Here’s a question: If we assume that if I win the lottery I will be poor. And I win the lottery. Am I poor? Logically, the answer is “yes.” It’s not an intuitive answer, but the conclusion does follow the assumptions. This premise—that the conclusions must follow the assumptions—is the basis of “deductive reasoning,” a skill taught […]

This will be my last post on The Approach. Thank you to all of our readers who have taken this little research blog and helped it to grow into what it is today. I leave Rensselaer for a new position, but I will now join the members of our loyal readership to keep tabs on […]

Congratulations to the Class of 2012! More than 1,600 Rensselaer gradates crossed the stage stage this morning, at the university’s 206th Commencement. I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re reading about all of their amazing successes and innovations!

Riccardo Bevilacqua is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer, who recently received a prestigious award and grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. We ask Riccardo about his work: Q: You’re interested in building self-assembling space robots. Tell me a little bit about it. A: [...]

(Below is an opinion piece by our own Jonathan Dordick on the need for personalized medicine. Dordick is the Howard P. Isermann Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Director of our Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. This winter he spoke at World Economic Forum in Davos about pharmaceutical safety and development. He shares [...]

Students in the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) program labor over the course of an entire academic year (and sometimes longer) to build the video games showcased at the annual GameFest at Rensselaer. Every year, it seems, student-designed games break new ground for GameFest, introducing emerging technologies like augmented reality, real-world applications in education, [...]

Decades ago, Rensselaer chemist James Ferris created long chains of RNA molecules in the lab using simple clay materials and basic organic molecules as a catalyst. The discovery helped launch a theory on how life on Earth may have arisen so many years ago – a theory that still stands strong today. Many astrobiologists support [...]

A few weeks ago guest-blogger Tyler Hopf wrote about a fundraising effort he and a team of fellow Rensselaer School of Architecture students had undertaken on behalf of local food pantries. The students were preparing an entry for the second annual annual Capital District CANstruction. In a recent update to the original post, Hopf reached out to say that [...]

(Civil Engineering senior Elizabeth Wroe wrote this excellent post for The Approach. It’s about an engineering competition last month in Oakland, Calif., where she and her teammates won second place. Enjoy!) On March 26, a group of RPI students placed second in the annual Geo-Institutes GeoWall competition. The four students on the build team were [...]

How can nanotechnology and computer modeling lead to safer air travel? Mechanical engineering professor Antoinette Maniatty tackled this topic in her recent Academic Minute, which aired last week on NPR affiliates all across the country. Listen to the excellent 90-second piece here. The local NPR affiliate, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, launched its Academic Minute segment [...]