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.
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.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has long been at the forefront of space exploration and discovery. On September 30, that storied legacy met the future at RPI’s Space Science and Technology Day.As part of RPI’s yearlong Bicentennial celebration honoring RPI’s rich history and the promising years to come, this event invited the Capital Region community to hear from alumni, students, and researchers propelling humanity’s space endeavors.
Ozioma Ozioko, a doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is on a mission to give her home country of Nigeria — and the rest of the world — ready access to solar energy. “Growing up, the power supply was very unstable. Sometimes we could go for a week without power. I remember my brothers and I doing our homework by the light of a kerosene lamp,” Ozioko said. “Nigeria has abundant solar energy resources, but the cost-effective utilization of these resources is a challenge. I want to change that.”
Hunter Belanger ’18, ’19G, Ph.D., assistant professor in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering (MANE), is one of four researchers nationwide to receive a Department of Energy Distinguished Early Career Award.The five-year, $625,000 grant will fund Belanger’s research aimed at making nuclear power safer and more efficient, supporting state and national efforts to transition away from carbon-emitting energy sources.
From lane-keep assistance to blind spot detection, today’s cars come equipped with autonomous driving features that make driving easier and safer. Rene Mai, a doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, imagines a world in which humans and machines complement each other’s strengths to do more together, a concept known as “symbiotic autonomy.”
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) today announced two special honorands for its Bicentennial Commencement celebrations. Astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman ’97 will return to RPI as the Bicentennial Commencement Speaker, and Emily Warren Roebling, who led the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge to completion, will receive a posthumous honorary degree, the first to be awarded in the history of RPI.Reid Wiseman ’97
Six RPI students have been awarded fellowships from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
From computer chips and pharmaceuticals to batteries and airplanes, our world runs on manufactured goods and products. However, most people rarely think about how these things get made — not to mention the technology and engineering that goes into making them at scale.