Troy, N.Y. — More than 1,470 students will receive degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, May 19, at 9:30 a.m. on the Harkness Field. They represent the next generation of leaders and innovators in fields ranging from engineering to architecture, from fine arts to science, and from business to the military.
Troy, N.Y. – Since his freshman year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Zane Van Dusen has played in 13 bands — and he founded 11 of them. A vocalist who also plays five instruments, the New York City native has been expressing himself through music for years. Now he has combined his lifelong passion with a keen set of technical and computing skills to create a device that allows all people, regardless of physical mobility, the opportunity to experience music’s positive effects.
Troy, N.Y. — Armed with a microscope, sharp eye, and knack for design, Caitlin Piette isn’t shy about letting her creative side influence her work in the laboratory — and vice versa. A senior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Piette will graduate May 19 with a major in biology, bioinformatics, and molecular biology. She takes just as much pride in her award-winning biology research as her role in the growing of Rensselaer’s student-run campus arts and music venue, Ground Zero.
TROY, N.Y. — To educate and nurture today’s would-be entrepreneurs, universities across the country face a difficult question: Can innovation, risk-taking, and originality be taught in the classroom? For more than 180 years, students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have been developing technologies, creating innovations, and forming business ventures to translate scientific discoveries into practical applications. Now the Institute is continuing to push the boundaries by broadening the definition of what it means to be an entrepreneur.
Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson has been elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States. The honor puts her in the company of some of history’s most distinguished scholars — a noteworthy membership that includes the founders of the American republic and more than 260 recipients of the Nobel Prize.
Troy, N.Y. — Matthew Pelliccione came to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a freshman in 2003. After only four years, he is leaving with two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree, and a set of prestigious fellowships to continue studying physics at Stanford University.
TROY, N.Y. — Innovative Engineering Solutions Inc., a technology start-up company founded by three undergraduate engineering students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, won this year’s Tech Valley Collegiate Business Plan Competition. The competition — held on Rensselaer’s campus on May 3 — was sponsored by the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship at Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management & Technology.
Discussion will feature Shirley Ann Jackson, Thomas Friedman, Don Hewitt, and Mae Jemison
Troy, N.Y. — Sky-rocketing oil prices, rising demand for reliance on renewable resources, and an increase in environmental consciousness have placed a newfound focus on “green” solutions to global energy issues. Following his May 19 graduation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, student inventor Eben Bayer hopes to alleviate some of those growing issues — by growing.
Troy, N.Y. — No one can say Abigail Eldridge wasted any time during her four years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Along with conducting cutting-edge bioengineering and nanotechnology research, she served in Rensselaer’s student government, played on three varsity sports teams, and loaded up on extra classes. She also managed to sneak in a pair of internships, including one at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. “I like being busy,” Eldridge said with a smile. “If I’m not busy, I don’t feel productive.”