We all remember 2020. At the grocery store, toilet paper shelves were empty. Cleaning supplies and disinfectants were treasured finds. Rattled consumers, concerned that they would run out of essential items, swiftly stockpiled products until they disappeared from shelves. In the media, it was referred to as “panic buying.”

Dr. José Holguín-Veras, the William H. Hart Professor and Director of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment (CITE), has received an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson today announced the launch of the Rensselaer Institute for Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Computing (DAIC).

As the demand for home deliveries from online purchases continues to increase, Cara Wang, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Woojung Kim, a doctoral student in the same department at Rensselaer, recently published research showing that some, but not all consumers, will accept going to alternate delivery locations to get their packages rather than having them delivered directly to their front door.

In the first comprehensive study investigating the initial adoption and continuance intention of delivery services during a pandemic, Cara Wang, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, found that over 90% of people who use online delivery services would likely revert back to their original way of shopping.

The Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment (CITE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will engage in research to advance understanding of the freight transportation industry in conjunction with the Super Truck 3 program at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is conducting an important study for the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) on the potential for finding solutions to supply chain problems that would benefit both the public and private sectors in the Albany to New York City regional business corridor.

José Holguín-Veras, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has received a 2021 Humanitarian Logistics Award in the category of Research and Academic Contribution from the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN).

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequities in urban freight and the delivery of goods. This misalignment in the supply chain is perpetuating food insecurity, especially in areas where grocery store access is limited or non-existent and for those who have limited access to e-commerce.

President Joe Biden is proposing a sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure bill that would fund improvements to transportation, manufacturing, and digital infrastructure, among other projects. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the country’s first technological research university, are leaders in improving the sustainability, safety, and performance of transportation systems, energy systems, and wireless networks, among other areas.