News

Troy, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been awarded a $3.86 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund 15 fellowships to enhance interdisciplinary graduate study in terahertz (THz) science and technology as it relates to imaging, data transfer and networking systems, and electronics. The grant, from NSF's Integrated Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program, will cover full tuition and provide a $27,500 stipend for each fellowship.

TROY, N.Y. - James Q. Crowe '72, CEO of Level 3 Communications, was named the 2003 William F. Glaser '53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Crowe's company, based outside Denver, Colo., is an international communications and information services with revenues of almost $4 billion.

Troy, N.Y. - Engineering students at Rensselaer are designing an embedded control system that will lift an 11 1/2 foot blimp off the ground and make it fly indoors, and in the process they are launching a new phase for a showcase course at the university.

Troy, N.Y. - A symposium exploring the opportunities in commercialization of biotechnology, biomedicine, and nanoscience and examining the role of scientists in the business world will be held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, October 23. The conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Heffner Alumni House, 1301 Peoples Avenue, in Troy.

Troy, N.Y. - Government officials, community leaders, academic researchers, and students from the Capital Region joined to officially mark the opening of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory (SBRL) on Oct. 3. The facility is housed in the historic Gurley Building at 21 Union Street in downtown Troy.

Troy, N.Y. - George Plopper, assistant professor of biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a four-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue research into the development of what Plopper refers to as "bone spackle," an engineered tissue that may one day be used to help bone injuries heal faster and stronger. Plopper's work may lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of bone injuries and breaks, hip and knee replacements, and arthritis.

Troy, N.Y. - World-famous physics educator Robert Resnick is one of eight new members of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Alumni Hall of Fame.

Troy, N.Y. - International acoustician J. Christopher Jaffe, Class of 1949, is one of eight new members of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Alumni Hall of Fame.

Troy, N.Y. - Sunscreen developer Howard P. Isermann, Class of 1942, is one of eight new members of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Alumni Hall of Fame. After earning his degree in chemical engineering, Howard Isermann joined Van Dyk & Co. There he developed the ultraviolet absorber that has become the most effective sunscreen in the world. In 1980, he founded Novarome Inc., manufacturer of fragrance compounds used in a wide variety of consumer products from soaps to perfumes.

Troy, N.Y. - Edwards, New York resident Lois Graham, whose academic and professional career paved the way for women and minority engineers, was recently inducted into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Alumni Hall of Fame. Just 48 other Rensselaer alumni - including George W. G. Ferris, civil engineer and inventor of the Ferris wheel; Raymond S. Tomlinson, inventor of network electronic mail; and Ivar Giaever, research scientist and Nobel Laureate - and only three other women have been inducted into the university's Alumni Hall of Fame.