News

Troy, N.Y. — While the debate rages over the future of the nation’s energy resources, including the potential increase in the number of coal-burning power plants, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have linked coal plant emissions to toxic levels of mercury. Their study shows that the level of mercury in sediment at the bottom of New York’s Central Park Lake is at least 10 times the amount found in some industrial areas.

Troy, N.Y. — Free, public viewing of the night sky has resumed at the Hirsch Observatory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and will continue every Wednesday through the end of August. When the sky is clear and weather permits, the observatory, equipped with a 16-inch telescope, will remain open for three hours beginning at sunset. The observatory is located atop the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center on the Rensselaer campus. In September and October, the public viewing will move to the same hours on Friday evenings.

Troy, N.Y. — State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno announced today $500,000 in state support for a major initiative in fuel-cell research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The announcement was made at 10:30 a.m. at Rensselaer’s Heffner Alumni House, 1301 Peoples Ave.

Troy, N.Y. — East Schodack resident Lynn Hopwood has been named this year’s Pillar of Rensselaer Award, the highest honor Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute gives to its staff members. The honor was shared with Rebecca Danchak, director of admissions for Rensselaer at Hartford.

Troy, N.Y. — Srinivas Akella, assistant professor of computer science at Rensselaer, was awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation to develop software that will eventually allow industrial robots to do what they’ve never done before: manipulate flexible objects.

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer President Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson has been named to the Boards of Directors of AT&T and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG).

Mechanicville Company Will Produce New Polymer Troy, N.Y. — Governor George E. Pataki announced June 19 that Rensselaer received $300,000 in funding to evaluate a new microelectronics insulating material that has the potential to double the processing speed of microchips. The Polyset Company in Mechanicville, along with other resources, will provide an additional $300,000 in funding for a total of $600,000 for the two-year project.

Troy, N.Y. — Researchers at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute report that HID (high-intensity-discharge) headlights enable drivers to see more effectively at night than conventional tungsten-halogen lights. The LRC study has recently been featured in USA Today and on the NBC Nightly News.

Troy, N.Y. — The number of zebra mussels found in Lake George has declined dramatically since last year, when Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers and volunteers began manually pulling the troublesome mollusks from the water.

Troy, N.Y. — Earth and Mars are converging at a rate of 22,000 miles per hour, and their closest encounter, in June, will present amateur astronomers with a rare opportunity to view the Red Planet in exquisite detail. On June 21, just 42.3 million miles will separate the Earth and Mars — their nearest approach in 12 years. You won’t need a telescope to see Mars, which by early June will already outshine everything except Venus, the Moon, and the Sun.