselaer.”

Acoustics expert Henry A. Scarton, associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering and director of the Laboratory for Noise and Vibration Control Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named a Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Following up on a statewide event held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute last June, Rensselaer will continue a “progressive dialogue” series about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education across New York state.

Novel nanomaterials developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are scheduled to blast off into orbit on November 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Nanomaterials expert Nikhil Koratkar, professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer, has won the 2009 SES Young Investigator Award from the Electrochemical Society (ECS) Division of Fullerenes, Carbon Nanotubes and Nanostructures.

Members of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute community, including students, faculty, alumni, and staff, will participate in “Celebration Weekend: A Tribute to the Transformation of Rensselaer,” Dec. 4-6. The three-day program will chronicle the first decade of the successful implementation of The Rensselaer Plan, the 10th anniversary of the tenure of Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson, and the successful completion of the Renaissance at Rensselaer: The Campaign for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

When the Board of Trustees began a search for a new President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute over ten years ago, it was with the specific goal of finding a leader who would stabilize and revitalize this, the oldest technological research university in the country.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson’s compensation is a reflection of her extraordinary accomplishments, envisioning and leading a comprehensive transformation at Rensselaer

With $16.75 million in funding from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will launch a new interdisciplinary research center devoted to the study of social and cognitive networks.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) will jointly present the inaugural Ken Kennedy Award to Francine Berman, vice president for research at Rensselaer.

Howard Littman, fluid mechanics expert and professor emeritus in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was recently named a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to model how different metals are affected by neutron irradiation.

Wayne Gray, acting dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been elected a fellow of the Cognitive Science Society.

Renowned materials scientist Robert Hull, the Henry Burlage Jr. Professor of Engineering and head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was recently named a fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS)

Thin film expert Joel Plawsky, professor of chemical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was recently named a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Two years ago, the East Campus Athletic Village (ECAV) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute began with the stroke of a shovel. On October 3, the Institute officially unveiled the new facility — the most extensive athletic construction project in Rensselaer history, offering athletic and recreation facilities that will change the student experience dramatically.

Web scientists at Rensselaer will use the World Wide Web to compile and share scientific data on an unprecedented scale.

Researchers at Rensselaerhave received a grant for $792,000 to create a new laboratory for developing and testing next-generation radar systems that overcome one of the key limitations of conventional radars.

Fengyan Li, assistant professor of mathematical sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has won a Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

A new 3-D IMAX version of the project’s latest movie, Molecules to the MAX, will premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Indianapolis at the Giant Screen Cinema Association’s 2009 International Conference and Trade Show.

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you of the passing September 16, 2009 of Dr. Myles Brand ’64, a Rensselaer Trustee, a national leader in the worlds of academe and college athletics, and a loyal son and devoted friend of Rensselaer.

With a $4.6 million grant, research led by Rensselaer will make its important final steps toward the development of a safer, synthetic alternative to current heparin.

The Lally School of Management & Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced the launch of the Lally Innovation Competition, designed to attract top innovative and entrepreneurial candidates to the Lally School’s MBA Program.

Five Rensselaer educators and researchers will have the honor of representing Rensselaer as one of only a handful of universities invited to the World Economic Forum “Summer Davos” in Asia meeting.

Diana-Andra Borca-Tasciuc, assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has won a Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has received more than $4.8 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Cities are organized like brains, and the evolution of cities mirrors the evolution of human and animal brains, according to a new study by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

With a plethora of cultural cuisines and eateries to choose from, the menu of downtown Troy, N.Y., has never been better. Today, with the implementation on a new off-campus dining program, the students of Rensselaer will find it easier than ever to enjoy the restaurants and other local businesses that the historic downtown has to offer.

The incoming Class of 2013 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute promises to be an exceptional group, with an increase in average SAT scores and roughly 62 percent of the students coming from the top 10 percent of their high school classes. They represent the next generation of leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs, patent holders, and innovators, in fields ranging from engineering to architecture, from fine arts to science, and from management to information technology.

Some look at issues such as healthcare, energy and education and see almost insurmountable obstacles. Satish Nambisan at Rensselaer sees something else: an opportunity to foster collaboration, innovation and the resulting social change.

An experimental heat transfer system designed by researchers at Rensselaer is scheduled to depart Earth aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. Astronauts will install the system into a laboratory of the International Space Station, where it will remain for up to three years.

For the 10th year in a row, Rensselaer has been named among the top 50 universities in the nation, according to the annual U.S. News & World Report list of “America’s Best Colleges.”

Geotechnics and earthquake expert Tarek Abdoun has been named the Judith and Thomas Iovino ’73 Career Development Professor in Civil Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has joined a national effort to make new resources available to military veterans and their dependents to attend college.

Systems and infrastructure engineering expert William “Al” Wallace ’61 has been named the Yamada Corporation Professor at Rensselaer.

Rensselaer Professor Michael Symans is among the team of researchers who will converge in the Japanese city of Miki to perform the largest earthquake simulation ever attempted on a wooden structure.

Gwo-Ching Wang, professor and head of the Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been appointed the Travelstead Institute Chair.

From 11 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will perform its first test of a new emergency siren system. The system is part of the Institute’s comprehensive emergency communications system, known as RPIAlert.

A statement from Vice President for Administration at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Claude Rounds on the details of the June 29, 2009 fire.

Alumnus Gregory R. Wiseman ’97 today was named among the newest class of NASA astronauts.

Mark Changizi, a neurobiology expert and assistant professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has spent the past several years researching, writing, and challenging some of the most basic scientific assumptions about human vision.

WRPI, a college radio station based on the Rensselaer campus, will host a special program titled “Summer of Woodstock” highlighting performances from the historic festival.

Researchers have known for more than half a century that sperm is able to fertilize an egg only after it has resided for a period of time in the female reproductive tract. Without this specific interaction with the female body, the sperm is incapable of producing offspring. But until now there was very little understanding of what changes occur within the sperm that suddenly allows it to fertilize an egg.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method for using computer graphics to simulate and render an accurate visualization of a lunar eclipse.

Walé Adeosun, chief investment officer of Rensselaer, has been named chair of the New York State Common Retirement Fund’s (CRF) Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Rensselaer Assistant Professor Leila Parsa has been named a winner of the Office of Naval Research 2009 Young Investigator Program.

Scientists at Rensselaer’s Lighting Research Center (LRC) and elsewhere have demonstrated that blue light is the most effective at stimulating the circadian system. A team at the LRC has tested a goggle-like device designed to deliver blue light directly to the eyes to improve sleep quality in older adults.

A popular New York state entrepreneurial biotechnology management seminar series, sponsored by the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship, will soon be available via the Web.

Robert J. Linhardt, the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr. ’59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer, has been named one of the Scientific American 10.

Fourth-year architecture student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rachele Louis has been awarded the 2009 Gensler African-American Internship & Scholarship (GAAINS) from the global design and architecture firm Gensler.

A new journal issue co-edited by a human-computer interaction (HCI) professor from Rensselaer and a developmental psychology professor from the University of Washington explores the promises and perils ahead for children in technological environments.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced that Paul Marthers will join the Institute as vice president for enrollment and dean of undergraduate and graduate admissions.

Promising new research announced by Rensselaer could provide an entirely new tool to combat the flu. The discovery targets the illness on two fronts, going one critical step further than any currently available flu drug.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced May19 that Evan Douglis, chair of the Undergraduate Department in the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute and principal of the contemporary architecture and design firm Evan Douglis Studio, will join Rensselaer as dean of the School of Architecture. The appointment is effective August 1.

Realizing the vision of a peaceful, prosperous world of 2050 will require monumental innovation, collaboration, and leadership, Peter Schwartz ’68 told the Class of 2009 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Beginning in August 2009, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students will have a new campus housing option in the heart of downtown Troy.

During her time at Rensselaer as a doctoral student in biochemistry and biophysics, Melissa Kemp has worked on research that has drawn international attention and could help protect the lives of millions of people.

ore than 1,883 students will receive degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, May 16, at 9:30 a.m. on the Harkness Field. They represent the next generation of leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs, patent holders, and innovators, in fields ranging from engineering to architecture, from fine arts to science, and from business to the military.

Ranganath Teki this month will earn his doctorate in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, but his quest for learning and knowledge is far from complete.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced David Rosowsky will join the university as dean of the School of Engineering. The appointment is effective July 15.

Amanda Waite Lund has grown as a scholar as the Rensselaer Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) has grown as a new research platform at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Seniors Jake Pyzza, Erik Kauntz, and Ryan Clapp researched, designed, and built an early prototype of a new “smart” fire suppression system that pinpoints the location of a fire in a building and douses the fire with flame suppressants.

While many Rensselaer students can claim work experience, even the most accomplished among them likely can’t admit to helping deliver two babies.

Graduating with a double degree in biology and management, and motivated by her passion for social responsibility and desire to save and preserve the environment, Brittany Tofinchio, who hails from Shelton, Conn., says she is equipped to make a difference in any community that she chooses to live in.

Libby Stehr has a vision of a greener, more sustainable future. The civil engineering major will graduate this month with a near-perfect grade point average and clearly determined to change our perception of the buildings in which we live, work, and study.