National Science Foundation Invests $1 Million To Improve Arctic Emergency Response

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded over $1 million to support research led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that will create models to improve emergency response capabilities in the Arctic. The Arctic waters have recently experienced longer ice-free seasons than ever before, resulting in an increase in tourism and industrial activity. These excursions can be up to 1,000 miles away from communities that have permanent emergency response infrastructure, such as Anchorage or the Aleutian Islands.

Two Degrees Decimated Puerto Rico’s Insect Populations

While temperatures in the tropical forests of northeastern Puerto Rico have climbed two degrees Celsius since the mid-1970s, the biomass of arthropods – invertebrate animals such as insects, millipedes, and sowbugs – has declined by as much as 60-fold, according to new findings published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While temperatures in the tropical forests of northeastern Puerto Rico have climbed two degrees Celsius since the mid-1970s, the biomass of arthropods – invertebrate animals such as insects, millipedes, and sowbugs – has declined by as much as 60-fold, according to new findings published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Improving Tools for Modeling the Interaction of Fluids and Solids

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have received an award of nearly $385,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for their project to develop new and improved simulation tools for modeling physical problems relating to the interaction of fluids and solids, called fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems. Blood flowing in veins/arteries can be posed as an FSI problem, and issues such as aneurysms can be simulated mathematically.

Rensselaer Research Wins Blue Ribbon at Annual New York Maker Faire

TROY, N.Y. —Students and faculty from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) were recently awarded an Editor’s Choice Blue Ribbon at the New York Maker Faire. Their research exhibit, a collaborative project between the university’s schools of Engineering and Architecture, focused on turning empty water bottles into shelters for disaster relief.

Research on Light-Matter Interaction Could Lead to Improved Electronic and Optoelectronic Devices

A paper published in Nature Communications by Sufei Shi, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, increases our understanding of how light interacts with atomically thin semiconductors and creates unique excitonic complex particles, multiple electrons, and holes strongly bound together. These particles possess a new quantum degree of freedom, called “valley spin.” The “valley spin” is similar to the spin of electrons, which has been extensively used in information storage such as hard drives and is also a promising candidate for quantum computing.

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson To Receive 2018 W.E.B. Du Bois Medal

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson, a recipient of the National Medal of Science, will be among eight recipients of the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal at the sixth annual Hutchins Center Honors presented by the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. She will be joined by athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick; comedian Dave Chappelle; Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and managing director of General Catalyst; philanthropist and founder of Avid Partners, LLC, Pamela J. Joyner; psychologist and author Florence C. Ladd; Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice; and artist Kehinde Wiley. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, at 4 p.m. in Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United Health Foundation Launch New $1.1 Million Partnership to Train Next Generation of Health Data Experts

To help address the growing need for a larger workforce of health data analysts and technologists, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the United Health Foundation are expanding access to health informatics educational opportunities and applied health data science research experiences through the Rensselaer Institute for Data Exploration and Application (IDEA).

Rensselaer To Celebrate Seventh Annual National Manufacturing Day Oct. 2

On Tuesday, October 2, the seventh annual National Manufacturing Day (NMD) will be held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The day will once again feature a dramatic morning landing by the New York Army National Guard Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk landing (weather permitting) at 7:30 a.m. Participants will be able to get up close to the Black Hawk during the lab tour segment of the day’s schedule.  

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