Jennifer Hurley, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named the Richard Baruch M.D. Career Development Professor of Biological Sciences.

A recent paper authored published in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders discussed a test that can predict with approximately 90 percent accuracy whether a pregnant mother has a 1.7 percent or a tenfold increased risk of having a child diagnosed with ASD.

The Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have named alumna Tobi Saulnier, Ph.D., founder and CEO of 1st Playable Productions, as the 2018 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year.

Driving down a dark country road at night, you see a shape ahead on the roadside. Is it a deer or a mailbox? Your brain is structured to make the best possible decision given its limited resources, according to new research that unites cognitive science and information theory – the branch of mathematics that underlies modern communications technology.

How do we keep the lines of communication open in the face of disaster? Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is serving up fresh ideas as part of the “Call for Code” hackathon challenge in partnership with IBM, David Clark Cause, United Nations Human Rights, and The American Red Cross.

John Christian, assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been elected to the Class of 2019 Associate Fellows of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). His formal induction will take place during the Associate Fellows Recognition Ceremony at the AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition Jan. 7, 2019, in San Diego, California.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranks 14th among top STEM colleges and universities, according to a new ranking by Forbes. To put together the list of Top 25 STEM Colleges 2018, Forbes drew from College Scorecard’s database of schools where 50 percent or more students major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Rensselaer students taking part in a study abroad semester in Latin America were recently named winners in a juried design competition in Argentina, earning first prize and three honorable mentions. In addition to taking first prize, the winning design team—which includes Rensselaer architecture student Ria Kelsick—will now proceed with the design and development of their proposal.

This weekend, 1,796 new students will make their way to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to start the next stage of their academic careers. The first-year students hail from 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. As a reflection of the global reach of Rensselaer, almost 300 students come from countries around the world. The new students will move in on Saturday, August 25. Classes begin on Thursday, Aug. 30. Rensselaer received a record number of applications—20,403—for the Class of 2022. The numbers represent a record number of applications from females (6,538), and a record number of applications from international students (3,493).

Lake George, N.Y. – The world’s most advanced environmental monitoring system – developed through The Jefferson Project at Lake George – is being used to understand and protect Skaneateles Lake, a central New York drinking water source now threatened by toxic algae. Building on a connection through the New York State Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Initiative launched in late 2017, the Jefferson Project installed a custom-designed robotic sensing platform on Skaneateles, and began collecting data just prior to an early-August HABs event this year.