Pulickel Ajayan named to “Scientific American 50,” wins prestigious MRS Medal

Troy, N.Y. — As part of their ongoing effort to improve traffic management in New York state and across the country, a team of transportation researchers will be testing an array of wireless, solar-powered readers to monitor traffic flow. In the coming months, the units will be deployed to collect traffic data during the morning commute on busy Capital Region roads.

$1.23 million from NYSTAR will allow Rensselaer to create renewable energy test-bed Troy, N.Y. — With a $1.23 million grant, researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will be creating a distributed power “test-bed” to study how the electricity distribution grid might be affected by the widespread adoption of clean, renewable energy sources.

Troy, N.Y. — Many of the vaunted applications of carbon nanotubes require the ability to attach these super-tiny cylinders to electrically conductive surfaces, but to date researchers have only been successful in creating high-resistance interfaces between nanotubes and substrates. Now a team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reports two new techniques, each following a different approach, for placing carbon nanotube patterns on metal surfaces of just about any shape and size.

FEMA, Coast Guard responses to Hurricane Katrina help researchers simulate how organizational characteristics improve or impede emergency management

New grant exposes undergraduates at Rensselaer and Howard to applied research

Findings provide new insight into heart disease and the evolution of flight Troy, N.Y. — Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Vermont have discovered a key molecular mechanism that allows tiny flies and other “no-see-ums” to whirl their wings at a dizzying rate of up to 1,000 times per second. The findings are being reported in this week’s online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today announced the appointment of Dr. Wei Zhao as dean of the School of Science. Zhao, who is currently senior associate vice president for research at Texas A&M University, will take over the position from acting dean Samuel C. Wait Jr. in January 2007.

TROY, N.Y. — Rensselaer’s Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship at the Lally School of Management and Technology today announced the first recipients of the Rensselaer Paul and Kathleen Severino Future Leader Award. The annual award was given to 15 female high school seniors in recognition of their academic excellence in mathematics and science, and leadership, service, and devotion to their respective schools and communities.

“Pushing the Frontier in the 21st Century — Conversation with Visionary Women” program to be held on Thursday, Oct. 26 at Rensselaer’s Troy campus