Here’s a knotty problem: There is a relationship between human activity, damage to the environment, and harm to people (greenhouse gases leads to sea level rise which threatens coastal populations), but the cause-and-effect isn’t always clear. And while environmentalists collect stats on damage to the environment (pollutants in air and water, deforestation, species loss), policy […]
All hands on deck! It’s Rensselaer biology professor Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer, with partners Harry Kolar (right) from IBM and Eric Siy (left) from the FUND for Lake George. They were on the water yesterday celebrating the launch of the Jefferson Project, an exciting new research effort to turn Lake George into the world’s biggest and most […]
Now here is something really fun! The School of Science just posted a gallery of images from their Research Photo Contest. These are photos that chronicle the work of researchers within the School of Science at Rensselaer, and they run the gamut from a glorious shot of twilight on an Adirondack lake — taken in the […]
(In our last report, Daniel Angerhausen, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Jon Morse, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor of physics, was poised to fulfill a longtime dream and fly about NASA’s flying observatory, SOFIA. Alas, the path to science is often paved with setbacks and … well, we’ll let him tell you about it himself.) Recently I wrote […]
(Later this week, Daniel Angerhausen, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Jon Morse, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor of physics and associate vice president for research for physical sciences and engineering, will be flying aboard the airborne telescope SOFIA. Angerhausen, a native of Uerdingen, Germany [about 30 minutes from Cologne], sent us this excellent post […]
More than 1,000 light years from Earth, a giant gaseous planet is in a tight and fast orbit around a star larger than the Sun, and, between the two of them, there’s something funny going on. The star is known as HAT-P-7 or Kepler 2, the planet is Kepler 2b, and Rensselaer physics and astronomy student Emily DeLarme has […]
The emerging genre of bio-art explores new frontiers of life made possible through biotechnology—transgenic species, cells grown on artificial scaffolds, or formed into organs using 3-D printing—and our increasing ability to start, stop, and form life at will. Bio-artists often use techniques developed in the lab in their work, and there are several artists in […]
Michael Jensen is a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. We ask him about his work: Q: What problems are you trying to solve? A: My research revolves around heat transfer, whether in large-scale heat exchangers, such as what might be found in a chemical process plant, or at […]
(Rensselaer Architecture student Tyler Hopf wrote this post about a team of Rensselaer students who are putting their skills and talents to a good cause in the Albany round of the nationwide CANstruction fundraising event.) My name is Tyler Hopf and I am the captain of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute CANstruction team. We are the […]
(In the wake of this morning’s headlines about a meteorite blast in Russia, the Institute’s own Laurie Leshin, dean of the School of Science and space science rock star, wrote this post for The Approach. Enjoy!) This morning people in Russia got a loud reminder that Earth isn’t really a blue marble floating peacefully in […]