Steven Cramer, the William Weightman Walker Professor of Polymer Engineering and a professor in the Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for “scientific and technological advances leading to new chromatographic materials, processes, and predictive tools for the purification of biopharmaceuticals.”

A team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute led by Helen Zha, assistant professor in the Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, has been awarded a $745,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore sustainable alternatives to the synthetic textiles used in “fast fashion.”

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has a long history of training the next generation for career preparedness. With signing of the $250 billion CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. need for career preparedness has never been greater. The new BYOND – Build Your Own NanoDevice — curriculum at RPI is an interdisciplinary program that invites students from the School of Engineering and the School of Science to work side by side in the lab and classroom. The increasing demand for nanotechnology and semiconductors creates a need for more advanced cleanroom operations. At RPI, the Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room (MNCR) facility within the Center for Materials, Devices, and Integrated Systems (CMDIS) is offering the BYOND program for undergraduate students to start building a foundation and training for this career path. 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Engineering will induct 200 new members into the Order of the Engineer at 6 p.m. on November 17, 2022. The event will take place in Darrin Communications Center (DCC) 318.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will launch the Douglas A. Mercer ’77 Innovation and Exploration Laboratory at 10:30 a.m. on November 9 at the Russell Sage Dining Hall. Affectionately called the Mercer XLab, the facility aims to facilitate innovation in pedagogy and multiply learning opportunities by fostering interconnection among students and faculty. Mercer, a longtime supporter of his alma mater, originally made possible the Mercer Student Exploration Laboratory. Now, thanks to a $2 million gift, the laboratory is expanding in scope.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers have developed an accessible way to make N95 face masks not only effective barriers to germs, but on-contact germ killers. The antiviral, antibacterial masks can potentially be worn longer, causing less plastic waste as the masks do not need to be replaced as frequently.

A new project from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to develop a predictive model for how tiny virus particles behave in the lungs holds the potential to significantly impact COVID research.

This spring, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the first technological research university in the United States, will award a total of 2,063 degrees — 119 doctoral degrees, 425 master’s degrees, and 1,519 bachelor’s degrees — to 2,033 students, some of whom have earned multiple degrees. These accomplishments will be celebrated during the 216th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 21, beginning at 8:15 a.m. in the East Campus Athletic Village stadium on the Rensselaer campus.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai today announced the creation of the Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine (CEPM), one of the first centers in the nation to bridge engineering and engineering science with medicine. This undertaking will build on a wealth of shared basic research discoveries, explore unique therapeutic innovations in cancer, Alzheimer’s and a myriad of infectious diseases; educate a new generation of biomedical leaders; and develop new technologies and processes that enhance patient outcomes in unprecedented ways.

Rensselaer Professor Jonathan Dordick and collaborators from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Albany Medical College have been awarded $500,000 from the New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund to engage in research for the development of a Pentosan Polysulfate (PPS)-based nasal spray to block COVID-19.