Faculty members from the School of Engineering recently received four of the prestigious annual Institute Awards.

Leon Montealegre is the inaugural recipient of the Nuvalence Builder Award, which recognizes one or more graduating seniors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who have demonstrated superior skills through extracurricular projects in hardware and software innovation.

Alex Connor, a Ph.D. chemical and biological engineering candidate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, won first place in the Agtech and Food Industry track in the 12th annual New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) for his presentation on Ripely, his proposed business geared toward extending the shelf life of fresh produce. Connor was also named a finalist in the Grand Prize competition.

Winners have been announced for the end-of-year entrepreneurship competitions at the Paul J. and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Amir Hirsa, a professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has developed a device that could yield valuable insights about the fluid mechanics at play in diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. 

Peter Wayner Jr., a professor emeritus of chemical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently won the 2020 Max Jakob Memorial Award, which recognizes “eminent achievement of distinguished service in the area of heat transfer.” 

From large-scale Fortune 100 companies to local startups, the 2021 virtual spring career fair attracted a variety of organizations that appeal to Rensselaer students, including Deloitte, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amphenol, EYP Architecture & Engineering, National Security Agency, The Raymond Corporation, IBM, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Sandia National Laboratories. 

Shivani Patel, an undergraduate student in business and management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently won third place in the 8th Annual Stanley M. Grossman Innovators Invitational at the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship (CUBE) at Brooklyn Law School.

As part of the inaugural class participating in The Arch at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Kaelyn Edwards ’21, a biology major, secured a fall semester away internship at FirstHealth of the Carolinas Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, North Carolina. 

This week’s episode of Why Not Change the World? The RPI Podcast explores the science and engineering involved in the exploration of Mars.