More than 1,000 light years from Earth, a giant gaseous planet is in a tight and fast orbit around a star larger than the Sun, and, between the two of them, there’s something funny going on. The star is known as HAT-P-7 or Kepler 2, the planet is Kepler 2b, and Rensselaer physics and astronomy student Emily DeLarme has […]
The emerging genre of bio-art explores new frontiers of life made possible through biotechnology—transgenic species, cells grown on artificial scaffolds, or formed into organs using 3-D printing—and our increasing ability to start, stop, and form life at will. Bio-artists often use techniques developed in the lab in their work, and there are several artists in […]
Michael Jensen is a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. We ask him about his work: Q: What problems are you trying to solve? A: My research revolves around heat transfer, whether in large-scale heat exchangers, such as what might be found in a chemical process plant, or at […]
(Rensselaer Architecture student Tyler Hopf wrote this post about a team of Rensselaer students who are putting their skills and talents to a good cause in the Albany round of the nationwide CANstruction fundraising event.) My name is Tyler Hopf and I am the captain of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute CANstruction team. We are the […]
(In the wake of this morning’s headlines about a meteorite blast in Russia, the Institute’s own Laurie Leshin, dean of the School of Science and space science rock star, wrote this post for The Approach. Enjoy!) This morning people in Russia got a loud reminder that Earth isn’t really a blue marble floating peacefully in […]
Whenever anyone remarks at the wonder of a Ferris wheel, they are indeed invoking the genius of a Rensselaer engineer. George W.G. Ferris is among the most notable alumni of our university, and there’s certainly an argument to be made that his is the most widely-recognized name of all the Institute’s graduates. Today, Google paid homage to […]
With a mix of electronic arts, computer science, and one of the best game design programs in the country, Rensselaer students produce a regular fount of polished, professional video games, and we hear regularly from students and graduates of the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) program who’ve made good in the game design world. (To see some of those […]
Campus is still abuzz from last week’s announcement that IBM will give a version of its Watson system to Rensselaer. The computer rose to fame in early 2011 after if defeated the two all-time human champions of the quiz show Jeopardy!. The Internet is also abuzz with the news, and our own Jim Hendler is […]
(High school senior Samantha Scibelli – named yesterday as one of 40 finalists in the prestigious pre-college Intel Science Talent Search 2013 – wrote this excellent post for The Approach, to tell us about her research with Professor Heidi Newberg. Enjoy!) My name is Samantha Scibelli, I am currently finishing up my senior year at […]
News sites were abuzz today with a fun update from 400 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. NASA on Monday released new video footage of its friendly-faced robotic astronaut, Robonaut 2, working aboard the International Space Station (ISS). NASA has been running tests and experiments with R2, as the robot is called, since it […]