Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Hudson Valley Community College have welcomed the inaugural class of RPI-HVCC Semiconductor Scholars. Funded by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the Scholars program is one of many efforts in the Capital Region and around the country to prepare more students to enter the semiconductor industry. 

Pawel Keblinski, Ph.D., has been named John Tod Horton ’52 Professor of Materials Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. An endowed chaired professorship is among the highest honors bestowed on a Rensselaer faculty member.

After serving as a professor of practice in chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) for four years and offering outstanding contributions to his field, Peter J. Bonitatibus Jr. is now an associate professor.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has a long history of training the next generation for career preparedness. With signing of the $250 billion CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. need for career preparedness has never been greater. The new BYOND – Build Your Own NanoDevice — curriculum at RPI is an interdisciplinary program that invites students from the School of Engineering and the School of Science to work side by side in the lab and classroom. The increasing demand for nanotechnology and semiconductors creates a need for more advanced cleanroom operations. At RPI, the Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room (MNCR) facility within the Center for Materials, Devices, and Integrated Systems (CMDIS) is offering the BYOND program for undergraduate students to start building a foundation and training for this career path. 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson today announced the launch of the Rensselaer Institute for Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Computing (DAIC).

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers have developed an accessible way to make N95 face masks not only effective barriers to germs, but on-contact germ killers. The antiviral, antibacterial masks can potentially be worn longer, causing less plastic waste as the masks do not need to be replaced as frequently.

The future of quantum computing may depend on the further development and understanding of semiconductor materials known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). These atomically thin materials develop unique and useful electrical, mechanical, and optical properties when they are manipulated by pressure, light, or temperature.

A novel form of polymerized estrogen developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute can provide neuroprotection when implanted at the site of a spinal cord injury — preventing further damage. This promising result, found in a preclinical model, was recently published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, and it lays the groundwork for further advancement of this new biomaterial.  

For individuals with central nervous system paralysis, the effectiveness of neuroprosthetic technology — such as brain-controlled prosthetic limbs or muscle stimulation devices — makes a world of difference. If the process of implanting tiny electrodes in the brain were to be improved, allowing for stronger and longer lasting communication between neurons and external devices, it could significantly enhance quality of life.

The third season of Why Not Change the World? The RPI Podcast kicks off this week with a deep dive on a research project aimed at making self-disinfecting masks — an urgent need in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.