Center for Materials, Devices, and Integrated Systems (CMDIS)

RPI’s Richard Gross Selected as American Chemical Society Fellow

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Richard Gross, Ph.D., Constellation Chair of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, has been selected as a member of the 2024 class of fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The ACS Fellows Program honors members of the ACS “for their outstanding achievements in and contributions to the science and the profession and for their equally exemplary service to the Society.” Gross is one of 37 members this year with the distinction.

RPI and HVCC Launch Semiconductor Workforce Development Program

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. 

Rensselaer Creates Course Program Focused on Training in Micro and Nanofabrication Cleanroom Technology

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 Researchers Make Virus-Fighting Face Masks

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.

New Combination of Materials Provides Progress Toward Quantum Computing

The future of quantum computing may depend on the further development and understanding of semiconductor materials known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). These atomically thin materials develop unique and useful electrical, mechanical, and optical properties when they are manipulated by pressure, light, or temperature.

Polymerized Estrogen Provides Neuroprotection in Preclinical Testing

A novel form of polymerized estrogen developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute can provide neuroprotection when implanted at the site of a spinal cord injury — preventing further damage. This promising result, found in a preclinical model, was recently published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, and it lays the groundwork for further advancement of this new biomaterial.  

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