Hunter Belanger ’18, ’19G, Ph.D., assistant professor in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering (MANE), is one of four researchers nationwide to receive a Department of Energy Distinguished Early Career Award.The five-year, $625,000 grant will fund Belanger’s research aimed at making nuclear power safer and more efficient, supporting state and national efforts to transition away from carbon-emitting energy sources. 

From lane-keep assistance to blind spot detection, today’s cars come equipped with autonomous driving features that make driving easier and safer. Rene Mai, a doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, imagines a world in which humans and machines complement each other’s strengths to do more together, a concept known as “symbiotic autonomy.”

For the first time, researchers have used bacteria to “upcycle” waste polyethylene

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute doctoral student Emily de Stefanis is one of 60 recipients of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) award. The SCGSR program places students with mentors at DOE national labs, where students learn from top experts in their field and conduct research in state-of-the-art facilities.De Stefanis will spend 2024 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico working on her research with experts in the field of nuclear materials.