An internationally renowned economist with a 25-year history at one the country’s leading Federal Reserve Banks will join Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as the new head of the department of economics.

Prior to the federal Clean Air Act, unhindered industrial emissions were released into the air throughout the Midwestern and Eastern United States for decades. Many of those harmful chemicals came right back down to earth in the form of acid rain, a chemical concoction that includes nitric and sulfuric acid. 

Former DEC Commissioner to support Rensselaer community partnerships Erin Crotty, a seasoned public administrator with deep roots in Troy and the Capital Region, will join Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as the director of community relations. The first female commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and a Rensselaer alumna, Crotty will coordinate and enhance community partnership programs and expand local outreach efforts to the communities that Rensselaer shares.

While schools around the Capital Region are ending the year, a group of 50 middle school students are kicking their academic interests up a notch by participating in the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. From June 15-27, Rensselaer is hosting the program that provides students with an insider’s look at engineering and other science careers.

Five-year federal grant pairs researchers with high school teachers to introduce energy and environmental research to students in Albany, Troy Troy, N.Y. — A new $2.7 million federal grant will place science and engineering graduate students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in high school classrooms across New York’s Capital Region.

Like a wristwatch that needs to be wound daily for accurate time-telling, the human circadian system — the biological cycles that repeat approximately every 24 hours — requires daily light exposure to the eye’s retina to remain synchronized with the solar day. In a new study published in the June issue of Neuroscience Letters, researchers have demonstrated that when it comes to the circadian system, not all light exposure is created equal.

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Office of Enrollment Management today announced two new annual scholarships for prospective students in recognition of their academic excellence in mathematics and science, and leadership, service, and devotion to their peers, schools, and communities. 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced a $1.5 million gift to the endowment to create the P.K. Lashmet Career Development Professorship. Lashmet is a retired professor of chemical and environmental engineering. The anonymous gift honors the quality of his teaching and Rensselaer’s commitment to excellence in education and research. 

A professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will be recognized this week for research and technical achievements toward the design and realization of 3-D integrated computer chips. 

Debate is part of celebration to launch Tetherless World Constellation at Rensselaer On June 11, leading authorities on the World Wide Web will gather at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for an old-fashioned debate with a social media twist. The questions for discussion will be shaped and selected by the collective wisdom of Web users from around the world.