Introduction
	Growing a Major Regional Enterprise
	New Knowledge for a New Century
	Translating New Ideas into New Business
	Partnering for Success in an Ever-Changing Economy
	Full Report: “The Impact of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on the Economy of the Capital Region and New York State” (PDF format)

Rensselaer’s annual research funding exceeded $58.5 million in 2002, making Rensselaer the Capital Region’s leading academic research center, with strengths in such critically important areas as integrated electronics, polymer science, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. Rensselaer’s research activities help in several ways to strengthen the region’s economy.

• About 83 percent of Rensselaer’s annual research spending in fiscal year 2001 — about $38 million — was financed from federal and corporate grants and contracts — money that Rensselaer brought in from outside sources and then spent within the Capital Region.
• The opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research in fields such as integrated electronics, polymer science, nanotechnology, and biotechnology greatly enriches the education of both graduate and undergraduate students — and greatly enhances the value they bring to Capital Region employers.
• Research partnerships with Rensselaer have helped Capital Region companies stay on top of the latest developments in science, solve applied research problems, and gain an edge in recruiting talented students.

The impact of Rensselaer’s research enterprise on the region’s economy is likely to be even greater during the next several years. The Rensselaer Plan — the strategic plan adopted by Rensselaer’s trustees — sets a goal of increasing total research funding to $100 million by 2008. This will mean more federal and corporate funding brought into the region, more corporate partnerships, more research opportunities for students, and more new businesses based on innovations and ideas first developed at Rensselaer.

More than 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students come to Rensselaer’s Troy, N.Y. campus every year to pursue degrees in engineering, science, information technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social sciences. About 1,650 of these students are residents of the Capital Region; the others come to Troy from communities throughout New York state, the other 49 states, and 80 foreign countries.

The more than 2,100 undergraduate and graduate students who earn Rensselaer degrees each year provide a steady stream of well-educated workers to companies throughout the region. Nearly 7,900 Capital Region residents were graduates of Rensselaer.