News

Troy, N.Y. — Mark Smith has been named dean of students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Smith has served as interim dean of students since March 2000. “Clearly, Mark Smith was head and shoulders above other candidates competing for the dean of students position,” said Eddie Ade Knowles, vice president for student life at Rensselaer. “The search committee, President Shirley Ann Jackson, and I all concur that Mark is well suited to provide leadership for the Dean of Students Office to ensure that all of our students are well served.”

Troy, N.Y. — Pawel Keblinski has been awarded a five-year, $300,000 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation. The CAREER Award is the NSF’s most prestigious honor for faculty members who are at the beginning of their academic careers.

Lake George, N.Y. — Over the years acid deposition, commonly referred to as “acid rain,” has rendered dozens of lakes in the Adirondacks uninhabitable for fish and other wildlife. Now, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers at the Darrin Fresh Water Institute (DFWI) have indicated that some of the most severely affected lakes in that region are showing signs of recovery.

Chris Carothers Receives NSF CAREER Award for Networking Research Troy, N.Y. — A new computation technique, developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, could lead to more effective Internet traffic management and congestion control.

Troy, N.Y. —Industry Week has named Rensselaer professors Jonathan Dordick and Martin Glicksman to its list of research and development “Stars to Watch.” The magazine’s list of 30 researchers from around the country “celebrates the contributions of individuals who drive innovation and provide the initial spark to economic growth.”

Troy, N.Y. — Shekhar Garde, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). He will use the five-year, $374,965 grant to develop computer simulation tools for understanding and modeling how biological molecules self-assemble in water-based solutions.

Troy, N.Y. — Xi-Cheng Zhang, the J. Erik Jonsson ’22 Distinguished Professor of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a team of researchers are the first to image biological tissue using single pulses of terahertz (THz or T-ray) radiation. This single-pulse approach will improve diagnostic time from hours or days, down to minutes or seconds. The technique could one day lead to computerized medical diagnoses right in the physician’s office.

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer has received a $400,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to organize a Community Outreach Partnership Center in the City of Troy. The goal of the Center, in partnership with the City of Troy, is to revitalize Troy’s neighborhoods and infrastructure, promote the use of technology in math and science education, and to bridge the “digital divide” through job and technology training.

Troy, N.Y. — Heidi Jo Newberg, associate professor of physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Brian Yanny, an astrophysicist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, who are leading a team of researchers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), announced today they have identified new star structures in the halo of the Milky Way that could alter the standard model of the galaxy. The research also has implications for how the Milky Way was formed.

Troy, N.Y. — The Troy Architectural Program (TAP) has earned an Empire Award for working with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on the university’s Neighborhood Renewal Initiatives plan. The first-time award, issued by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), has honored 10 neighborhood and rural preservation companies assisting local communities in promoting and facilitating affordable housing and neighborhood development across New York state.