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. 

On April 26, seven Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute undergraduate students showcased research projects in the areas of materials science, computer modeling, chemical engineering, and more at a symposium held at Corning’s Sullivan Park Science & Technology Center just outside of Corning, New York.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have fabricated a device no wider than a human hair that will help physicists investigate the fundamental nature of matter and light. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, could also support the development of more efficient lasers, which are used in fields ranging from medicine to manufacturing. 

Six RPI students have been awarded fellowships from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Hudson Valley Community College have welcomed the inaugural class of RPI-HVCC Semiconductor Scholars. Funded by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the Scholars program is one of many efforts in the Capital Region and around the country to prepare more students to enter the semiconductor industry. 

Jian Shi, Ph.D., associate professor in both the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), has been selected for the Simons Foundation's Pivot Fellowship. 

Transistors — the tiny on-off switches inside microchips — have gotten smaller and smaller over the years, increasing computing power and enabling smaller devices. During that time, the copper wires that connect these switches have likewise shrunk. However, smaller, thinner wires create a big problem, said Daniel Gall, professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Pawel Keblinski, Ph.D., has been named John Tod Horton ’52 Professor of Materials Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. An endowed chaired professorship is among the highest honors bestowed on a Rensselaer faculty member.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Jian Shi, Ph.D., associate professor of materials science and engineering, as well as physics, applied physics, and astronomy, has won the prestigious 2023 IEEE Ferroelectrics Young Investigator Award. The award recognizes “the important contributions of young scientists/engineers in reference to their contributions to fundamental research, integration, application, or education.” Recognizing only one or two exceptional scientists in the relevant field each year, this highly competitive award serves as a prestigious accolade for independent scholars under or at the age of 40.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have joined the Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0 (JUMP 2.0) led by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) and U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The public-private partnership will create a massive national research network aimed at advancing new microelectronic discoveries and technologies. The total investment exceeds $250 million and involves dozens of collaborating universities.