Troy, N.Y. — Two teams of fifth-year architecture students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute garnered top honors — first and third place overall — in the Global House 2005 International Design Competition, selected from among more than 250 entries from 44 countries.

Troy N.Y. — As part of an ongoing effort to foster international education partnerships, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation in developing countries, a team of professors from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management and Technology and the Institut des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (IHEC) — The Institute of Advanced Business Studies in Tunisia, Africa — are working to develop a road map for sustained high economic growth in the Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco).

University and biotech company collaboration prepares MetaChip for technology transfer TROY, N.Y. — Recalls of popular prescription drugs are raising public concern about the general safety of new pharmaceuticals. A collaborative group of researchers says that identifying which drug candidates are toxic early in the discovery process can help prevent harmful pharmaceuticals from being placed on the market in the first place, and they have developed a tool to do it.

Rensselaer researcher awarded NSF grant to study solar-powered heating and cooling systems operating at the micrometer scale

Troy, N.Y. — Sixteen middle school teams from around the Capital Region competed today in the FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) Ocean Odyssey Challenge at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The global competition was brought to the region for the first time through a partnership between GE and Rensselaer, and was supported by nearly 100 GE Volunteers and Rensselaer students, faculty, and staff.

Troy, N.Y. — Sixteen Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers will present results ranging from imaging earthquake activity at the San Andreas Fault to exploring life in extreme environments at the 2005 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting Dec. 5-9 in San Francisco. For more information about the AGU meeting, including presentation abstracts, visit http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05. The following are a few highlights of Rensselaer research to be presented:

Troy, N.Y. — Carbon nanotubes have enticed researchers since their discovery in 1991, offering an impressive combination of high strength and low weight. Now a new study suggests that they also act like “super-compressible” springs, opening the door to foam-like materials for just about any application where strength and flexibility are needed, from disposable coffee cups to the exterior of the space shuttle.

Troy, N.Y . — From tissue engineering to treating water with nanotubes, more than 30 scientists from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will be presenting findings at the 2005 Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting Nov. 28-Dec. 2 in Boston. The meeting, with 42 technical symposia and almost 4,700 oral and poster presentations, will feature the latest materials research in fields ranging from biomimetics to environmental nanotechnology. Below are highlights of the presentations from Rensselaer researchers: 

Troy, N.Y. — It is clear that there were multiple causes for the levee failures in New Orleans, but researchers need to gather more data to better understand what they were and how to rebuild properly after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, according to testimony today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

TROY, N.Y. — Governor George E. Pataki today announced that Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has received one of six New York State Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR) James D. Watson Investigator Program Awards. The Watson Program is designed to recognize and support outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show potential for leadership and scientific discovery in the field of biotechnology.