News

An ongoing project is helping people identify lead and arsenic pollution and enabling a novel approach to sociological research. Abby Kinchy, professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, describes her research approach as “ethnographic soil testing” — a novel method for studying how people encounter environmental hazards, reason through exposure risks, and take action to improve the health of their communities.

Having challenged the idea that our environment cannot alter our genetically controlled 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, circadian rhythm researcher Jennifer Hurley has embarked on a new project tracing the mechanism between environmental signals and the circadian clock.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson has been appointed as a member of the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), an important component of the department’s strategy to improve its research and development portfolio and program activities.

Kathy High, a professor in the School for Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, was selected to participate in an exhibition, The World is in You, curated by Medical Museion, a museum and research center at the University of Copenhagen dedicated to the history of medicine.

Evan Douglis, dean of the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently announced the publication of influx vol. 2, a book highlighting an extensive range of pedagogical and research innovations developed by architecture faculty and students during the years 2012-2019.

Materials and mechanical scientists are using machine learning to rapidly vet combinations of elements that could be used in next-generation environmental barrier coatings needed to protect vehicles traveling in the extreme conditions of aerospace and space environments. The project, led by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is supported by the National Science Foundation.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute computer scientist Chuck Stewart will join a newly created institute aimed at using images of living organisms to understand biological processes like species evolution, genetic inheritance patterns, and even behavior. Stewart, an expert in the ecological applications of artificial intelligence and computer vision, will join the new Imageomics Institute, which is supported by a $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute computer scientist Chuck Stewart will join a newly created institute aimed at using images of living organisms to understand biological processes like species evolution, genetic inheritance patterns, and even behavior. Stewart, an expert in the ecological applications of artificial intelligence and computer vision, will join the new Imageomics Institute, which is supported by a $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

José Holguín-Veras, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has received a 2021 Humanitarian Logistics Award in the category of Research and Academic Contribution from the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN).

Lee Ligon, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute associate professor of biological sciences and the associate dean of science for academic affairs, has been chosen as a fellow of the American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB). Election as a fellow is an honor is bestowed on ASCB members by their peers.  Fellows are recognized for their meritorious efforts to advance cell biology and/or its applications, and for their service to the Society.

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson and the cadre and officer candidates of the New York Joint Service ROTC Programs honored the first responders who gave their lives on 9/11 at a joint military service event on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.