Troy, NY — Wai Kin “Victor” Chan plans to predict the future. Chan, an assistant professor of decision sciences and engineering systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Chan will use the projected five-year, $400,000 grant to develop better computer simulation methodologies to improve systems from healthcare to military operation and airport security.

I write to share with you information on the outcomes of Rensselaer’s recent Board of Trustees meeting. The Board took a number of actions I will describe briefly here, and I will look forward to a conversation to respond to your questions at the Town Meeting on April 2.

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management & Technology is one of nine new schools to be named to BusinessWeek magazine’s 2007 list of top 50 undergraduate business programs. The Lally School makes its debut at number 40 on the list, which is in its second year of publication. 

Jackson will speak in Geneva, Paris, and London about the challenge of global energy security Troy, N.Y. — A delegation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will travel to Europe March 15-22 to meet with leading representatives from government, industry, science, and higher education. Led by Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson, the trip will provide a platform for university officials to continue forging partnerships with international leaders and institutions. 

Troy, N.Y. — Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a tiny bacterium that could one day transform the way we remove polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from our environment. The organism could be the key to developing methods that help detoxify commercial PCB compounds on site — without the need for dredging. The results will appear in the April 15 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Troy, N.Y. — In an effort to bridge classroom theory and practice, a delegation of four graduate and undergraduate students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management & Technology will join 140 students from 35 schools to participate in the fourth annual Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management from March 8-10.

Troy, N.Y. — Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered what likely triggered the eruption of a “supervolcano” that coated much of the western half of the United States with ash fallout 760,000 years ago.

New class of nanomaterials could lead to more efficient solar cells, brighter LEDs

Troy, N.Y. — Daniel Gall, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Gall will use the projected five-year, $400,000 grant to help craft the next generation of custom nanoscale structures.

Continues call for investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics talent to sustain the national capacity for innovation