Students in the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) program labor over the course of an entire academic year (and sometimes longer) to build the video games showcased at the annual GameFest at Rensselaer. Every year, it seems, student-designed games break new ground for GameFest, introducing emerging technologies like augmented reality, real-world applications in education, [...]

Decades ago, Rensselaer chemist James Ferris created long chains of RNA molecules in the lab using simple clay materials and basic organic molecules as a catalyst. The discovery helped launch a theory on how life on Earth may have arisen so many years ago – a theory that still stands strong today. Many astrobiologists support [...]

A few weeks ago guest-blogger Tyler Hopf wrote about a fundraising effort he and a team of fellow Rensselaer School of Architecture students had undertaken on behalf of local food pantries. The students were preparing an entry for the second annual annual Capital District CANstruction. In a recent update to the original post, Hopf reached out to say that [...]

(Civil Engineering senior Elizabeth Wroe wrote this excellent post for The Approach. It’s about an engineering competition last month in Oakland, Calif., where she and her teammates won second place. Enjoy!) On March 26, a group of RPI students placed second in the annual Geo-Institutes GeoWall competition. The four students on the build team were [...]

How can nanotechnology and computer modeling lead to safer air travel? Mechanical engineering professor Antoinette Maniatty tackled this topic in her recent Academic Minute, which aired last week on NPR affiliates all across the country. Listen to the excellent 90-second piece here. The local NPR affiliate, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, launched its Academic Minute segment [...]

(Alex Giordano is a senior mechanical engineering major and shop manager for the Rensselaer Formula SAE student team. He wrote this excellent post for The Approach to talk about the yesterday’s event where the club unveiled its 2012 race car, which you can see above and below. Every year the club builds a new car [...]

Health reporter Benita Zahn from the local NBC affiliate visited our own Eric Ledet recently to talk about his biomedical engineering research. Professor Ledet created an implantable sensor that can wirelessly transmit data from within the body. The sensors, made from tiny little coils of wire, can be implanted in an orthopedic surgery site. Once [...]

(A group of Rensselaer architecture students are putting their education to work in the annual CANstruction competition to benefit local food pantries. Fourth-year architecture student Tyler Hopf wrote this post explaining the students’ goal and asking for your support. The above image shows one of the entries from last year’s event.) Each year, CANstruction—a non-profit [...]

Since my early days studying complex organic molecules in college to today as I sort through myriad sources of information on news websites, blogs, and elsewhere,  I have often forced myself to step back and examine the “big picture” to obtain a better understanding of an important topic. A recent lecture on climate change here [...]

Kim Lewis is a professor in the Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, who recently received a prestigious NSF CAREER Award. We ask Kim about her work: Q: Your research has a strong focus in molecular and nano electronics. Why are you interested in helping perfect these mini machines? A: I strongly believe that [...]