Findings could help marketers optimize advertising for the human mind Fads have been a staple of American pop culture for decades, from spandex in the 1980s to skinny jeans today. But while going from fad to flop may seem like the result of fickle consumers, a new study suggests that this is exactly what should be expected for a highly efficient, rationally evolved animal.

A scanning electron micrograph of cobalt nanoclusters embedded in multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Researchers at Rensselaer used these new hybrid structures, the first of their kind, to detect magnetism at the nanoscale. Photo Credit: Saikat Talapatra/Caterina Soldano

Troy, N.Y. – Mark M. Little ’82, senior vice president and director of GE Global Research, will be the keynote speaker at Rensselaer’s 2009 Trustee Celebration of Faculty Achievement. The event will kick off with Little’s presentation at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4 in the auditorium of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies.

A single frame from a research video tracking the flow of water around Primo, a retired U.S. Navy bottlenose dolphin.

Nanobiotechnology expert Ravi Kane has been named the P.K. Lashmet Professor at Rensselaer.

Indian Radio’s renaissance a clear case of corporate entrepreneurship

Technology continues to challenge many established assumptions about privacy and identity, as everyday activities such as checking e-mail or using a credit card contribute to a growing “paper trail” of personal digital data. To discuss this and other topics from his new book, Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion, Harry Lewis will speak at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19 in room 324 of the Darrin Communications Center (DCC).

Launch for this green collaboration held at Seven World Trade Center

Peter Fox bridges the divide between scientists and the data that separates them