Evidence from rocks in Yosemite National Park suggests that granite stored in the Earth’s crust is partially molten at 500 degrees Celsius, nearly 200 degrees lower than had previously been believed.

The highly regarded Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a leader in games studies and rankings released recently by Animation Career Review attest to that: The program was ranked No. 9 nationally on the list of top game design programs in the United States and No. 7 nationally among schools offering a bachelor of science degree in game design. Among East Coast colleges and universities, Rensselaer is ranked at No. 4; on the list for private schools and colleges, Rensselaer is ranked No. 7; and among programs offered in New York state, No. 3.

Nuclear engineering expert George Xu, the Edward E. Hood Jr. Endowed Chair of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been selected to receive the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award of the Health Physics Society. The award will be given during the 2018 Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, July 15-19 at the Huntington Cleveland Convention Center.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson has appointed a task force to study and assess fraternity and sorority life at the university. The Greek Life Task Force will work with the community to identify what is necessary to enact a long-term, sustainable, and comprehensive culture change to preserve the positive aspects of the Rensselaer Greek system.

One year after researchers published their work on a physiological test for autism, a follow-up study confirms its exceptional success in assessing whether a child is on the autism spectrum.

 Li (Emily) Liu, associate professor of nuclear engineering and engineering physics in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to receive a $1.8 million award to study high-temperature molten-salt properties and corrosion mechanisms. This award is part of a $72 million funding program to advance concentrating solar power (CSP) research, a power plant technology that could reduce the cost of solar energy.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute hosted the first annual Workshop on Image-Based Modeling and Navigation for Space Applications June 4-5 on campus.

For the second year in a row, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earthquake engineering experts Ricardo Dobry and Tarek Abdoun have been selected by the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to receive the Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award. The award is presented to the author or authors of a paper published by the ASCE judged worthy of special commendation for its merit as a contribution to geotechnical engineering.

Building on what nature has provided, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have improved the efficiency of a leaf and branch compost cutinase that  breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the plastic used in clear and colored plastic water bottles and many other products.

An automatic door control system, an emergency response drone, a specialized drawing board, a planter system that cleans the air, a product to prevent plaque (re)growth on surgical stents, and a novel use of gamification for community security are all winners of the spring 2018 Change the World Challenge student innovation competition at Rensselaer.