Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering

A student team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) designed, built, and flew a remote-controlled aircraft that delivered one of the best overall flight performances in the history of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Design Build Fly competition.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is proud to welcome the second cohort of Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) students to the Semiconductor Scholars Program, an initiative supported by NORDTECH DoD Microelectronics Hub.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) unveiled a cutting-edge nuclear training lab with a ribbon-cutting in Room 2027 of the Jonsson Engineering Center (JEC), a hub of RPI’s School of Engineering on its Troy campus.

Clint Ballinger, Ph.D., professor of practice in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering (MANE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is among 170 inventors elected by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) to its 2024 Class of Fellows.

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.