Troy, N.Y. — U.S. News & World Report has ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 46th among the nation’s top universities, up from 48th last year. The Institute also ranks 26th in the “Best Values” among national universities, up from 29th last year and 34th in 2002.

Rensselaer’s undergraduate engineering program is rated 16th in the nation, and five of the undergraduate engineering specialty programs are also highly ranked, including materials engineering(14th), electrical/electronic/communications engineering (17th), mechanical engineering (20th), computer and systems engineering (20th), and biomedical engineering (21st).

“We are proud of Rensselaer’s ranking among the elite 50 universities in the nation. The true measure of our success is reflected in the caliber of students who have chosen to come to Rensselaer and in the accomplishments of our alumni, faculty, and staff who are truly changing the world,” President Shirley Ann Jackson said.

Rensselaer’s Class of 2008 excels academically, with an average SAT score of 1321 — a record for Rensselaer. Twenty-six percent of the class are Rensselaer Medal winners. More than 100 were captains of their athletic teams, 58 are Eagle Scouts, and many are actively involved in music and the arts. The 1,090 incoming first-year students are arriving from 37 states across the United States and 33 other countries.

“The renaissance continues at Rensselaer. The September opening of the new Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies is yet another milestone in our collective effort to foster the progress of the Institute as a leader in science, engineering, and technological education,” President Jackson said.

Rensselaer is making major investments in its research and education facilities. Events to mark the opening of the Institute’s new Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies will be held Sept. 9-11. Construction is under way on the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC). In the last year the Institute has opened the new Keck-Terahertz Laboratory, and the Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory, and has completed renovations on the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center and the Darrin Fresh Water Institute.

In the past five years Rensselaer’s annual research awards have increased from $37 million to $90 million, supporting expanded research in areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology and biosciences, accelerated drug discovery, future energy systems, terahertz, integrated cognitive systems, multi-scale modeling, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.

In addition, total awards from the National Institutes of Health have grown from $400,000 five years ago to $30 million today.

Rensselaer also is making a major investment in its faculty. In the coming year, 38 new tenured and tenure-track faculty will join the more than 500 faculty members already at Rensselaer. Over a three-year period, Rensselaer will have hired 140 new tenured and tenure-track faculty, nearly 75 of whom are in entirely new positions.

“This rapid growth in outstanding new young faculty and our efforts to hire outstanding senior faculty into endowed positions, when coupled with the outstanding faculty already here, is clearly solidifying Rensselaer’s place among the nation’s top national research universities,” said Rensselaer Provost G. P. “Bud” Peterson.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu