News

Troy, N.Y. — The transportation sector is one of the largest consumers of energy. The energy consumption of the freight sector is growing faster than the overall sector, according to researchers. This is the case of light trucks and medium/heavy trucks that consume 32.1 percent and 22.7 percent of the energy consumed in the sector. To address this, energy agencies throughout the world have fostered the use of novel engine technologies and fuels, and improved fuel consumption standards.

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson is profiled in the MIT Technology Review article “The Remarkable Career of Shirley Ann Jackson,” published Dec. 19, 2017. “Shirley Ann Jackson worked to help bring about more diversity at MIT, where she was the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate,” wrote author Amanda Schaffer. “She then applied her mix of vision and pragmatism in the lab, in Washington, and at the helm of a major research university.” Read the article here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609692/the-remarkable-career-of-shirley-ann-jackson/

Rensselaer alumnus Nambi Seshadri ’86 has been selected to receive the 2018 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, the highest honor conferred by IEEE in the field of communications and networking, for his “contributions to the theory and practice of wireless communications.”

Troy, NY – Recently, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced $20 million in funding for 15 projects that will develop a new class of sensor systems to enable significant energy savings via reduced demand for heating and cooling in residential and commercial buildings.

Troy, N.Y. — Energy and sustainability are among the grand challenges facing humanity. Faculty research in electric power engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has led to groundbreaking discoveries and innovative contributions in all aspects of generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of electric energy. Especially today, the ongoing research contributions of three faculty in the broad electric power engineering program at Rensselaer has the potential to make power systems more resilient.

When it was established 10 years ago, the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) created a new collaborative model for built ecology research and accelerated innovation that united interdisciplinary academic research and pedagogy with the building and development practices of a private-sector firm.

Troy, N.Y. — Can you think about how and why we use water? Just ask the 12 elementary and middle school teams from the Capital Region that will compete in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Regional Qualifying Tournament on Dec. 16 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. More than 120 area students have been working together to use their imagination and creativity in combination with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to explore and solve a real-world human water cycle problem as their project.

Nanotechnology pioneer Richard W. Siegel, the Robert W. Hunt Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and founding director of the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center, has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

Troy, N.Y. — Offshore wind is becoming a reality in the United States, especially in the northeast states. To support this development, the Center for Future Energy System (CFES) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will present a webinar titled “Turbine and Transmission System Technologies for Offshore Wind (OSW) Power Plants.” The program will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. Advance registration is required.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announces the winning ideas from the fall 2017 Change the World Challenge.