Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Alexander Hiland, senior lecturer in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, recently judged a unique debate competition. Students from the Bard Prison Initiative competed against the team from Harvard University in a rematch of a debate that took place eight years ago and garnered international media attention and inspired a PBS documentary. The Bard Prison Initiative provides college opportunities for incarcerated students, and its debate team actually won against the top-ranked Harvard team in that match in 2015.

Will Pepi, a Ph.D. candidate in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology (CASE) in Industry City, Brooklyn, presented his paper, “Modeling Indoor Botanical Fresh Air Generation” in the Biowalls and Biofiltration poster session at the ASHRAE conference in Tampa on June 28. Pepi then traveled to Miami, where he spoke about his research on designing with plants to CASE’s industry partner, the global architecture firm OBMI, at their Miami office.

This summer, some lucky Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students have experienced a new course called Field Experiences in Aquatic Biology. Co-taught by Darrin Hunt and Jonathan Stetler, lecturers in biological sciences, the course has introduced Arch students to scientific data collection and citizen-led science. The Arch refers to the summer after sophomore year in which Rensselaer students live on campus and benefit from focused attention from professors and experiential learning. This new course was filled overnight!

The School of Architecture recently wrapped up the semester abroad program in Argentina, returning there for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by Gustavo Crembil, associate professor of architecture and director of the Latin American program, 14 students spent four months immersed in the culture.

Recently, the Albany Business Review hosted the Elevate Albany: Education and Workforce Development Summit at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC). The lively conversation around the tight labor pool in the Capital Region and how to address it, in the name of economic growth, kept the audience captive.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Joe Chow, Institute Professor of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, has won the IEEE Herman Halperin Electric Transmission and Distribution Award for “contributions to the modeling and control of large-scale power transmission systems.” IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Tribology expert John Tichy, professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering, recently participated in the fourth edition of the African Conference in Tribology (ACT 2023) in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.

Luigi Vanfretti, professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering, and his research scientist Tetiana Bogodorova recently hosted a delegation of high-level Ukrainian energy regulatory representatives and industry members to share their current research on electrical power systems and to establish possible collaborations.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) offers Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs in the Army, Navy, and Air Force for students interested in commissions as officers in the U.S. military following graduation. Each year, the programs collectively host the Joint Services Award Ceremony to recognize ROTC participants graduating from RPI and beginning their military careers.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) individual students as well as teams did very well in the recent National Cyber League (NCL) Competition, a biannual event that enables students to prepare and test themselves against practical cybersecurity challenges that they will likely face in the workforce, such as identifying hackers from forensic data, pen testing and auditing vulnerable websites, recovering from ransomware attacks, and additional cyber skill sets.