TROY, N.Y. — Building on several ongoing collaborations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and GlobalFoundries (GF) are working together to further grow and strengthen the semiconductor workforce in the region.

TROY, N.Y. — Thomas R. Farino Jr. ’67 and his wife Patricia Farino have made a $5 million gift to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) School of Engineering to establish the university’s first endowed deanship. Their gift marks another milestone in RPI’s yearlong Bicentennial celebration of the Institute’s past, present, and future.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) researchers are part of a multi-institution team working to bring rubber production to the United States and better secure the supply chain for this critical material.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will offer a joint Ph.D. program in health sciences engineering beginning in the fall semester of 2025. RPI is a world-renowned technological research university known for its engineering, technology, and science programs. Icahn Mount Sinai is the academic arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which includes eight hospitals and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York City region. The Ph.D.

Wei Bao, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has won the Early Career Program (ECP) Award and Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) Award from the Department of Defense to study superconductors and cavity quantum materials, respectively. The two awarded grants, which total nearly $700,000, will allow Bao to further his research into the unique properties of quantum materials and lay the foundation for practical innovations in the decades to come. 

As a third grader, Tahira Reid Smith ’00, ’04, Ph.D., was already thinking like an inventor. So, when her school, PS 97 in the Bronx, New York, held a poster contest where students were asked to depict something each of them wished he or she had, she didn’t draw a typical childhood fantasy. She designed a machine. 

In ancient Greek mythology, the hero Theseus is famous for cleverly solving a labyrinth and defeating the Minotaur at its center. That story, as well as a famous maze experiment from the history of machine learning, is the inspiration for a new generative AI tool that helps researchers navigate the domain of computer modeling. 

As Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute celebrates its Bicentennial, we reflect on the many great minds, pioneers, entrepreneurs, and game-changers who are Rensselaer alumni. In 1995, the Rensselaer Alumni Association, with the full endorsement of the Institute Board of Trustees, created the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame to preserve and celebrate the exceptional heritage of alumni accomplishments throughout the years. Honorees are chosen by a selection committee based on reputation, professional achievements, service and career contributions, and uniqueness. Etched glass windows located centrally on the Rensselaer campus honor their accomplishments.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has signed a letter of intent with Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani), one of India’s leading technological universities, to establish academic cooperation and offer joint educational programs and research initiatives. The development marks a significant step towards enhancing worldwide academic engagement between two premier institutions in the fields of engineering, science, and technology.

Imagine tires that charge a vehicle as it drives, streetlights powered by the rumble of traffic, or skyscrapers that generate electricity as the buildings naturally sway and shudder. These energy innovations could be possible thanks to researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute developing environmentally friendly materials that produce electricity when compressed or exposed to vibrations.