Mae-ling Lokko, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a Future by Design grant from the Architecture Design Fashion division of the British Council, which seeks to builds connections between people in the United Kingdom and other countries through arts, culture, and education.
The research projects explored in the newest episode of Why Not Change the World? The RPI Podcast sound like the stuff of science fiction, but it turns out they are as real as they are fascinating.
The Rensselaer Plan 2024, the strategic plan that guides Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, dedicated the university to innovative teaching and research “that addresses the most compelling global challenges.” In the last year, no challenge has consumed the globe more than the COVID-19 pandemic — and the Rensselaer community has stayed true to its mission.
Throughout the nearly 200-year history of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the university has prized flexibility and ingenuity in its delivery of higher education. This mindset has especially proven to be an asset during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required the entire campus to shift to remote instruction in the spring and summer of 2020, followed by a combination of in-person, online, and hybrid courses in subsequent semesters.
Aida Ayuk, a third-year architecture student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, received a third-place honorable mention in the social impact category of the 2020 National Draper Competition for Women Entrepreneurs for her business plan and design proposal for BioFuture, a portable biomaterial digester for military waste.
As classes begin at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this week, not only has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the format of some courses, it has also assumed a prominent focus in the content of many courses throughout the university. In keeping with the Institute mission to prepare the next generation of world-changing leaders, students will learn how a range of disciplines might respond to the most pressing global health challenge of the modern era.