News

Rechargeable lithium-ion, the dominant battery technology for portable electronics, is increasingly becoming the battery of choice for electric-vehicle and electric-grid energy-storage applications. In a lithium-ion battery, the cathode (positive electrode) is a lithium metal oxide while the anode (negative electrode) is graphite. But researchers are looking for ways to replace graphite with lithium metal as the anode to boost the battery’s energy density.

Four innovative leaders from the worlds of music, international security, genomic science, and manufacturing will address graduates at the 2018 Commencement Ceremony at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on May 19, 2018.

 A record total of 20,377 high school students have filed applications to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this fall, according to numbers released by the Rensselaer Office of Admissions. This year’s total represents an increase of 5 percent over last year’s numbers.

The graduate programs in engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are once again considered among the best in the United States, according to the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings released this week. This year, Rensselaer’s graduate engineering programs have been ranked 41st in the nation.

Data is a critical building block of a fast-approaching future, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is ensuring that all of its students are adept architects with the adoption of a new institute-wide requirement in data education. 

Jian Shi, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has won a Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). Shi will use the three-year, $450,000 grant to pursue fundamental research on nanoscale complex materials that could lead to the development of next-generation resilient and high-performance energy conversion and sensing technologies.

By applying a new spectroscopy technique to garnet containing fragments of quartz, metamorphic petrologist Frank Spear of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute thinks he’s found the source of water that fuels earthquakes in volcanoes in subduction zones. 

On Wednesday, March 14, Rensselaer will hold the fifth annual RPi Day (Rπ), a one-day giving campaign to raise funds for Rensselaer students.

Jian Sun, professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering and director the New York State Center for Future Energy Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, received the 2017 R. David Middlebrook Outstanding Achievement Award from the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS).

Troy, N.Y. —  This year, 34 teams of high school students from the Capital Region, New York state, Brazil, and Canada—along with hundreds of teachers, industry mentors, parents, and 3,000 pounds of metal, gears, and electronics—will test their skills in a unique competition where math, science, and engineering excellence are celebrated.