President Marty Schmidt ’81 and his wife, Lyn, invite the Capital Region to join them for the RPI Bicentennial Holiday Concert and Victorian Stroll Kick-Off, which will take place on Saturday, December 7, at 7 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) on RPI’s campus.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Frank Spear, Ph.D., professor of earth and environmental sciences and Edward Hamilton Distinguished Educator Chair, is the 2024 recipient of the Walter H. Bucher Medal from the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The medal is presented annually to a “senior scientist in recognition of original contributions to the basic knowledge of crust and lithosphere.” It is considered a recognition of lifetime achievement.

Installations of light sculptures by RPI School of Architecture students will be on display as part of the Troy Glow 2024 festival November 1-10. The festival features light art installations on a 15-minute walk through Troy’s historic streets. Visitors can explore on their own or join guided tours. 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Fengyan Li, Ph.D., professor of mathematical sciences, has been selected as a 2025 Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). AWM Fellows demonstrate a sustained commitment “to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences.”

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Gwo-Ching Wang, Ph.D., Travelstead Institute Chair, is the 2025 recipient of the Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics from the American Physical Society (APS). Wang is being honored for “pioneering contributions to the development and use of electron diffraction techniques to study surfaces, growth-front ordering, and two-dimensional materials.”

As Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute celebrates its Bicentennial, we reflect on the many great minds, pioneers, entrepreneurs, and game-changers who are Rensselaer alumni. In 1995, the Rensselaer Alumni Association, with the full endorsement of the Institute Board of Trustees, created the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame to preserve and celebrate the exceptional heritage of alumni accomplishments throughout the years. Honorees are chosen by a selection committee based on reputation, professional achievements, service and career contributions, and uniqueness. Etched glass windows located centrally on the Rensselaer campus honor their accomplishments.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has named Dena Beard, M.A., the new Executive Director of the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC).