News

Troy, N.Y. — More than 20 elementary-school students from the Susan Odell Taylor School visited the country's only 'Molecularium' today. Housed in the Lally Digistar II Planetarium in Troy's Junior Museum, the "Molecularium" is designed to introduce students in grades K-3 to simple material science concepts, including the states of matter - solids, liquids, and gases - and addresses the requirements of the New York State science curricula.

Troy, N.Y. — Two Rensselaer architecture students have received awards in an international juried competition for their original design of a mobile HIV/AIDS health clinic to be used in sub-Saharan Africa. The competition was sponsored by Architecture for Humanity to design a fully equipped, mobile medical unit and treatment center that could be used for testing, prevention, and treatment of the disease, and to disseminate information and provide basic health care services.

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer researchers have developed an automated system, called RPI-Trace3D, that can swiftly map capillaries in a live tumor. What used to take days of manually tracing the vessels, now takes two minutes. The diagnostic tool, in use at Harvard Medical School and at Northeastern University, is a boon to oncologists who aim to understand how blood vessels form in tumors.

Leon Lederman to Discuss Pre-College Science Education Troy, N.Y. — Leon Lederman, Nobel Prize-winner and internationally renowned particle physicist, will offer some radical ideas for improving pre-college science education when he delivers the annual Robert Resnick Lecture Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 4 to 5 p.m. in room 3303 of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Russell Sage Laboratory. The talk, titled “A Vision of 21st Century Science Education,” is free and open to the public.

Award will be given to underrepresented students of color Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has established a new scholarship for underrepresented minority students. The award, the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship, will provide financial support to one or more qualified and deserving undergraduates who have unmet needs and require additional support to enroll in or continue their studies at Rensselaer.

Hartford, CT — Dennis Tito ’64, founder and CEO of Wilshire Associates Inc., was given the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Hartford Chapter of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Alumni Association today. He received the honor at a dinner reception at the Hartford Club on Prospect Street this evening. The award recognizes a graduate’s outstanding achievement in professional and/or civic involvement.

Alumnus to Discuss His Career, Entrepreneurship, and the Economy Troy, N.Y. — Dennis Tito, founder, president, and CEO of Wilshire Associates Inc., will participate in the Rensselaer Alumni Association Back-to-Campus Speaker Series at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Heffner Alumni House on Peoples Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.

Troy, N.Y. — John J. McDonnell Jr. ’61, founder, chairman, and CEO of Transaction Network Services (TNS) in Reston, Va., was named the 2002 William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. McDonnell’s company is one of the world’s leading providers of fast, reliable data communications services for transaction-oriented applications.

Entrepreneur Jim Mullen ’80 Will Talk About Jobs in Biotechnology Troy, N.Y. — James Mullen ’80, president and CEO of Biogen Inc., will offer advice to students, scientists, and aspiring entrepreneurs seeking careers in biotechnology on Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Heffner Alumni House. The event is free and open to the public.

Troy, N.Y. — James M. Tien has been named the prestigious Yamada Corporation Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, President Shirley Ann Jackson has announced today. Tien, chair and professor in the Department of Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems (DSES) and professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering, is the first to be selected for the named professorship established last year.