News

TROY, N.Y. — On Monday, April 8, Habitat for Humanity International (HHI) will honor the student chapter of Habitat for Humanity at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Millard Fuller, founder and president of HHI, based in Georgia, will kick off the event with a speech at 10 a.m. at the Chapel and Cultural Center, 2125 Burdett Avenue. He will talk about the need to build decent, affordable housing. His talk is free and open to the public.

New York State Support Helped to Undergird Success Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been awarded a Center for Advanced Interconnect Systems Technologies (CAIST) by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) to support research in microelectronic interconnect technologies, the backbone of the next generation of computer technology.

Honorary Doctorates To Be Conferred on Moviemaker Bobby Farrelly, Genomic Researcher Claire Fraser, and Brown University President Ruth Simmons Troy, N.Y. — Civilian space traveler and Rensselaer alumnus Dennis Tito will be the featured speaker at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s 196th Commencement ceremonies on May 18.

Troy, N.Y. — Mike Savic can't recapture the 18 missing minutes of the Watergate tapes, but he can teach computers to deliver sounds that have been damaged in transmission. His research will aid military communications, improve hearing aids, and possibly find music's lost chords.

Colón is Awarded $1 Million From the NIH to Study the Cause of the Disease Troy, N.Y. — The cause of Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) has remained elusive since it brought down one of baseball’s greatest players 60 years ago.

Troy, N.Y. — Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., will present “An Evening of Entrepreneurial Spirit, Social Responsibility, and Radical Business Philosophy” at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He will speak Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m., at the Armory on 15th Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Washington, D.C. — Rensselaer freshman student Richard Booton, who suffers from cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, and epilepsy, and was diagnosed with dyslexia, will be honored at the White House for his achievements on Wednesday, March 6. Booton, a computer science major, received a prestigious 2001 National Achievement Award from the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D).

Additional Experiments Are Needed Troy, N.Y. — A team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has reported the observation of phenomena that could point to the possibility of nuclear fusion using a novel technique for plasma confinement. The approach, called “bubble fusion,” is reported in the March 8 issue of Science magazine.

A new research program seeks to define the next-generation of low-orbit satellites that are more maneuverable, cheaper to launch, easier to hide, and longer lived.

Troy, N.Y. — From turbine engines to toilet tissue, the time to market of manufactured products could be accelerated through improved high-tech design. To perfect the design process and decrease costs, Rensselaer researchers are working with Simmetrix Inc. of Clifton Park, N.Y., inventors of a virtual simulation model used extensively to automate the design of interior air handling systems in automobiles.