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.

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.

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.

In an installation at the ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, The World of Plankton allows up to four players to gather around a giant digital touch table to capture and explore zooplankton, phytoplankton, and fish species.

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.

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).

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.  

The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (EMPAC) will celebrate a decade of adventurous programming at the intersection of art, science, and technology, October 11-13, 2018. The celebration, 10 YEARS, will commemorate the opening of the landmark performing-arts/research center in 2008. Over the past decade EMPAC has commissioned, produced, and presented an internationally renowned lineup of cross-genre performances. The events will include newly commissioned productions by artists Maria Hassabi, Isabelle Pauwels, Yara Travieso, Wu Tsang and boychild, as well as performances by Formosa Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Trajal Harrell, and more.

A new research center focused on vertical flight has been launched at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Under the leadership of Farhan Gandhi, the Rosalind and John J. Redfern Jr. ’33 Professor of Engineering, MOVE—The Center for Mobility with Vertical Lift—will pursue cutting-edge research in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft technologies.

The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 28. to celebrate the grand opening of its new media studio. The redesigned 1,700-square-foot space includes an audio control room, video control room, audio-visual lab, isolation booth, and an audio and video production studio.