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.
Troy, N.Y. — Joseph E. Flaherty, Amos Eaton Professor of Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named dean of the School of Science following an international search. The appointment, announced today by Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson, is effective immediately.
Troy, N.Y. — Weekly, public viewings in the Hirsch Observatory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will be postponed while repairs are being made to the roof of the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center. Normally, when the sky is clear and weather permits, the observatory and its 16-inch telescope are open every Wednesday for three hours starting at sunset. The free viewings are expected to resume June 13 and continue through August.
Claude Rounds Recently Served as Vice President at Albany Med Troy, N.Y. — Claude D. Rounds of East Greenbush has been named vice president for administration at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute effective June 4, 2001. Rounds recently completed 15 years of service as vice president for plant management at Albany Medical Center. Prior to that, he served the hospital for seven years as manager of plant operations and maintenance.
Albany, N.Y. — Bill Cosby today urged the 1,100 graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to change the world by being honest, remaining humble, and continuing to learn from others.
Troy, N.Y. — The Alumni Relations Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will receive two prestigious Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The awards will be presented July 2 at the CASE International Assembly in San Francisco. Alumni relations awards will be given in 17 categories. Rensselaer and UCLA are the only universities to be honored in more than one category.
Troy, N.Y. — The Honorable Charles E. Schumer, the senior U.S. senator from New York, will join entertainer and educator Bill Cosby in speaking to graduates at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s 195th Commencement this Saturday, May 12, at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. Schumer, 49, attended public school in Brooklyn and is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was elected to the New York State Assembly at age 23, one of the youngest members since Theodore Roosevelt.