Troy, N.Y. — To commemorate the life and honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will host the 5th annual “Embrace the Dream” Diversity Week celebration with an opening ceremony and reception on Monday, Jan. 16. Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson will discuss King’s legacy and its relevance today, in a speech kicking off a week-long series of events for Rensselaer students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community. The Jan.

Troy, N.Y. — Governor George E. Pataki today announced that he will include $25 million in the 2006-07 Executive Budget for the construction of a Center for Advanced Environmental Technology at the Rivers and Estuaries Center on the Hudson in Beacon, N.Y. Arthur Sanderson, chair of the science advisory committee for the Rivers and Estuaries Center and professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering at Rensselaer, said: 

Robert A. Chernow To Lead New Entrepreneurship Effort Troy, N.Y — Robert A. Chernow has been appointed to the newly created position of Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Troy, N.Y. — The Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies ( ASSIST), an LED industry group organized by the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, unveiled a novel concept for lighting homes and offices. The design integrates light-emitting diode (LED) technology with building materials and systems to create electronic walls and ceilings.

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: