Energy, Environment, and Smart Systems
NPR's The Academic Minute
From circadian rhythms to corporate financing reporting, Rensselaer research was featured all week on NPR's Academic Minute on WAMC.
A Greener, More Healthful Place to Work
Good light also helps keep office workers alert and healthy, said Mariana Figueiro, the director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Too many offices are like floodlit caves, illuminated from above to cast light on the work surface of the desk, Dr. Figueiro said. We also need light from the side striking the back of the eye – preferably from a natural source like a window – to entrain our body’s internal circadian clock.
RPI Students Ask: Would People Want Nuclear Detectors For Their Homes?
Rensselaer students and one of the fall 2017 Rensselaer Change the World Challenge winning teams, Christopher Lore ’18, Geology, and Madison Wyatt ’18, Applied Math and Physics, examine the market viability of small nuclear detectors.
The Remarkable Career of Shirley Ann Jackson
Shirley Ann Jackson worked to help bring about more diversity at MIT, where she was the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate. She then applied her mix of vision and pragmatism in the lab, in Washington, and at the helm of a major research university.
The Hidden Dangers of Road Salt
“It has a really widespread number of effects on the whole food web or ecosystem,” says Rick Relyea, a professor of biological sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Relyea has studied how road salt runoff impacts lakes as part of the Jefferson Project at Lake George in New York state. Recently, he found that road salt can reduce the size of rainbow trout hatchlings by about 30 percent, influencing their ability to elude predators and decreasing the number of eggs they lay. One experiment he worked on found that higher levels of salt could change the male-female sex ration of wood frogs.
Are Lake Species Becoming Salt-Tolerant?
Among its many other products and by-products, the Jefferson Project is teaching scientists more than has ever been known before about the effects of road salt on fresh water ecoystems.
Indian Point Closure Won’t Leave New York in the Dark
Martin Byrne, the director of business development at the New York State Center for Future Energy Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said the output for Indian Point will likely be made up from numerous sources, including increased transmission capacity to bring in power from other regions like Hudson Valley and Central New York, and higher building efficiency programs.
The World's Smartest Lake is Getting Smarter
A grant worth roughly $1 million has been awarded to the Jefferson Project to add more sensors to a network that is already giving scientists a remarkably detailed understanding of Lake George, an understanding that will help advocates and policy makers preserve its clarity and purity.
The grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation, a federal agency and one of thesingle largest sources of funds for scientific research, to a team of researchers led by Rick Relyea, an RPI professor who serves as the director of the Jefferson Project, a collaborative effort of RPI, IBM and The Fund for Lake George.
This Living Wall Cleans The Air Inside New York's New Emergency Center
By design, New York City’s new Public Safety Answering Center in the Bronxis a building that will be a tough place to work. Little natural light will enter into the imposing, blast-resistant cube, due to security concerns. Inside the skyscraper monolith, workers will take 911 calls all day and night. The center is also designed to act as a secure base in the event of a natural or manmade emergency. It officially opened in June after years of construction.
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About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America’s first technological research university. Rensselaer encompasses five schools, over 30 research centers, more than 140 academic programs including 25 new programs, and a dynamic community made up of over 6,800 students and 104,000 living alumni. Rensselaer faculty and alumni include upwards of 155 National Academy members, six members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, six National Medal of Technology winners, five National Medal of Science winners, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics. With nearly 200 years of experience advancing scientific and technological knowledge, Rensselaer remains focused on addressing global challenges with a spirit of ingenuity and collaboration. To learn more, please visit www.rpi.edu.